Thanks for your suggestion! I'm down to testing 4 patches. 1 patch so far causes the rendering thread to deadlock.

Most of the problems happen during the 2nd pass. Here is a list of patches and their outcome: Each patch was applied separately with the rest of the critical patches minus the other patches which also had caused problems.

KB840375 - Reboots computer
KB828035 - Render thread deadlocks
KB825119 - Render thread deadlocks or application error generated.
Renders 1st time ok. Shutdown Vegas. Start Vegas. Render again
and this happens.
KB824105 - Application error is generated

With hyperthreading off. Clean OS installed. All critical patches installed. Then there is no problem. 30 min DV takes 66 mins compared to previous 50 mins. This is a 32% increase in time :(.

With hyperthreading on. Clean OS installed. All critical patches minus those listed above installed. Vegas works. IE generates application error.

S0rt of -

Just got a new system - brand new. P4, 3.4ghz - with the new BTX form factor that is supposed to allow for cooler, quiter, air flow. (And it is *very* quiet - I had to check a few times at first because I didn't think it was even on - and this was with the case cover off!) Also SATA and PCI Express. Loaded up XP Pro with SP2 - this is, again, a new system - clean install on everything.

First I tried to render with the Main Concept Mpeg encoder. Tried two times and it wouldn't render it - just got an error that it couldn't be done. I thought maybe it had to do with the Vegas rendered DV file verses how MC handles it. (24p).

So I go to Vegas and load up the file and render Mpeg 2 with the de-fault DVA 24p setting. About 7 minutes into the render - power off and reboot. Freaked me out. Blindly thought there was a power outage for a moment - but than relized I do have the system on an APC BackUp. So I try it again - same settings and same thing happens. So for the heck of it I go into the settings and turn *off* hyperthreading - render goes fine with no issues.

Issue 2 came about yesterday - trying out DVDA so I am moving text around and suddenly I hear the fan speed up - poof, power off and reboot. Hyperthreading is *off*. The fan on this system is automatic based on the heat it feels, so when it speeds up I can guess the heat is rising. So I load it up again - listen with every thing I do - and sure enough - add text, enter it in and than move it towards the lower part of the menu I hear the fan rev up - power off and reboot.

I am afraid to try any sort of real editing now - but only the Sony apps have done this mind you. I have not loaded any/installed any Adobe apps yet - so when I get Photoshop on the system we will see what happens. If nothnig happens than something is weird in Sony land in reguards to hyperthreading and ??

Sounds like a graphics card problem to me, if its dropping out when you add text...


Flack

I am pretty sure it is a heat issue but I can't figure out why - conisidering my other system is much slower than this new one and it never one time shut down because of heat while rendering anyhting - even over a recent one week period with no break. Also turning off the hyperthreading solved the Mpeg 2 render issue - so that wouldn't be a graphics issue, it would be a CPU heat issue. As for the text I would agree - but here is the thing with that - I can add text and move it with no issues. However when I added thsi one line of text, reduced the font size and moved it to the *lower* part of the menu screen this happened. So why would moving text on the *lower* part only cause the graphics card to overheat? And keep in mind this is a new PCI Express (Although I am still confused because I have seen it as PCI X16 as well as Pci Express and I thought they were 2 different types) set up so there isn't a lot of info I could find on possible overheating issues related to 1> PCI-X/PCI Express 2> the BTX mobo and 3> hyperthreading. Sort of yes I can find many graphics related overheating issues - AGP and PCI, mostly related to gaming but very few, if any, related to Mpeg 2 render or DVDA text.

Try using PC Wizard and watch the cpu temperature. Could be the system is reporting the wrong temperatue and goes into shutdown.

http://www.cpuid.com/pcw

Here's a hot link (if i get it right)
PC Wizard

>>> Try using PC Wizard and watch the cpu temperature.<<<

Well...thank you!

So now it crashes all the time with this little toy. Temp shows like 31 or so. So I run Benchmarks - CPU test is fine but CPU shoots up to 100%. Start to run memory tests - power off and reboot. On reboot I click on the PC Wizard icon and as it loads - auto power off and reboot. Does the same thing 3 more times. So I boot up. Load up Vegas - Drop 3 DV files on timeline. Play it and I see CPU at maybe 20%. Move it to "best" and "auto" CPU goes up to 80%. Move it to "best" and "full" and CPU goes to 100% - this is with straight files, nothing being done to them at all!! So to give it a test I drop on the magic bullet pre-set with the black mist setting - power off and reboot.

So I shut down and walk away. Come back, take off the case cover and feel around - graphics card is cold (relativly speaking). CPU feels so-so - but no "boiling". Boot up and try loading the "PC Wizard" again - it loads this time. Check temps - 29 degrees. So I go to benchmarks and test the DX - CPU shoots up to 100%. FIrst test - ok. Second test ok - but the CPU is getting hotter and the fan is reving up. Third test - poof - shut down and reboot.

Ok, not a graphics card issue. CPU issue and this new "cooler running" BTX form factor it seems. Oh - this is all with Hyperthreading off.

And this really really sucks!!

EDIT - Opps - the "PC WIzard" thing is off - way off. I downloaded the Intel Monitor and it is much better, at least for this. The Processor is running at 136 F. And by all accounts that is a bit hot - according to the Intel Levels it is in the yellow - already borderline. And the other "zones" - Zone 1 is at 88 F and Zone 2 is at 111 F.

Right click My Computer...go to properties.....advanced......"startup and recovery" settings........deselect "automatic restart."
Now instead of a restart, it will crash normally and possibly give you error messages to help point to the problem.

>>>Right click My Computer...go to properties.....advanced......"startup and recovery" settings........deselect "automatic restart."<<<

VBeen there, done that. This was the first thing I did after the Mpeg render reboot. But it didn't help - there is no BSOD - the system just shuts off - cuts power. I have been doing mucho searching on this whole new BTX form thing and it seems the specs state that there is a "fail safe" that cuts the power if the sensors read too high of a temp. It sounds good in theory but it is like running your system with no form of power surge/backUps protection and haveing a power outage. *POOF* - no power, system goes down. This is that I have all that - and I see now it is pretty pointless because this design just shuts itself off anyway.

I will not give up on this - but the whole "new design" that prevents overheating is showing itself to be a real joke. THe sad thing is I have yet to do any sort of editing on it yet.

hmmm....

So I turned back on Hyperethreading. Loaded up Vegas and the same files from the other day. Mpeg2 render - watched temp. Wnet up about 10 degress on the CPU but stayed below the red zone. The other "Zones" seemed to be fine as well. Power off and reboot after about 3/4 minutes.

So I turn *off* the auto fan so they just loudly whiz at the full speed. Xp boots and here we go - temps are all about 10 degrees lower than "normal". Matter of fact at first all of them are below 100. Load Vegas - CPU pops up to about 100. Start render and it goes to maybe 124 - still 6 lower than when fans are on "auto". And it stays there - highest it gets is about 126. Hoping this solves it but - no - about 4 minutes in - power off and reboot.

So - not a heat issue and maybe not a hyperthreading issue - however as I said before if I turn off Hyperthreading the render works fine.

what do we know -

1> Heat doesn't seem to be fully it.
2> Mpeg 2 render from Vegas causes it when hyperthreading is on.
3> Movig text to a lower postiion ona menu in DVDA causes it with Hyperthreading off.
4> Running DX benchmarks with "PC Wizard" causes it - hyperthreading off.
5> Running memory benchmark with "PC Wizard" causes it - hyperthreading off.
6> ???

I hear you...Since I loaded SP2 on my machine my CPU sporadically goes to 50 to 70 percent at (presumably) idle times. Now with running vegas (more load) your problem exhibits itself at times. I've been even wondering if it is the SP2 thing or not however, my box had been doing this consistently since SP2 upgrade!!!

Perhaps it is time to try under-clocking? My antiquated Athlon XP runs just fine at rated speed, but when I kick off overnight render, it will frequently crash. So instead of running with 133MHz FSB, I run it at 100.

Maybe underclocking will yield some insight. Next step would be to start increasing the CAS/RAS parameters in the bios. If general slowing down fixes things, that might be a hint.

I am also running Vegas 5 with a 3.2 P4 HT with XP Pro, SP1 and SP2 plus all the updates including .Net. No problems to report here. Maybe its something else? ram??

A friend of mine was having spontaneous reboot problems with Vegas 5.0b on a brand new 3.4Ghz P4 with 2 gig of RAM. He had installed the OS (XP Pro SP2) and Vegas with 1 gig of RAM and then put in the second gig of identical RAM shortly afterward. What seemed to solve his problem was to remove the second gig of RAM. I have no way of knowing whether the second gig of RAM was simply flaky or that a piece of hardware, perhaps the video card, had reserved some address space in high memory when it was installed which was then occupied by the second gig of RAM when he put it in causing a memory address space conflict.

To get a better idea what is causing the crash, go into the control panel and open the "System" panel, then go to "Advanced" then "Startup and Recovery." UNcheck "Automatically Restart." This will now give you the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" on a crash with some potentially useful information about the crash instead of Windows just restarting.

John

Keep in mind XP remembers everything you put in or take out and sometimes this can be a problem as my guru buddy tells me. Also my P-4 3.4-800 with HT on runs 131F during the render with 2 gig ram. I also have a super-duper fan mounted on the processor, 6150 rpm.

JJK

One important consideration is to check your motherboard manufacturer for bios flash updates. The bios can be fairly old on new motherboards and the flash update can repair flaws as they are discovered.
My Asus m/b had two fixes: 1 for working with Ati video cards and another to fix ps/2 mouse freezes. Both problems that I was trying to resolve.
Although updating to the newest version "13" didn't work as well as version "10" which fixed the problem.
This PC is 2 weeks old, but the bios is a year old.

Just to cover everyones comments a bit -

1> Already did the "do not autoreboot" click - but the thing is that the system is *not* crashin - no errors, no BSOD - the problem is the new BTX spec which puts a momentary off switch oboard to kill the power before any overheating damages can be done. Thusly the system just kills power - however in watching the temp gauges there is not any sort os massive surge - at leats not CPU related.

2> Mobo bios - emailed Intel yesterday. They do not have this exact mobo listed - and I searched for it trust me. They have a few that are aclose and all have the "same" bios but when I tried to use that it just said it was not the correct bios. THe bios is from July, the newest bios in this mobo line is from August/September. But, as I say, it won't work with this board. So waiting on Intel on that one.

3> I keep thinking either video or memory related but in the tests i have done so far the memory seems fine. I have pulled it out and reseated it and I have switched it around. Not much luck.

4> Underclocking. Not too much I can do right now - from what I can see there aren't jumpers or bios settings that would allow me to go in either direction. There is a jumper for setting up BIOS/CMOS that right now is in "normal" but I will check it out in "Setup" and see what options might "magicly" appear.

I dunno if it is a good thing or a bad thing but I have never had this much of a problem with any computer before...I tweak all the time. This is brand new sytem with a freash install and really have not had any sort of chance to tweak - until this crash happened that is. Now I am looking under every crack I can.