Problem With Computer

[philly87]

Hi there, all you fellow music members.
I just recently ran into a problem with my computer. I have a MusicProXPC model M6, and I have a question for you. This only happens on rare occasions, but it seems that sometimes, when I'm working with my computer, the whole machine becomes unresponsive and goes dormant. This usually happens if I've had my computer on for several hours at a time. I know I have plenty of disk space on my hard drive, because it would usually tell me if I'm running low on disk space. I have all the power options (Turn off monitor, turn off hard disks, and System Standby) set on "Never", and I know that the AC Power is plugged in and turned on, so I don't know why this happens. What causes a computer to go dormant? How do I fix it?

[Danny Danzi]

Does it come back to life or do you have to reboot it? What version of Windows and is it upto date with all the Win updates etc? When this happens, can you hit ctrl/alt/del and see how many system processes you have running and is your cpu at 100%? How much ram is being used when you see this?

Something may be running that kicks in and takes over the system. There are many things that can cause issues like this. Even memory leaks due to an OS that needs to be updated or maybe even RAM going bad.

Or, how about your power supply. Have you added new things that may be taxing the power supply? Does it run hot at all? Might even be a temperature problem or something. Not quite sure what to tell you on this, but I'd start by examining all the programs you have running when this happens and what your CPU and RAM usage is at that time.

Do you scan disc and defrag often? That's a good habit to get into...especially if you use the pc for audio. Sorry I can't be more helpful...but at least some of these things will give you a start as to what you may want to look into. Go Phillies!!!

(philly fan here right over the Walt Whitman in South Jersey...lived on 6th and Moore for quite a while.)

[philly87]

Originally Posted by Danny Danzi

Does it come back to life or do you have to reboot it? What version of Windows and is it upto date with all the Win updates etc? When this happens, can you hit ctrl/alt/del and see how many system processes you have running and is your cpu at 100%? How much ram is being used when you see this?

Something may be running that kicks in and takes over the system. There are many things that can cause issues like this. Even memory leaks due to an OS that needs to be updated or maybe even RAM going bad.

Or, how about your power supply. Have you added new things that may be taxing the power supply? Does it run hot at all? Might even be a temperature problem or something. Not quite sure what to tell you on this, but I'd start by examining all the programs you have running when this happens and what your CPU and RAM usage is at that time.

Do you scan disc and defrag often? That's a good habit to get into...especially if you use the pc for audio. Sorry I can't be more helpful...but at least some of these things will give you a start as to what you may want to look into. Go Phillies!!!

(philly fan here right over the Walt Whitman in South Jersey...lived on 6th and Moore for quite a while.)

It usually comes back when I restart the computer. I run Windows XP with Service Pack 3. The thing that always stays on is JAWS (Job Access With Speech), which is a requirement for me because I'm totally blind, and it's a screenreader that talks to me. Along with my screenreader, I usually only have one program running at a time. My wireless internet connection is always turned off when I run Sonar, Sibelius, or even Kontakt. The only time I turn on the wireless internet connection is for downloading updates of programs. My computer doesn't run hot unless the weather's hot outside. The only things that are on the same power strip as my computer are my mixing machine and my external hard drive, and neither of these take up a lot of power.

[Danny Danzi]

Wow philly, you covered all the bases there. I have no idea what could be causing this. It sounds like you're in good shape. Maybe have a pc tech take a look at it? The only thing I had remotely close to what you're saying (and you already mentioned you had your power option set to none so it can't be this) is when I used to allow my hard drives to power off/down. Sometimes when I shook my mouse to wake them, nothing would happen...like they went to sleep and didn't feel like waking up or something. The last time it did that to me, I disabled that and it never happened again. But that's the only time I've ever gotten any type of unresponsive behavior. So sorry I can't be more helpful. Hopefully one of the other guys may chime in here.

[jagcmos]

Philly87,

A lot of programs these days periodically contact the author's website, and check for automatic updates.
Maybe with the wireless connection disabled windows freezes when checking for a update.

Another thing you might want to check is if you have any scheduled tasks on windows that could be running and freezing the pc.

[Xplora]

I'd have another check regarding the heat. My laptop for work runs perfect all the time unless we block off the ventilation then it slows RIGHT DOWN. You might be surprised. Hot to you and me isn't necessarily hot to a computer, and vice versa.

[garww]

I would still look into the powersaver type processes. Some USB driver stuff causes me problems.

[newkid]

Originally Posted by philly87

Hi there, all you fellow music members.
I just recently ran into a problem with my computer. I have a MusicProXPC model M6, and I have a question for you. This only happens on rare occasions, but it seems that sometimes, when I'm working with my computer, the whole machine becomes unresponsive and goes dormant. This usually happens if I've had my computer on for several hours at a time. I know I have plenty of disk space on my hard drive, because it would usually tell me if I'm running low on disk space. I have all the power options (Turn off monitor, turn off hard disks, and System Standby) set on "Never", and I know that the AC Power is plugged in and turned on, so I don't know why this happens. What causes a computer to go dormant? How do I fix it?

lots of reasons for it
wouldnt try to list them all
check some pc problem sites

could be power saving crap
just cause you turned somethign off in one place
doesnt mean win doesnt have it on somewhre else
their braindead way of controlling things is bizarro to say the least - you have to turn crap off everywhere to be sure

could be bugs in sp3 if you dled instead of install from a cd
could be memory leaks
could be incompatible programs
could be "services" decidign they know better than you do
somebody may have phoned home - never attach to the internet
could be insufficient ram and something is thrashing
could be heat problems -
could be intermittent ram or disk errors
and the list goes on

take it to a reliable pc fixit shop

[brandondrury]

could be memory leaks

This was going to be my answer. This is the jargon a programmer uses to refer to a computer that uses more and more RAM over time even when the program doesn't appear to be doing anything.

It's a very common problem on many computers I've seen and had. Your best bet is to accept the fact that you have to restart and go from there. (Assuming that it's only a problem after going dormant)

Brandon