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[datdude]

My HTPC goal as of late has been to get my system running as smoothly as possible with few system freezes and crashes.  This thread I hope will be mostly software focused rather than hardware since I don't plan on building a new HTPC anytime soon and my PC hardware is pretty solid imho.

Jim has a great thread on solving freak problems here as well (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=24031.0).  

Things I have done to make my system more stable:

1) Make sure that MC does not have anything running in the background that could cause a problem. This includes any plugins such as last.fm and processes such as Auto Import.  I have tried to disable everything like that.  I don't have an exhaustive list however so if anyone else has things that they have done inside MC to make it more stable, please let me know.

2) Running msconfig.exe and services.msc to make sure that there are no unnecessary processes or services running in the background.  I think I have done a pretty good job of this.

3) In spite of those things, and having very fast machine, my HTPC still seems a bit slow with MC and other processes sometimes locking up as well.  To attempt to solve these problems I have done a few things:

a) I Installed a program called process lasso (http://www.bitsum.com/prolasso.php) that is great for making sure that certain processes such as MC are always given a higher CPU and thread priority over other programs.  This has really helped me out with a variety of problems.  It also can be used to make sure that if MC is terminated that it will automatically restart the process, and if certain processes start that you don’t want to, you can create a list that it will automatically kill those pesky processes that won’t die.

b) Installed a program called UnFreeze (http://download.cnet.com/UnFreeze/3000-2094_4-10775561.html) that you can set a hotkey to kill any focused process even if it has frozen so that you don’t have to open up task manager and kill the process manually.  When I press the hotkey MC will shutdown, and in combination with Process Lasso, will automatically restart with one click of a button on my remote.  It really is very nifty!

Unfortunately my system is still really not that stable and murphy’s law would have it that something always goes wrong (MC or some other program freezes manaully) when I have family or friends over. :-(  If I knew the culprits I would fix them but it just seems like it is never ending.  I would truly like to make my system rock solid like a kiosk or xbox 360 type of system.  How do those types of systems which are probably running Linux not Vista, become so stable, but I can’t get my HTPC to be the same?

Please post any tips you have!

Thanks

[Mr ChriZ]

I'd be careful playing with thread priorities.  I've had quite a play with this in the past.  What I found was that putting anything above normal thread priority meant that apps started fighting Windows for processor time.  There's a lot of crap that Windows is doing in the background that it NEEDS to do.     When it can't do it the system starts locking up anyway.

As a side mention.  I've used Windows Steady State to help setup machines at work which are completely locked down like a kiosk.  So far these machines are proving reliably stable and quick because nothing else gets installed on the systems.
Probably not applicable to your situation, but it is a nifty program.

I'm running MC on a bog standard Dell box, and I've not had any stability problems in a long time with Windows or MC.
Maybe it would be an idea to focus on what the exact problems are that you are seeing and when you're seeing them?

[datdude]

In the 5 years or so since I started using MC, I have never had it truly stable where it never crashes.  Again, for the most part it is pretty stable, but it's always annoying when for example a few days ago (before I installed process lasso), I woke my machine up from sleep, and MC instantly froze and had to be killed in Taskmanager..  Not sure why as I have never had that happen, but it happened.  Hasn't happened since however.

I agree though, the best way to solve crashes is to figure out the exact problem, but I am just wondering what others do that are best practices to prevent problems before they occur.

[JimH]

In the 5 years or so since I started using MC, I have never had it truly stable where it never crashes.  Again, for the most part it is pretty stable, but it's always annoying when for example a few days ago (before I installed process lasso), I woke my machine up from sleep, and MC instantly froze and had to be killed in Taskmanager..  Not sure why as I have never had that happen, but it happened.  Hasn't happened since however.

MC was probably waiting for Windows when that happened.  There are Windows bugs. 

[datdude]

Exactly!

This is not to say it was MC's fault just that weird things happen and in a TheaterView environment with a remote control, freezes, crashes, etc. are the worst thing that can happen.

Just trying to get a thread going with ideas on how to make it as stable as possible.

[JimH]

That's fine.  Thanks.  The link in my signature called Stability is a good resource.

It's a complex subject.  I've been on the receiving side of the problem reports for a couple of decades.  Windows has issues.  Video drivers have issues.  Networks have gotten more complex.  Virus checkers, spam blockers, etc.  

Hardware also doesn't always perform as expected.  Overclocking, overheating, overeager applications, etc.

Jim has a great thread on solving freak problems here as well (http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=24031.0). 

Just for clarity, that thread is entirely devoted to problems that were not MC problems.

Good luck trying to make sense of it!

[skeeterfood]

My most annoying problem is that when my machine resumes from standby the resolution goes back to 1920x1080 instead of the 1848x1038 I have my desktop "resized" to under the Nvidia drivers to deal with the overscan on my Sony SXRD TV.  As soon as I open the Nvidia control panel, it snaps back to the correct resolution.  This is under Windows 7 RC with an Nvidia 8400GS.  At least it's better than it was under Windows XP.  Under XP, when resuming from standby, sometimes the display would just stay black.  Some sort of HDMI sync issue.

I see Nvidia just released a new driver 190.62.  Off to see if it fixes the problem...

-John