AutoGK Causes freeze up at "Analyzing Source"

[bnt]

Hi, I am having a problem with AutoGK causing my computer to completely freeze up. I have done a substantial amount of reading on this forum before this post, but I cannot seem to solve to problem. I have ruled out memory problems by running memtest86+ (3 full tests, 24 hours). I have ruled out processor instabilities by running Prime95 for 12 hours. I have ruled out cooling and voltage problems by monitoring with mother board monitor. The computer was recently built, and seems stable on all other programs. It is not over-clocked. The odd part is that AutoGK causes the computer to freeze at the same period during the encoding process: Analyzing Source. If the encoding process makes it past this part, it will complete with no problem. It freezes about half the time. I have shut down all unnecessary programs. I am running Windows XP SP1, and an AMD 2500 XP processor. I am running AutoGK 1.60. Many people seem pleased with AutoGK, so I am sure that my problem is related to my system and not the program. Any information or suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. If you need any more information about my system, please ask. Thanks

[len0x]

When does the freeze occur? Just when VDubMod appears for analysis task or somewhere in the middle?

[Taurus]

Originally posted by bnt
Hi, I am having a problem with AutoGK system

This is definitely not a hardware problem.
If it was a hardware malfunction, the machine would stop at random parts of the encoding process.
Did you install the full AutoGk package? I mean, Xvid, Avisynth etc.
or did you just update from a former release?
Try to deinstall all components, make sure DirectX is installed properly. I recommend DirectX 9c.
Install all components of the AutoGk full install package 1.60
Download from AutoGk Homepage (http://len0x.btothec.com/web3/index.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=1)
I'm using AutoGk right from the start, never had a problem. just a few bugs :D
Taskmanager should show only a few cycles(2-5%) before encoding starts
and almost 100% during encoding.

Cheers

Taurus
P.S.: Just saw, that len0x replied too.

[bnt]

Reply to Len0x: It always freezes in the middle. VDubMod always starts properly and then it usually freezes between 5% and 50%.

Reply to Taurus: This is my first version of AutoGK, so nothing was updated. All components that were included in the package were installed. I did download the DivX codec (5.2.1) separately, as it was not included in the package. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling everything, but that didn't solve the problem. I will check DirectX tonight and see if that fixes it.

Thank you for your replies!

[jggimi]

... it usually freezes between 5% and 50%.

Unless VdubMod stops at the same frame each time, hardware is still a suspect.

Does your Windows XP Event Log have any error messages at around the time that VdubMod stops working? (Check all logs.)

[Taurus]

Originally posted by jggimi
... it usually freezes between 5% and 50%.
@jggimi
you're right. I guessed it stopped always at the same frame during
analyzing run.
I better read more carefully ;)
@bnt
A few years ago I had a similarly problem on one of my machines
with dvd2svcd. After successfully doing all burn-in tests(memory+cpu)for hours, it turned out to be, one memory stick was faulty. It was a time consuming thing to find out, just by try and error.
Video encoding stresses a pc to its limits, even the motherboard drivers and dma settings of the harddrives should be taken into consideration for errors.
Maybe switching bios to safe settings and retry as a starting point.
Happy hunting

Cheers

Taurus

[bnt]

Thank you everyone for your posts. Without places like this, I would never have found my problem.

As it turns out, there was a hardware instability. Before speaking to everyone in this forum, I had ruled out any hardware problems. For some reason, the system was unstable with two sticks of memory, in both dual and single channel configurations. I initially thought I had a bad stick of memory, because when I removed one, I no longer experienced crashes. But then I swapped the memory, expecting more freezing (as a result of swapping the "bad" stick back in), but it didn't happen. All that I can conclude is that the mother board may have a problem handling two sticks of memory. I may try to update/reinstall the motherboard drivers and then give two sticks a try again.

It was odd that multiple full memtest86+ scans didn't reveal any problems. This threw me off significantly, because I ruled out memory as a problem. I kept chasing after a problem somewhere else that didn't exist. Thanks again for placing me on the right track.