avi conversion causing application to stall and abort

[stevemal]

Hello, hope someone can help me as I've tried on various other forums to no avail.

When I try to convert an avi file to DVD, CPU jumps immediately to 100% and, either straight away or after a short period of conversion, the program stops and sometimes causes the PC to crash.

Probably easier to tell you what I have tried so far:

pretty sure the software isn't to blame, as this happens with at least 4 different dvd authoring programs (Nero, superdvd creator, winavi and vso divx to dvd.

the avi source files are OK 'cos they've been checked for faults

there is a known XP SP2 fault that causes CPU to go to 100% when a program runs. I have installed the hotfix to no avail.

Tried converting only and not burning but same thing happens

Have done extensive system scans and posted HijackThis log - clean bill of health.

Ran chkdsk - no change.

DVD drive can be temperamental and sometimes fails to read discs sometimes but I don't think it can be faulty as the process never gets as far as the burn stage.

I'd be eternally grateful if someone could suggest what might be causing this.

[mats.hogberg]

100% CPU is what to expect when encoding (converting) stuff. I'd be disappointed if it didn't.
That fact leads to high CPU temp, which in turn may make your computer crash.
Make sure you have adequate CPU cooler, and check for dust clogged up heat sink.

/Mats

[stevemal]

Thanks Mats. I checked CPU temp and it does soar when converting. I'll see about getting it fixed as I'm not very technical.

[mats.hogberg]

It's not that hard - Open the cabinet, locate the CPU cooler, check if there seems to be dust, use a vacuum cleaner to remove it (while blocking the fan, so it doesn't spin like mad)

/Mats

[Soopafresh]

Good point, mats. You also might want to try a CPU stress testing app which will heat your proc up quite a bit as well. This one is quite good, and free. Run it a few times and see if your system crashes. http://7byte.com/index.php?page=metabench

If encoding crashes and the above CPU test doesn't crash, then you might want to try installing a recent version of DirectX 9.0c

[MysticE]

You might also look into installing some case fans. If you have empty places in the rear add some fans blowing out.

[/i]