Comments

Chienworks wrote on 8/4/2010, 4:37 AM
Amazing that anyone still uses a screen saver these days. All they do is slow the computer down. I haven't had one set up on any of my computers in over 8 years. I do have Windows set to turn off the monitor after an hour of inactivity, but that's not an active screensaver running.

There has been an enormous amount of discussion on this topic over the years, especially in the Vegas Pro forum. One of the most common causes is overheating. Make sure your CPU fan and heatsink are clean. Vacuum out all the dust and kitty hair. Also vacuum the various air vents in the computer case. If this doesn't fix it come back and we'll look for some more issues.
JS wrote on 8/5/2010, 12:44 AM
Good idea--I'm long overdue for a cleaning. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks.
MSmart wrote on 8/5/2010, 8:06 AM
In addition to periodic cleaning, I use Speedfan to control the fan speeds based on temperature.
TOG62 wrote on 8/5/2010, 9:27 AM
I had a laptop that used to overheat when processing video and it shut down the PC completely. Maybe things have improved since then and only the offending process is stopped. At that time I understood that overheating caused permanent damage to the processor.
JS wrote on 8/9/2010, 3:23 PM
Sorry to say that cleaning the computer didn't solve the problem. However, I tried babysitting the computer while it was rendering--preventing the monitor from turning off or leaving the monitor off only a short time--and the process continued to the end. Is there some logic to this or was I just lucky?
MSmart wrote on 8/9/2010, 3:45 PM
Lucky?

Well, that depends on your PC specs and what your project consisted of and what version of VMS you're using.

You wouldn't happen to have large JPEGs in the timeline, would you?
Chienworks wrote on 8/9/2010, 6:15 PM
If keeping the screen saver from kicking in was what saved you, maybe you should consider disabling it. It really doesn't help anything at all.
JS wrote on 8/10/2010, 4:14 PM
In response to MSmart: I am currently using some large BMPs, but they are framed so that the area on screen is no larger than 1024x768 pixels (with one exception, which is 1323x995).
In response to Chienworks: The screensaver is disabled. I'm talking about the monitor turning off after a period of inactivity, as you describe in your message of 8/4/2010.
MSmart wrote on 8/10/2010, 9:11 PM
What version of VMS?

Some large BMPs, how many? This could be your problem. I believe v9 resolved the large photo file problems, but earlier versions were notorious crashers when large photo files were used. What else is in your project?

To test, resize your BMPs to something smaller and use them instead to see if that helps.

Fill out your system specs: My Account > System information above.
HollowMan wrote on 8/11/2010, 7:17 AM
Check your Power Options in Control Panel. Make sure your power scheme is set to "always on" (the actual name depends on the OS you've got). This is different than the screen saver settings, and controls the CPU etc. in addition to powering off the monitor.
MSmart wrote on 8/11/2010, 10:06 AM
I don't think it's a Power Option issue.

For the record, I have both Screen Saver (with a Password) and Monitor Power Off enabled and I never have render crash issues.

Once we find out what version of VMS is used, we'll know if the photos could be the cause.
HollowMan wrote on 8/11/2010, 11:37 AM
I wasn't concerned about the monitor power off; I'm wondering about hibernating the CPU. I had a similar problem after I recently built a new PC - Steam was trying to download large files, and it always worked fine whenever I was using the PC, but every time I left for a long time I'd come back and the transfer had stopped. I took me a while to figure out that the default power option mode in Win7 was hibernating my CPU after a period of inactivity, and that's what was killing my downloads. Changing my power options fixed it. The fact that he rendered correctly when keeping the system up and running the whole time makes me wonder if he's got the same issue.
MSmart wrote on 8/11/2010, 12:04 PM
Ah, good point. Definitely worth a look then.
JS wrote on 8/14/2010, 3:13 PM
Problem solved. I finally followed through on what my own message of 8/9/10 suggested: In Windows XP Power Options, I set “Turn off monitor” to a time longer than the render would take. (The options “Turn off hard disks” and “System standby” were already set to “Never”; and “Hibernate” was disabled.) This is similar to but different from what HollowMan described. I can see why hibernation would cancel a render, but the monitor--?

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