all conversions crashing

[catdaddio6]

hey guys been converting stuff for several years now with no problems,,but when i convert anything i just freeze or restart,,this includes xvid to dvd with main concept and pro coder2,,,and i tried a simple reencode of an xvid to xvid with vdub and it crashed also,,any ideas would rock,,thanks

[Scorpion King]

Installing codec packs can do this I think.

Anymore, after many system recoveries, I do not install anything I don't really haft to have. My system has been messup so many times I can't count them.

Open VirtualDub, click Video, then Compression and look at the list of codec available. Open AviCodec select the Codec and Filters tab then look at all the different tabs there. After this you will have a good idea what is on your system.

A broken, damaged, conflicting, etc codec or filter can do that I guess.

The problem could be something like CPU heat caused by dirt and dust in the heat sink or something like that. What temp is your CPU running when it is encoding video. My 3G P4 hits about 125f at 100% load with about 70f ambient, but I'm running 12 fans with an 80MM 80CFM CPU fan and a very large heat sink. If it's getting hot it can freeze up or reboot like that.

What programs, processes, services are you booting up and running? I'm running about 32 processes in XP right now. Of course one of them is Firefox.....

I don't know?

Good luck.

[redwudz]

My first suspicion would be CPU overheat also. Can you check the temps either from a program or in BIOS?

If not, pull off the side cover off the computer and see if all fans are turning and how much dust is in there. If any, blow it out with some 'canned air' and try again. You can also direct a desk fan in there. If that helps, you might consider upgrading your CPU cooler or at least pull the existing one off, clean it with isopropyl alcohol and a few Q-tips and reapply a good quality thermal compound like Arctic Silver or equivalent.

If it's not heat, then try starting in 'safe mode' and see if that helps. If so, you likely have something running thats causing the problem. You can also try typing 'msconfig' in a Run window and try temporarily killing a few services until or if you find what may be causing it. It's a very handy program for finding software problems.

Other possibilities are RAM memory failing, power supply dying, or any number of other motherboard problems.

[catdaddio6]

ok first off thanks guys,,,i monitored two encodes and both crashed when my cpu heat hit 56c,,got to checking stuff out and my power supp,fan isnt running,,so i'll get a new power supp and see what happens,,i read i should be able to hit like 65c but i dont know that seems really hot to me,,and both times it died at same heat,,so off to fryes i go,,i'll let ya know if thats it or not,,thanks again

[redwudz]

56C is plenty warm. The CPU or the MB may be shutting it down at that point. And that's a good thing. 65C may be the temp where the CPU starts to be damaged. You don't want to go there. If it comes up very fast to 56C, you might want to either change your CPU cooler or renew the thermal compound as mentioned previously.

Usually the PS fan won't much affect the CPU temp, unless it's the only case fan, but it would be hard on the PS itself.

[classfour]

Yep,

I've got to change out the CPU cooler on mine when I get home: It started crashing while encoding the other day - hard crash, shut down - cleaned out the fans to the same result. Installed speedfan to see what was cooking: CPU hit 58C during the encode (that I actually saw - could've been hotter, UGH).

Everything else was 30C - 40C.

Luckily, I've been sitting on a liquid cooler for months, just too darn busy to install it; I guess I'll have to make the time, now.

[Scorpion King]

I've been running a little download program called Motherboard Monitor 5. It works great. In the system tray it displays CPU and case temp. I wouldn't be without it.

I'm no specialist and I can't say how hot is too hot but I can say that when encoding video the cpu load goes way up and with some programs it can get to 100% substained load. Without proper cooling the cpu can get damaged very quickly. A large heatsink/fan assembly, enough case air movement, and a temp monitor is vital in my openion. I've worked on systems before that had been damaged by excessive heat and for those no amount of cooling was enough then. The only recourse was to turn down the multiplier and the voltage to the cpu so it would be somewhat stable again.

Good luck

[TBoneit]

Keeping in mind that if the power supply an isn't running you are not cooling its parts either. The possibilities are that something could short and wipe out all your hardware.

IOWs what I'm saying is play safe and don't turn it on until you either fix the PS fan or replace the PS.

The CPU was running hot too because the PS fan is one of the ways air moves through the case. Encoding the PS will run hotter too due to the extra power requirement of the CPU running at 100%.