Black screen after multiple recordings

[jellis413]

Not sure what is going on here, but figured I would ask (after pulling my hair out for the last five days).

First, my configuration:
Celeron 2ghz (have a 2.4ghz laying around here that I will put in if necessary), 256mb DDR memory, MSI 651 SiS based board, PVR-250, ATI Radeon 9000 128mb, XP Home, WD40gb and Maxtor 160gb drive, Chenbro 805 slim case all hooked to a Sony Grand Wega 60" through DVI. Oh, and just using the onboard sound and lan - waiting for a Sound Blaster Live 5.1 to arive and will use that for sound. Other MISC things: standard CD-RW drive, Gyration Ultra Suite keyboard/mouse, no floppy drive.

So here is the problem: after Sage records several programs, I leave it for a while and come back to it (TV turned off, come back a couple of hours later or the next morning) and the screen is black. Everything still functions (can get the files from the network or even hear the shutdown sounds when I power it down, however, no picture). I have disabled ALL power management (which I am hoping that I can have it go to sleep if it is not doing anything) so it is not going to sleep EVER (hard drives, monitors, nothing). And the Sage Client will not work either once this happens.

Re-creating the problem: I have Sage record several shows back to back (or have even tried throughout the evening - with a 30 minute break in between).

Steps I have tried to correct the problem (some may have not been necessary, but did them anyway). Latest drivers for EVERYTHING (video, sound, lan, PVR, etc).
Changed the decoder in the video properties from Default to the Hauppauge default one to CyberLink that comes with Power DVD.
Removed ALL other software not relating to drivers so all that was on there was Windows XP Home, Service packs and updates, drivers and Sage.
Disabled the Intelligent recording (or whatever it is called - I am at work now - the option that it records other stuff based on what you have watched in the past).

One final thing to note:
I am using the Trial version of Sage. I have also installed the trial version of SnapStream Beyond TV or whatever they are calling it. Snapstream does not have this problem - I can record all day and night without the black screen, however, there is a lot of "jerky video" using Snapstream so instead of tweaking it, I would rather just get Sage up and running properly.

Any help that anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. I have a ton of components laying around, so I would be willing to switch components as needed. First thing I am going to try tonight is to switch the video card to a 9200SE and see if that helps the situation any.

Thank you in advance for your time.

[falchulk]

Does this happen overnight if sage is not running at all?

[jellis413]

No, it does not happen overnight. I can even run Snapstream all night with no issues. The only thing that I have not tried is to run it off of a regular LCD monitor instead of the TV all night to see what happens. Maybe I will try that tonight.

[jellis413]

Update to my original post:

I replaced the video card with a Sapphire Tech 9200SE and now the screen is black after a few hours with or without Sage running. Put the 9000 back in and same exact thing. Have not re-loaded Snapstream to see if it will "keep the video alive", but I guess there is something else going on.

Note: while watching recorded programs, video was not an issue - watched about 2-3 hours last night.

One additional note: Using a Monster DVI Cable that I had laying around still in the package (never used for whatever reason). Not sure if that is the issue - will put another cable on it tonight.

Any help and/or suggestions that anyone has would be greatly appreciated.