Enconding with DivX 5.05 turns my computer off

[carlosesteban]

Hi

A couple of weeks ago i started a thread about how DVDx 2.2 + DivX 5.05 turns my computer off during encoding. It turns out i tried to reencode an AVI with VirtualDub and DivX 5.05 and i have the same problem: the computer turns itself off inmediatly, no warning or error messages and it doesn't shut off Windows or anything; looks like a sudden and absolute loss of power.

I tried using DVDx or VDub with Xvid instead of DivX, and everything goes normally...

That makes me think that the problem is the DivX codec itself and not any of the help programs i use (DVDx, VDub, etc).

I have an AMD (1GHz Duron) system, but a friend of mine has a Intel (1GHz Pentium III) system and has exactly the same problems.

Any thoughts about it?

Thanx

[Kevin AMD]

Does the computer turn of right after you start to encode or does he turn of after the movie is encoded.

Anyway I don't think it is the codec itself but probably the endocing program that you are using. You could also try the 5.1 codec maby you don't have the problem anymore.

[carlosesteban]

It turns off after a while of encoding. I tried the 5.1 codec but i still have the same problem. The thing is XVid works all right with any encoding program i use, but DivX is the one present when problems arise

[BRTACAN2]

I'll bet you a donut that your CPU is overtemping and the bios is doing an emergency shutdown. Your Friend's box is probably doing it too. It doesn't do it right away because it takes time to build temperature while your CPU is 100% tasked.

What do you have in the way of a CPU heatsink?... intake/exhaust fans?

If that's what's happening, the way to fix it is to get a real heatsink. Or, better yet... pour some distilled water into your PC. Watercooling works wonders. See http://www.dangerden.com

[carlosesteban]

Unfortunately i have a laptop, so there's no space there to put a radiator. What nerves me the most is that this problem started very recently, everything used to work fine. And it's just a DivX problem.

Jikes :-S

[BRTACAN2]

I was just kidding about watercooling. It works great for me; but, it's not for the squeemish.

It's curious that you say Xvid doesn't cause shutdown. Everything you said except that is a classic presentation of CPU overtemp. Notebooks always have temperature issues. It's inherent to the compact design and lack of good airflow. Because of this, a laptop is an especially bad choice for an encoding machine. This goes triple if your room's ambient temperature is high/hot.

1] Go into your bios and look at the CPU temperature before starting an encode. After the shutdown, reboot and immediately check the temperature again. Check to see if your bios has overtemp shutdown, if it's enabled and at what temperature it trips. Compare the trip temperature to the bios temperature reading after you rebooted from shutdown.

2] Use system monitor to check the percent of processor tasking while encoding Xvid and Divx. It could be that Xvid tasks your CPU under 100%. That would surprise me... but it's worth a look.

3] Download the DOS program Prime-95. It does continuous loops of fast Forier transforms and compares your PC's results to known answers. I guarantee that program will task your CPU at 100%. If Prime-95 causes the same shutdown, it points to a heat problem, (assuming your not overclocked - not likely on a laptop). Prime-95 is used by overclockes for stability testing. If you can run Prime-95 for hours on end... overclock is stable. But in your case, it's a means to easily ensure your CPU is at 100% tasking for temperature testing.

4] Download a hardware monitoring program. This will allow you to monitor your CPU/system temperature in realtime. That way you'd see an overtemo before it hit. My Abit IT7-Max2 motherboard came with Winbond Hardware Monitor. Search the net for a monitor that will work for your laptop - depends on OS and motherboard.

5] Put your laptop slightly over an air conditioning vent, such that it has lots of cool air flowing on/around/in it. If your shutdown takes longer then that would confirm a heat problem.

Good luck...

[WildmanJoe]

BRTACAN may be right about your CPU overheating... another common problem could be a lack of power, usually among desktops. However you might wish to check that out for your laptop as well...

[BRTACAN2]

Wildman brings up a good point. I'm really not familiar with laptops or their power supplies. It could be possible that a dying battery could make your power supply choke on very heavy CPU tasking. Or the power supply itself could be failing and can't hold a heavy load anymore. Maybe try running you laptop off 110VAC with the battery removed. If that fixes it, then it's the battery. It's possible... worth a quick check.

The key is logical troubleshooting and experimentation. For example, when I finished building my latest PC, the bugger wouldn't POST. It would just say FF on the motherboard LED debug display. Everything checked out. Then I happened to try to boot with the front panel removed. Bingo - we have POST! As it turned out, the reset switch plunger on the front panel was a millimeter too long and holding the CPU in constant reset. One swipe with a Dremel and I was in business.

Experiment. Change one variable at a time. Eventually you'll isolate the promblem. Troubleshooting can be a real bugger... but it is VERY educational in the end.

Good Luck...

[carlosesteban]

Wow, thank you all for your advice... I'll try it all out and see what happens... I'll let you know f the results

[swright007]

Same problem

I am having the same shutdown situation when encoding with my PC. I have a 3 Ghz tower with 512 megs of RAM. After a while it shuts down when doing anything taxing on the processor. I am beginning to believe the power supply is faulty.