Crash during the encoding process

[NightPredator]

My PC reboots automatically during the encoding process after having shown a blue screen, using any codec (Divx 5.0.3, Xvid, Divx 3.11 alpha). I don't think the problem comes from my RAM cause it is ok and in fact, I never had problems 'fore I reformat my HDD. I got a VIA motherboard, with the 4.38 4in1 drivers (I read on Divx.com that with old VIA motherboards, latest drivers were causing encoding crashes), a Geforce 4 Titanium 4200 with Detonator 40.72, an Athlon 1 Ghz, and 640 Mo SDRAM.

PS : I have deactivated the option in Windows "reboot automatically"... But still, my PC reboots automatically when it crashes !

[Enchanter]

Have you considered the issue of overheating CPU (Athlons run considerably hot)?

[NightPredator]

Well I did, but even when I start encode after having the PC off for a long time, the same thing happens.

[Enchanter]

The overheating can always occur anytime the CPU is running at its maximum, regardless of how long it was off before then.

Try adding more chassis fans or if necessary, leaving the side panel open. In addition, tidy up the cables in your case so as to improve internal airflow. If the crashes stop occuring, you know the cause of the problem now.

[NightPredator]

I'll try, but the funny thing is that I never had this problem til I reformat my HDD...

[Enchanter]

The few things that can contribute to the crash as well:
1. Not installing motherboard driver (prior to installing any other drivers and software)

2. Unstable component driver (I heard that nVidia's latest drivers are never stable; don't hold me on that though)

[NightPredator]

I know that latest Nvidia drivers are unstable, with these, I can't read Divx. The Detonator 40.72 are not the latest. But I will reformat one more time, cause I haven't installed my motherboard drivers before the others.

[NightPredator]

Somehow I don't think it's a driver problem... Anybody know how to prevent the automatics reboots (I already deactivated the option, but it still reboots automatically) ?

[NightPredator]

Finally my automatic reboot is desactivated... The error message (on the blue screen) is :

MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION

technical information :

*** STOP:0x0000009C (0x00000002,0x805365F0,0xF6002000, 0x0000017A)

[Enchanter]

Is the VIA 4-in-1 v.4.38 regarded as the new Hyperion set? You did say that DivX.com claimed that the Hyperion has stability issues with DivX encoding, but I think it won't hurt if you try to find it out yourself, or use a different codec like XviD.

If you happen to be using WinXP, you might want to give XP's built-in VIA driver a try as well (just don't install any VIA 4-in-1 driver after Windows installation).

Lastly, you should search the net for any meaning to that error message (I'm not an expert in decoding error messages). It should give you a clue to what went wrong during encoding.

Edit: Have you checked whether CPU overheating is at fault or not here?

[NightPredator]

No, the VIA 4in1 is an old driver. And I can't encode with any codec. But I'm gonna search on the net.

[NightPredator]

I decoded the message... It means a serious hardware problem

[Enchanter]

Any way you can find out what sort of hardware problem?

[NightPredator]

Yeah but I don't understand Microsoft's explications... All I understood was that I got a hardware problem... I'll check out the RAM.

[Enchanter]

If you are overclocking, tone it down. If you have set your RAM CAS to anything lower than 2.5, try bringing it up to 3 (stable as far as I know).

If your motherboard comes with preset defaults, try loading the stable/safe mode, which should ensure minimal hardware instability.