computer restarts while encoding video with Handbrake. please help.

[christessmer]

well i dont know what the problem is. i converted one file to try the program out and i had perfect results. i didnt change anything on my computer and now when i try to convert an ifo to avi with handbrake it starts the encoding process then about 45 seconds into it my computer freezes up and restarts. i thought is was cuz of over heating but after some tests that is not the case. what do you guys think? any help would be greatly appreciated. here are some basic specs of my machine, its only a few months old so i know its not cuz of a lack of power or memory or anything like that.

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor BX80570E8400 - 3.0GHz, 6MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB, Wolfdale, Dual-Core, Retail, Socket 775

Motherboard - Intel DG35EC Motherboard - Intel G35 Express, Socket 775, MicroATX, Audio, Video, DVI, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, FireWire, Serial ATA

RAM - OCZ Dual Channel Titanium 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)

Video Card - Diamond Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB PCIe

Windows XP Media Center SP3 (all completely up to date)

power supply - OCZ / GameXStream / 700-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / SATA Ready / SLI Ready / EPS / Active PFC

heat sink and fan - ZEROtherm / Butterfly BTF90 / Socket 775/754/939/AM2 / Copper Base / Heatpipes / CPU Cooler


if ya need anymore info just let me know. thanks!

[Bjs]

Press ctrl + alt + del to open task manager
Launch handbrake
Right click on handbrake in task manager
Select "set affinity"
Uncheck second cpu (cpu 1)
Leave task manager open and run handbrake

Dose task complete without system rebooting now ?

[disturbed1]

Heat
RAM
PSU

[christessmer]

Press ctrl + alt + del to open task manager
Launch handbrake
Right click on handbrake in task manager
Select "set affinity"
Uncheck second cpu (cpu 1)
Leave task manager open and run handbrake

Dose task complete without system rebooting now ?

yes that worked!!! i dont know how or why buy it did. thanks so much!! if ur ever in michigan ill buy ya beer

[christessmer]

Heat
RAM
PSU

if ur asking what PSU and RAM i use, i already posted that. the heat is never more than 43 c.

[johns0]

Best to do another stress test to see if you get a reset with another application,i had the same problem with a quad core and setting affinity to 2 cores would stabilize it,found out that the motherboard was at fault.

[christessmer]

well it stopped working. handbrake crashes again even when i do what was suggested in the task manager. i tried AutoGK and my computer crashed while that was running too. Im monitoring my CPU with Real Temp and the load does get up to the 95-97% range and the highest temp is 43*c. but when i do the task manager trick the load stays at the 50% range but it still crashes. what else can i do?

[disturbed1]

On my Gigabyte P45 and X58 I had to bump the RAM voltage to 2.1 just to feed 1.9 to the RAM. I haven't had this issue with any of my other boards (mostly DFI LP UT's and Abit's). This is a known issue with Gigabyte boards. Their voltage rail isn't that great.

Run memtest86 ( www.memtest86.org ) to make sure you didn't get a bad stick of RAM after you check the RAM voltage. Check Gigabyte for bios upgrades as well.

HEAT
RAM
PSU

You asked what could be wrong. Plus you never stated what your temps where in the opening thread. Doesn't matter the age or brand of the equipment, manufacturing errors occur all the time. Some manufacturers are better than others, but it does happen.

[johns0]

Try pulling out your ram and put in one at a time and stress test each one,if that dont help then maybe a psu or motherboard issue.I had a gigabyte mb that would reset anytime i was encoding,switched to asus and havent reset once in the last year.

[christessmer]

ok, well im on lunch break from work so i figured i would stop in and check things out. i havent done any tests since my last post because ive been kinda busy....not too mention im ready to smash my computer into a million pieces lol, im sure u've had that feeling before. but anyway, to me it looks like it is a problem with the motherboard. i havent done any tests to comfirm that yet but there are a number of people that had the same problem with this motherboard so they switched and it didnt happen again. ok gotta go back to work now, ill probably run some tests when i get home tonight. thanks for all the helpful and speedy replies, i really appreciate it!

oh yeah i almost forgot, i was playin around with Hand Brake last night and it seems to only crash when i convert multiple files back to back without much time in between or if i set up the queue. when i just convert one file then wait about 2 or 3 minutes then convert another one it works perfect but all that only works if i uncheck CPU 0 in the task manager. so to me it seems like it crashes when it has a load on it (max load is 50% while converting) over a long period of time with no break time. i dont know if that means anything to anyone its just what i found works at the moment.

[christessmer]

ok so, here's what i found out.

bios is up to date.

im not sure how to view the ram voltage and ive searched around and cant seem to find out how to do that...

i ran memtest and here are my results:
-Test 1 - both sticks of ram inserted. crashes within 20 seconds of starting the test.
-Test 2 - tried the other version of memtest with both sticks and had exactly the same results as test 1.
-Test 3 - i removed one memory stick and came up with no errors.
-Test 4 - i did the same thing with the other stick and came up with no errors again.

[johns0]

Sounds like your mb doesnt like running with both ram,try putting them in different slots(1 and 3 or 1 and 4) and retest.

[christessmer]

tried that, same results as before. crashes with both sticks installed.

[johns0]

Only thing you can do is get a better mb or try the recommended ram for that mb or run it with one stick of ram,no guarantee that different ram will fix the problem though.

[jagabo]

i ran memtest and here are my results:
-Test 1 - both sticks of ram inserted. crashes within 20 seconds of starting the test.
-Test 2 - tried the other version of memtest with both sticks and had exactly the same results as test 1.
-Test 3 - i removed one memory stick and came up with no errors.
-Test 4 - i did the same thing with the other stick and came up with no errors again.

That's not an uncommon problem. Two loads results in slower slew rates so you need more voltage or more wait states. If you can bump the RAM voltage up a bit in the BIOS do so. You probably can't with an Intel motherboard though. Otherwise you can try getting faster memory.

[Bjs]

Dual channel mode for two memory modules should be both blue banks filled being dimm 0 sockets.

DDR2 800 DIMMs with SPD timings of only 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 (tCL-tRCD-tRP), and at 1.8 V

Check bios setup and confirm these settings ... you may find the memory timings are different as the motherboard will auto detect at initial first boot when system building.

Start with modifying the memory timings to specification, test again ... after you can modify the v value if the result is the same.

[christessmer]

Dual channel mode for two memory modules should be both blue banks filled being dimm 0 sockets.

DDR2 800 DIMMs with SPD timings of only 5-5-5 or 6-6-6 (tCL-tRCD-tRP), and at 1.8 V

Check bios setup and confirm these settings ... you may find the memory timings are different as the motherboard will auto detect at initial first boot when system building.

Start with modifying the memory timings to specification, test again ... after you can modify the v value if the result is the same.

heres what the bios says:
SDRAM (automatic)
CPC Override (disabled)
Memory Frequency (800 MHz)
tCL (5)
tRCD (5)
tRP (5)
tRASmin ( 18 ) does that mean 1.8v?

[johns0]

Nope,tRAS represents a time until a next read or write command is inputted after an active command is coupled to the DRAM.

[disturbed1]

In the Bios there's a setting for the RAM voltage, bump it little by little until everything is stable. This is exactly what I had to do with my Gigabyte boards.

If I get the chance, and you haven't found the setting by then, I'll get the exact page from my bios. My P45 might be close to your P35.

[christessmer]

dont know if this means anything but i was lookin up info on my ram to see what the suggested volts are for it and it says it a 4-4-4-15 but in my bios it says its as 5-5-5-18. does it matter that its different? and the suggested volts are 2.1.

[christessmer]

im not seein where i can bump the voltage in the bios.

[jagabo]

Motherboards made by Intel rarely have any options like that.

[christessmer]

Motherboards made by Intel rarely have any options like that.

so then if i cant bump the voltage what r my options? get a different motherboard?

[disturbed1]

Before you go screwing with Ram timings, make sure your information is exactly correct for your exact RAM model. If left at auto, the motherboard should pick up a default timing set on it's own. Get a pad and paper out, and write down what you change, and what it was before you change it. That way, if you put the wrong value in, you'll know what you screwed up

System Memory Features
The board has four DIMM sockets and supports the following memory features:
Four 240-pin Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Module
(DIMM) connectors with gold-plated contacts
Non-ECC DDR2 800/667 1.8 V
Serial Presence Detect (SPD) memory only
Unbuffered, non-registered single or double-sided DIMMs
Up to 2.0 GB utilizing 256 Mb technology
Up to 4.0 GB utilizing 512 Mb or 1 Gb technology
Up to 8.0 GB utilizing 1 Gb technology

If there isn't a setting to change the Ram voltage, perhaps your MB and RAM are not compatible. Can't believe Intel doesn't include that option.

[christessmer]

well i gave up since i think i was gettin in over my head here. i took it to the local pc repair shop and showed him what i was doin when it crashed. he just called me and said he re-installed the os and bios and all drivers and updates and did some tuning and now she runs like a dream. so im on goin to pick it up right now, ill let u guys know if its workin. thanks for all ur help, sorry i couldnt put it to any use though.

[christessmer]

ok well i dont know exactly what he did since i didnt get to talk to the guy that actually worked on my pc but i just got done encoding video for 3 hours straight without the "task manager trick" and it was fast and had no crashes or problems. so whatever he did worked. thanks again guys. you're all very polite and helpful here, i will come here first if i have a problem again.

[ashburndad]

I had the same issue and wanted to update the thread with what my solution was. It turns out that I was plugged into an old UPS, so the power was not steady. I plugged into non-battery assisted power and I can encode for days. Maybe this will help someone else.