PC Problems effecting editing

This forum is for help with and discussion about your video hardware.

PC Problems effecting editing

Postby EBwiz » Wed Aug 04, 2004 3:50 pm

I've been having some PC trouble for some time now when it comes to intense processing things... My computer likes to freeze in the middle of ever so important processes such as searching for viruses, defraging the hard drive, ripping DVD audio, etc. upon etc.

Well, now I'm using a new method to produce higher quality videos, one that performs such a task that my computer doesn't like. Basically when doing compressing in VirtualDub, it gets to a certain point and the computer locks up. I know this is a hardware problem as it locks up during the aforementioned processes as well. My question would be what causes such lock ups, and what upgrades and such are nessecary to fix it?
Founder of Digital Relay and <A HREF="http://digitalrelay.8m.com/arcadia.html">Arcadia Studios</a>
Anime Music Video Advice AKA: Stuff I learned as a Newbie:
- NEVER use Windows Movie Maker
- NEVER Ask dumb questions
User avatar
EBwiz
 
Joined: 29 May 2002
Location: Blackwood, NJ

Postby Kalium » Wed Aug 04, 2004 7:39 pm

More details, please.

I do know that I had issues where VDub would crash after a period of processing when I had both source and output on a NTFS disk. That would actually fsck the file system.

Anyway, this could be a number of things. The most likely culprit, though, is malware.
User avatar
Kalium
Sir Bugsalot
 
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Location: Plymouth, Michigan

Postby EBwiz » Wed Aug 04, 2004 7:50 pm

What other detail do you need? It just freezes up. As in, say, I'm moving hte mouse around while it's processing and then the cursor just plain stops because everything just freezes in place.

I have a feeling it's Malware too. I keep my computer as clean from spyware and viruses as I can, but I'm starting to wonder if I reformat is nessecary soon... something I am not looking forward to, but will do if I can't help it.
Founder of Digital Relay and <A HREF="http://digitalrelay.8m.com/arcadia.html">Arcadia Studios</a>
Anime Music Video Advice AKA: Stuff I learned as a Newbie:
- NEVER use Windows Movie Maker
- NEVER Ask dumb questions
User avatar
EBwiz
 
Joined: 29 May 2002
Location: Blackwood, NJ

Postby Kalium » Wed Aug 04, 2004 8:19 pm

Details, like hardware, HD filesystems, and the like. There are a zillion factors that could influence this. OS version stuf is nice, too.

Saying "it just freezes up" is like going to a mechanic saying your car won't start, and then telling him nothing more. He needs to know details, like what kind of car.

If it's malware, run ad-aware and spybot after updating them. Full scan. Then reboot, and scan again. Keep scanning until they pick up nothing.
User avatar
Kalium
Sir Bugsalot
 
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Location: Plymouth, Michigan

Postby EBwiz » Wed Aug 04, 2004 8:33 pm

Oh, right, right. I dunno why I was thinking it could just be a general problem... Alright, let's see...

Pentium 4 2.4 GHz underclocked at 1.8 GHz
512 DDR 2100 (I think) RAM
80 GB Maxtor (Not quite sure of the RPM)
nVidia GEForce 4 MX Graphics AGP Graphics card
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.1.2600 Build 2600

If there's any other information about the computer I left out,let me know.
Founder of Digital Relay and <A HREF="http://digitalrelay.8m.com/arcadia.html">Arcadia Studios</a>
Anime Music Video Advice AKA: Stuff I learned as a Newbie:
- NEVER use Windows Movie Maker
- NEVER Ask dumb questions
User avatar
EBwiz
 
Joined: 29 May 2002
Location: Blackwood, NJ

Postby Kalium » Wed Aug 04, 2004 8:36 pm

It could be a general problem, but we can't assume that.

What's the file system on the HD? FAT32 or NTFS?

And is that XP with SP1?
User avatar
Kalium
Sir Bugsalot
 
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Location: Plymouth, Michigan

Postby EBwiz » Wed Aug 04, 2004 8:42 pm

NTFS, and Yes.
Founder of Digital Relay and <A HREF="http://digitalrelay.8m.com/arcadia.html">Arcadia Studios</a>
Anime Music Video Advice AKA: Stuff I learned as a Newbie:
- NEVER use Windows Movie Maker
- NEVER Ask dumb questions
User avatar
EBwiz
 
Joined: 29 May 2002
Location: Blackwood, NJ

Postby Kalium » Wed Aug 04, 2004 8:48 pm

Well, I had a similar issue with NTFS and VDub. I would leave VDubMod converting, and a ways in, it would crash. And it would royally screw up the file system, to the point where I had to reformat the drive. (Luckily it was a storage drive)

Solution? Never found one. Don't want to try. I just put my rips on one drive, and the processing footage on the other. Works just fine.
User avatar
Kalium
Sir Bugsalot
 
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Location: Plymouth, Michigan

Postby EBwiz » Wed Aug 04, 2004 9:03 pm

I'm pretty sure it's neither, being that this problem happens on more than just VDub.

Either way, I appreciate the help alot. I'll try that out when I get a new hard drive (with this new method, I'm gonna need one) whenever that is. Thanks. ^_^
Founder of Digital Relay and <A HREF="http://digitalrelay.8m.com/arcadia.html">Arcadia Studios</a>
Anime Music Video Advice AKA: Stuff I learned as a Newbie:
- NEVER use Windows Movie Maker
- NEVER Ask dumb questions
User avatar
EBwiz
 
Joined: 29 May 2002
Location: Blackwood, NJ

Postby Kalium » Wed Aug 04, 2004 9:07 pm

Besides, rips on one drive and processed on another is faster. One drive reads, one writes, life is simpler for your hardware.
User avatar
Kalium
Sir Bugsalot
 
Joined: 03 Oct 2003
Location: Plymouth, Michigan

Postby klinky » Thu Aug 05, 2004 3:51 am

Run msconfig and remove any processes that load automatically when windows starts. Get the latest drivers & sofware updates for your computer. Update the BIOS to the latest version.

Might be heat, check your CPU temp with <a href="http://www.cpuid.com/pcw.php">PC Wizard 2004</a>. Try running the computer w/o the cover on. Also check your 3.3v, 5v & 12v lines while in PC Wizard. They should be close to what the line requires. If they seem quite low, like say 0.50volts below what the line is rated for, your supply might be failing or just be crappy in general.

Bad memory is a possibility, try <a href="http://www.memtest86.com/">memtest86</a> to test your RAM.

Hard drive might be starting to fail, use <a href="http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/?epi_menuItemID=3c67e325e0a6b1f6294198b091346068&epi_menuID=976d37cd478c5826433f226075b46068&epi_baseMenuID=976d37cd478c5826433f226075b46068&channelpath=/en_us/Support/Software%20Downloads/ATA%20Hard%20Drives&downloadID=22"> Maxtor's PowerMax tool</a> to diagnose issues with the drive.

If it still continues, try removing external devices from the the computer. Such as scanners or game pads. Then try internal devices until you're down to a graphics, ram & cpu. See if it still crashes. If it does, try different RAM. If that fails to fix the issue, then either the motherboard or CPU is going out. Try swapping the motherboard and if that fails then you know it's the cpu. Last resort though ;/.
User avatar
klinky
 
Joined: 23 Jul 2001
Location: Cookie College...


Return to Video Hardware Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests