Java Error: Sage Disappears

[kevpriest]

I've had a new problem start this past week. Since Tuesday, I can't keep Sage running more than a few minutes, if at all. It just disappears. Checking the Sage directory, it appears to be a Java error, from the logs. I tried upgrading Java from 1.5 v 8 to 1.6 v 2 and upgrading Sage from 6.18 to 6.19, but this has had no effect.

I'm attaching the error log I got most recently. Any suggestions as to what I should be looking at? Sage hasn't run for more than a minute in several days now.

Kevpriest

[Opus4]

You could also see if the debug log has any info about what happened.

Since you said this just recently started, I suggest checking whatever new apps may have been installed or updated recently and checking hardware to see if something has gone bad -- maybe some memory or hard drive tests.

- Andy

[kevpriest]

Excellent suggestions, Opus, and I should've turned on logging first. Here's what I see:

Thu 7/26 16:54:34.903 Seeker invoking System.gc()

I've tried it three times now and this is the last line in every log file. What is system.gc()? Any tips on whether I should be thinking memory going bad or disk going bad? There were no recent installs on this system (other than the stuff I've done since this started), so I'm thinking I've got some sort of hardware failure, but maybe someone here knows what system.gc() is hitting and can point me in the right direction.

Thanks,

KevPriest

[Opus4]

That's running the garbage collector, which I think cleans up unused memory or something like that. My guess would be memory, but maybe a more expert java user would know more & have a suggestion.

- Andy

[kevpriest]

Sounds like as good a place as any to start. Thanks!

[nielm]

The crash log also indicates that the crash occurs in the memory management thread... This could mean that a decoder, driver or native code DLL is trashing Java's memory (have you changed/upgraded decoders or drivers recently?), or that you have some problematic memory...

[kevpriest]

Well, at this time it looks like Nielm was on the right track. I did a complete re-install of Windows and Sage, but kept my old properties file and wiz.bin, and all looks to be working perfectly. Before doing a complete re-install, I tried a couple of roll backs, but nothing fixed the issue. Since I didn't change my memory (I won't have new memory until tomorrow), I'm guessing something had been installed at some point that was trashing Java memory. I don't know what, though.

It's of course possible that the problem could come back, and it really was my memory, but I'll be upgrading the memory tomorrow anyway, so hopefully all's well that ends well.

Now, here's a tip for you old-time sage users like me. If you do a complete re-install of windows and sage, you can follow all the file moving instructions and FAQs to the letter, but if your sage directory itself has changed names (because the old installations were to "Frey Technologies") your files will not be picked up, nor will your favorites, etc. It took me awhile to figure out what was going wrong, but since I had backed up my entire Sage directory, once I figured it out I just copied back in the old properties file, text edited all the directories from "Frey Technologies" to "SageTV", and then my files were back and everything else, too.

KevPriest