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Author Topic: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?  (Read 3721 times)

Vocalpoint

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Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« on: November 05, 2010, 09:25:06 am »

Morning!

I am continuing to have issues in .142 using the Convert function - especially with the "4 files at at time" option on. I am converting FLAC to MP3 exclusively. With some conversions - I make it thru to the end with no issues...on most tho - a few files will convert and then MC will hang for 10 -15 secs at a time before it moves to the next track. In a number of cases - several of the conversion threads will just stop (they seem to freeze at like 59%, 16% etc and never recover. In a conversion today...three of the four threads/tracks seemed to freeze out....and MC hung for over a minute. When it finally burped back to life....only one conversion thread kept on....while the other three sat frozen.

I thought it may have something to do with conversions to network locations vs local...but I have seen the freeze occur even if the FLAC files are local and I am converting local. Not sure what's the deal is...but I do a LOT of conversions and this "freezin' is new within the last half dozen builds (few months)....something has changed somewhere.

I will try to log this - but haven't been able to get it captured as of yet.....no other major changes like Antivirus etc...but I will try a few things to ensure there is not a conflict somewhere

If anyone else has seen this (there were a few folks a few weeks back) would like to know if you are seeing any issues with 142....

VP
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glynor

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2010, 09:52:04 am »

I wonder.... I'm seeing similar performance issues when syncing to my generic handheld (which involves lots of automated conversion from FLAC to MP3, JPEG resizing, and other similar processes).  The issues are particularly bad when I'm trying to sync using my Library Server client (my HTPC).
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bob

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2010, 04:27:17 pm »

Interesting..
VP are you using library server as well??
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Vocalpoint

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2010, 09:33:02 pm »

Interesting..
VP are you using library server as well??


No. I have two libraries - one lossless and one lossy. Both reside on a Windows Home Server box. The general conversion process is always FLAC to MP3 - so all of this happens over the network. But I have found freezes and delays even when converting locally. I did tell my AV to leave the main Media Center exe alone....question tho - is there a separate process running when converting (like another exe file?) I tested a few albums and nothing definitive yet....

Cheers!

VP
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mark_h

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2010, 04:26:08 am »

Same issues here.  Some conversion threads simply stall, while others continue quite happily.

No library servers here - just converting my FLAC library to mp3 for use with handhelds.  Work being done over network from my NAS box using UNC paths, not mapped drives.

Problem is I cannot replicate it - in other words it doesn't see to be related to specific tracks...

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mark_h

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2010, 05:39:33 am »

Also, music that is currently playing eventually freezes - only way to get it going again is to stop the track and start over...

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mark_h

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2010, 05:40:12 am »

Oh, and now I notice that one of my tracks is currently processed at 1637% and climbing :D
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Gl3nn

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2010, 09:29:12 am »

I found a couple of instances recently where the conversion is REALLY slow - as in, an incremental 1 "% complete" every couple of seconds.  This, going from one aggregate FLAC/CUE file to individual tracks, two at a time.  In the past, whenever I looked, the progress would be so speedy that I couldn't focus on the numbers as they progressed.

The jobs always completed, however. 
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JimH

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2010, 10:50:38 am »

No library servers here - just converting my FLAC library to mp3 for use with handhelds.  Work being done over network from my NAS box using UNC paths, not mapped drives.
It would be helpful to test this without the NAS (using local files).

Also, please try to eliminate the virus checker as a source.
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mark_h

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2010, 12:06:34 pm »

It would be helpful to test this without the NAS (using local files).

Will try to find the time and report results.

Quote
Also, please try to eliminate the virus checker as a source.

I don't use a resident virus checker.

Cheers,

Mark
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JimH

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #10 on: December 15, 2010, 02:07:41 pm »

This turned out to be not a virus checker, but Acronis backup software.

Mark wrote Matt as follows:
> I use Acronis Non-Stop Backup to keep an ongoing mirror of my main
> drive.  If I turn it off, MC's conversion process is swift and fault
> free.  With it on, I have all the hiccups and problems we've been
> discussing.
>
> Thing is, the Acronis software is only monitoring my C: drive and my
> MC temp directories all point to separate unmonitored folders on other
> physical drives...
>
> I have now turned logging off again, which I see is written to the C:
> drive and that has also helped.
>
> Either way, it looks like Acronis Non-Stop Backup and MC aren't the
> best bedfellows...
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rjm

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #11 on: December 15, 2010, 02:38:13 pm »

I am not familiar with the details of this problem but I wonder if there still might be a subtle problem with MC.

I have observed for years, and have reported in the past, that MC sometimes misbehaves (i.e. locks up) when it has to share hard drive access with another application that is disk intensive.
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mark_h

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Re: Sporatic freezing with Convert in recent builds?
« Reply #12 on: December 16, 2010, 08:52:29 am »

Another observation I made before finding a conflict with Acronis Non-Stop backup was that if I switched to processing one file at a time it always worked - when I upped things to multiple conversions the freezes would kick in...
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