System Lockups
 

I bought it today and after a random amount of time the screen locks up. The PC is fine as I CTRL ALT DEL out of it but I don't like the fact it is totally freezing. Sometime 10min sometimes 30min. Heat is not an issue(ask how I know) as both video, case and cpu are VERY well cooled. NO other 3d ssaver, app or game locks liek this so it is this program but since this ss is AWESOME I'd like to fix this ASAP.

Is the computer freezing, or just the screen saver?

just the saver because if I hit ctrl alt del and end task I am back to desktop (XP Home SP2), newest drivers on everything

What if you hit SPACE, or ESC?

Are you running any other programs which might use DirectX like Folding@Home, NetMeeting, some sort of Active Desktop, etc.?

I can't say I've ever heard of the situation you are describing.

What video card are you using, which driver versions, and what version of DX do you have running?

6800GT 256mb, no other intensive programs running(outlook, nav), 84.21 drivers, DirectX 9c, dxdiag shows all ok

What version of the screensaver do you have and where did you buy it?
If you pm me a DxDiag report after running all the video test, that might help.
The MSInfo32 report will also help, just to see if anything in your system is causing the lockup.

The latest drivers are actually 91.31, you can try those if you wish and see if it makes any difference. I do actually remember reading somewhere that there was a problem with one series of the latest drivers, but I can't remember if it was for SLI only or what.

First I would go into the settings and set the frame rate of the program down to about 50 or so and see what that does using the drivers you have now.

To get a DxDiag report, Start menu -> Run... -> "dxdiag". That runs the DirectX Diagnostics. You can generate a report in there and send it to Edgar by clicking on his name and going to "Send a private message to Edgar". Edgar is one of the developers of the Aquarium architecture that MA runs on top of. This isn't like most companies where it's impossible to get ahold of the right people. ;)

I'd avoid 91.31 which has a big in-your-face bug (endlessly telling you it has disabled SLi on single-card systems) and click on the beta link to get 91.33 if I were you - works fine for me (on a 6800GT).
http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_do...bit_91.33.html
(Of course your mileage might vary, as my American friends are fond of saying...)
John

Thanks J. Maybe that was the one I was thinking of. I knew I had read about a bug with something but I couldn't remember which version it was. :TU:

I'll try the new drivers and pm a dxdiag over. It is whatever version is on serenescreen.com as I just bought it there yesterday

I just looked at the dxdiag report and I can't see anything obvious right now.
You said that it only fails on the screensaver. I assume you have 3D games or 3D screensavers that works just fine. Is this right?

You are correct. Heavy 3d games and savers work fine. I just updated to the video drivers posted above

Just installed GeForce 6200 board in my older computer with 91.47. Screensaver locked up upon exiting. Read this thread and downloaded and installed 91.33. Now at 1600x1200 at 78fps on an old Sun 21" cad monitor. Looks just about unbelievable.

I did have a real session changing. Finally used DH Driver Cleaner Professional Edition. First time I "winged" it, second time I actually read the "Readme.txt" instructions.

Next project is selecting a board for my newer machine, Gateway MCE dual-core 2.8 with ATI HDTV OTA capture board. Looking at GeForce 6800 and 7800 specs. Can't see an advantage of the 7800.

I do need something that outputs to HDTV. Plan to break down and buy one soon.

The 7800 series replaced the 6800 series. Forget the 6xxx as they run way hotter with lesser performance. The 7800 has since then been replaced by the 7900 series. IIRC the 6800 series GPU can't help decode H.264 stuff which the later models can.

Edit: Stupid typo incorrectly negating the last sentence.

well since going to the drivers in the link above 91.33 and no problems so far (fingers crossed)

Deezul,
I am glad to hear that you fix your problem. I had no idea what was causing your problem.

In 6 years of doing this now, I have found that alot of the time a driver change can do wonders. Even the best of drivers that seem to work with about everything else can still cause problems with certain apps for unknown reasons. If its an un-documented problem that seems to have no reason to be happening, thats usually the best place to start.

It did lock up once today but it's not nearly like it was.

Screen Freeze / Mouse issue
 

MA2.6 . The screensaver will freeze after a short period of time 10min - 15min... The mouse arrow is visible on the screen..I move the mouse and the screensaver continues. I've tried different resolutions, 16/32 bit etc.. toggle the exit on mouse on and off and the problem is the same. This problem does not occur with any other screensavers (original xp ss). The keyboard and mouse is a Logitech LX300 cordless and I feel it may have something to do with the 'wireless' refresh ?
winxphome
lenovo J105 w/ built in video
all drivers that are available are up to date
Thank you for any help.

Hanging with ATI Board
 

I have a ATI 9700 All-in-wonder. I have installed the latest drivers, but it still hangs the entire system if Serene screen runs for any length of time. :sad: I have ordered a X800 AIW in the hopes that will solve my problem. Anyone else have problems with ATI video cards?

GregD and oldgeezer - Are you using "Limit Frame Rate"? If so, what frame rate?

I have an ATI 9600 AIW and have had no problems. However, I run MA 2.6 from a desktop shortcut and limit the frame rate to 37.

Yes I set the frame rate lower
 

and yesterday I got the X800 installed and so far it seems to work better. It even gets some cable channels I was having trouble with on the 9700 board. I suspect the 9700 board was starting to go bad. :(
I will keep you informed as time goes on.

It's too bad there's still so much mystery about getting HDTV tuners for PCs. It could be really easy if they tried.

Almost all the shows on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, WB, and whatever became of the UPN stations from 7pm-11pm are HDTV.

You can get an HDTV tuner for your PC for $99 *if* you have an ATI card with MPEG-2 decoder (most do) or a fast enough processor to do software decoding. Alternately you can get an HDTV tuner with on-board decoder for about $189. Add component video out (to drive an HDTV) for another $60-80 either as a daughter card or built in depending on model. There are several models out there.

I'd love to just get the $99 one but I don't want an ATI video card because of the free bonus feature it comes with: ATI Driver Nightmare Platinum Edition. ;)

hahahahaha

ATI Drivers
 

I totally agree about the ATI driver nightmare. They don't seem to test them very well. I have the latest MMC and it forces tivo like recording. I would rather have a choice.:confused:

After finding an older version of the ATI Driver and MMC 9.08 I have had NO lockups or crashes for 2-3 days (knock on wood) Hopefully by staying with the older driver I can continue to enjoy the screen saver and TV without problems.

I have used a ATI OTA HDTV Wonder for some months now with no problems running with MCE. I use "Kram" drivers that allow me to run without an additonal tuner board. Lots of Houston stations, easy editing with VideoReDo. Think I paid 99 on ebay, it was some time ago. Picture and sound quality are great. I only use on monitor and have no HDTV out card yet - nor HDTV to out to!

I thought Star Trek The Original Series remastered was pretty underwhelming. The restored picture was great, but the effects could have been so much better. I think they should try to do the effects as good as the Trek films were.

Strange everybody seems to have problems with ATI drivers. I never did, and I often update mine.

problem is back....only happens ocassionally..using newest nvidia drivers.

hi...i have an ati chipset, not card. i put in a hd dvd i got from the library on caves, it was great. it also had a reg dvd in same container too, what a diff. does that mean i only need a reg. tv card to get hd tv.

Similar problem, with NVidia GeForce 6200. The whole system hung after a random period of time.
Switched the driver from 91.47_forceware_winxp2k_english_whql.exe to 91.47_forceware_winxp2k_international_whql.exe and it seems to have stopped the freezes but still tells me that Windows Explorer has hit an unrecoverable error each time I exit the aquarium. I'll keep troubleshooting and post any findings here.
________________
mark

Thanks for the info, Mark. Even with many millions of units out there (mostly the free demo), this problem is incredibly rare. Because of this, and the fact that no two computers are exactly the same, it is very hard to find a solution which will work every time. Changing drivers has often worked in the past, so that's about all we can recommend unless new clues surface.

Some good news! Limiting the frame rate to 50fps on a dual 1280x1024 display seems to have solved the lock-up problem (24 hours with no problem). MS still seem to occasionally want a piece of the action, but far less often than before. Strange as it may seem, there does seem to be a difference between the English [US] and the International [English UK] driver versions, with the latter working better on my Brit-English-speaking screens. :loco: Jim, in view of this, please can we have some fish with British accents in the new version?
_____________________
Mark

Do you want Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, John Cleese, or someone else? ;)

http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_pictur...e/int-fish.jpg

:lol: Excellent! (...and still working...)