Need some help debugging MCE05 system lockups...

[rotaryracer]

Okay, I know - I'm playing with a competitor. Let's just say I was evaluating my options and am seriously considering coming back to Sage with my tail tucked between my legs.

Anyone know of a utility that can 'stress test' a video card similar to the way Prime95 stresses a CPU and memory? I'm running MCE05 on the following system:

AMD Barton 2500XP @ stock speed
ABIT NF7 v2.0 with Zalman ZM-NB47J passive Northbridge cooler
NVIDIA nForce Unified Driver 5.10 (NOT using NVIDIA IDE driver)
1GB PC3200 Corsair Value Select RAM (underclocked at PC2700)
AOpen 256MB GeForce 5700LE with Zalman ZM80D-HP (no fan)
NVIDIA ForceWare 66.93 graphics drivers @ 1280x720P via DVI
2xPVR250 -16
2x200GB Seagates
2xOptical drives (1 CDRW, 1 DVD)
Onboard 10/100 LAN
Onboard audio through SPDIF out
Lite-On Airboard (uses IRQs for PS/2 keyboard and mouse)
All WinMCE updates
NVIDIA 1.00.67 Decoder

I'm experiencing random lockups, typically after watching a show for anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours - doesn't matter if something is recording in the background, if I'm playing from DVD, streaming across LAN, or playing a local file. Basically, everything will be running fine and then video/sound will hiccup, then the last image will freeze on the screen. The only thing that fixes it is a hardboot of the system. I did see an error box pop up a few times saying something like 'NV4_DISP.dll has stopped responding', which I'm assuming is MCE-speak for the video driver has taken a dump. This error box hasn't appeared recently, although the lockup behavior is the same.

I changed to MCE the same time I installed the 5700LE, so I'm not sure if I have a bad video card or some other goofy mojo with system compatibility. When I was running Sage 1.4 with a Radeon 9200SE, it wasn't always rock-solid but it was a helluva lot more stable than this (90+ days of uptime). By the way, I just did another clean install of MCE05, NVDVD decoder, and MBM5 to monitor temps. The only other thing running is jaLCDs to drive the VFD.

I'm starting to think I may have a heat issue with the 5700LE (I have no chassis fans in the PC - just the PSU sucking air out) or just a bad card. Supposedly the Zalman passive cooler should cool as good if not better than the stock fan and I'm using ArcticSilver 5 to eek out every last bit of heat transfer. I can't believe the 5700LE would run hot enough to exceed the capabilities of a passive Zalman - could it?

Any thoughts, advice, help would be appreciated. I've tested with Prime95 and no problems, but this video lockup crap is killing me!

Thanks guys!

Jason

[RedR]

Heya,

My first guess, heat is your problem. Although looking through your setup drivers might be a problem as well. So let’s start of with them since it’s a lot easier to solve that problem than hardware changes. Check out nVidia's site for downloading drivers. There are specific drivers for MCE; I would highly suggest using those vs. the standard 2000/XP drivers.
Now on to the heat... Your system is quite demanding, or should I say has quite a bit of hardware. Since the PSU fan is your only method of moving air through the system, I'd venture to guess everything is running a bit hot. For testing, after the machine has had time to come up to operating temp, try rebooting, going into bios and see what the temp is for your CPU (I am not a big fan of mbm since it is quite flaky on my machines). Also, try running with the case open for awhile too. You just might find you will need some kind of inner case fan or one mounted to the front of the case to help get clean outside air into the case. Check some of the hardware review sites on that passive cooler you have, see what their results were compared to your use of it. You may find that some easy tricks you can use to help with keeping it cool enough to prevent any problems. To me, what’s really key here is you do not damage any hardware in trying to achieve your results with passive cooling.
Another thing you could think about doing is underclocking your CPU. This will help with heat issues, granted you'll be running a bit slower, but for a PVR box, having things maxed out isn't always needed when running the CPU you have.

Hope this helps,
RedR

PS- SageTV ROCKS compared to MCE! I don't even use any of the MCE features, one due to the DRM issues with MCE, and two because SageTV along with custom plugin's, Sage provides me with far more features than MCE could dream of.

[mdmint]

Let's see 2 HDs, 2 PVR250s potentially encoding, cpu, ram, mobo chipset, video card all generating heat and only exhaust is PS. Are you using a designed for passive cooling system total solution including heatsinked case or standard type case with only cooling PS? If the later you very likely have a thermal problem. (Not necessarily the video card itself causing the lockups.) A totally passive cooling HTPC solution will easily run a Grand. On the other hand you can design a very efficient and quiet HTPC cooling solution using quality fans and mCubed T-Balancer to thermally control all fans including cpu and video fans for a C Note or so. I know atleast two of us on the Forum are using the T-Balancer.

[rotaryracer]

Thanks guys! I forgot to mention previously - per MBM5 displaying to my VFD, CPU temps are around 49C at idle and 54-55C under load. System temps are approx 35-36C at idle and 39-41C under load. Last night after watching taped shows for 2 hours (no lockups), I was seeing temps of 53C CPU and 39C system. These are approximately the same temps I was seeing with my old Sage 1.4 configuration and the 9200SE - maybe the Radeon chip handled the heat better?

I do have DxVA enabled on the card and CPU utilization is in the neighborhood of 8-14%; however, when it locks, CPU ute spikes to 50-70% and stays there.

I may try to turn the PSU fan up all the way (it's running on low now) to bring temps down and see if that helps prevent lockups. I also might look at getting a big 120mm quiet fan for the front of the case to push air across everything. I have a Accent HT-200B and removed the 60mm exhaust noisemakers.

I was really hoping to avoid extra fans since my old config had hung tough. I don't care about parts longevity (they'll be obsolete before they cook anyway) but I do need it to be stable. I may look at the T-Balancer as well (nice concept), but am going to try and do this without throwing too much more money at it....yet.

Thanks again - and if there are any other ideas, please let me know.

Jason