Errors running show tonight

[caniac]

using the latest 3.1.2 and can't get the show to consistently play thru. after a reboot, it ran one and a half times and then said it couldn't read the show file.

is there a limit to the number of songs you can have in a show? currently have 20 in the queue.

[james campbell]

caniac wrote:

using the latest 3.1.2 and can't get the show to consistently play thru. after a reboot, it ran one and a half times and then said it couldn't read the show file.

is there a limit to the number of songs you can have in a show? currently have 20 in the queue.

I am using s3 also,18 songs in line no problems

[caniac]

james campbell wrote:

caniac wrote:

using the latest 3.1.2 and can't get the show to consistently play thru. after a reboot, it ran one and a half times and then said it couldn't read the show file.

is there a limit to the number of songs you can have in a show? currently have 20 in the queue.

I am using s3 also,18 songs in line no problems

mine is puking in odd places, half way in, a time and half in.

[heystew]

no thoughts yet.. but can you give some more details on your display?
Number of channels, etc. {nevermind on this one.. see you have 64}
Show computer specs.
Are you using DMX adapters? (if so, is the LorCommListener still running after it dies?)

[caniac]

heystew wrote:

no thoughts yet.. but can you give some more details on your display?
Number of channels, etc. {nevermind on this one.. see you have 64}
Show computer specs.
Are you using DMX adapters? (if so, is the LorCommListener still running after it dies?)

XP, 4gb ram, 160gb disk, Intel processor duo core (not the newer i3+). No DMX, almost all LED. Have a startup sequence then on to 19 songs. This PC ran my Halloween show just fine. all I have done since then is do a recovery and reformat the drive, layed down a fresh install of XP with all the patches. Had lots of other software on this unit at Halloween and was trying to clean it up a bunch.

[rwertz]

Do you have antivirus or automatic backup software running on the show PC?

I get occasional file access errors ever since I installed the software for my network backup drive. But it's only on my notebook, not my show PC.

[heystew]

hmm.. just firing off a list of ideas and things that i've had conflicts with in the past..

- power saving settings
- windows update
- windows firewall (can't imagine this would be related)

did you have the same service pack level on there before you wiped it?

i assume that pre-wipe it was a S2 upgraded to S3, whereas post wipe it is an S3 clean install

Is the FTDI driver (for the LOR USB adapters) the same version as it was before?

are you running any windows commands as part of your sequence? (for RDS, or something else)

[Paul Roberson]

I am running S3 with 26 sequences it loops and loops from start up time til shutdown, then runs a shutdown sequence.

Do you have the show enabled to "use compressed sequences"?



It would be interesting to know if you could load your Halloween show and run it just fine or not. You could do it during the day or after hours.

[Ken Benedict]

Check your computer like those people above and make sure you are plugged into a reliable power outlet that's not affected by other loads.

I had a computer that puked randomly until I found a neighbor's arc welder was throwing junk on the power line; added both an EMI filter and surge supressor and ran like a dream.

Maybe you're plugged into a circuit that gets a quick voltage drop when someone in the house uses the microwave or hair dryer?

Not being able to read the show file might mean the computer was "distracted" by some kind of software error recovery or a higher priority interrupt, like checking internet connections or indexing your files or auto-defragging or virus scanning while your show is running.

Just some ideas to look into.

Post your progress and what you've found, so others can learn also.

[caniac]

rwertz wrote:

Do you have antivirus or automatic backup software running on the show PC?

I get occasional file access errors ever since I installed the software for my network backup drive. But it's only on my notebook, not my show PC.

running Kapersky's but no backup software.

[caniac]

The only change from my show last season is S3, same setup, hardware, etc. Though I added two more controllers I hardly think that would be the culprit.

[jseaton]

Mine is doing the same thing. My show ran perfect Friday and Saturday (first 2 days this year) .... On Sunday, I upgraded to S3 3.1.2 and installed new RS485 drivers in prep for my new CCRs (not currently installed) ... then on Sunday night my show locked up mid way through the show ... I was not at home, bummer! I rebooted this morning thinking this would take care of the problem ... the show ran for 3 hours tonight without a problem, then it started to get errors in the status log ... it goes to closing announcement then starts the show over, plays the first song then closing and loops ... i get the message in the status log "Cannot read show file: ...." Then next msg "Ending Musical .... " Maybe this will help you .. and me?

[caniac]

Bert Seaton wrote:

Mine is doing the same thing. My show ran perfect Friday and Saturday (first 2 days this year) .... On Sunday, I upgraded to S3 3.1.2 and installed new RS485 drivers in prep for my new CCRs (not currently installed) ... then on Sunday night my show locked up mid way through the show ... I was not at home, bummer! I rebooted this morning thinking this would take care of the problem ... the show ran for 3 hours tonight without a problem, then it started to get errors in the status log ... it goes to closing announcement then starts the show over, plays the first song then closing and loops ... i get the message in the status log "Cannot read show file: ...." Then next msg "Ending Musical .... " Maybe this will help you .. and me?

yep, same here. Seems like S3 3.1.2 has a nasty bug or even E.Coli!! Hope they release a fix like yesterday. Not a big fan of running a show manually for 30 days!

[chartrand]

Running XP (32 bit) Pent 4 with all hot fixes, service packs and the new FTDI drivers. And I'm having weird problems to. Once my show finishes and the machine sits for awhile nothing will run on it anymore. I have no Power Saver anything enabled and the only software loaded is the OS, LOR software and my Projector utility to turn projector on and off with the show. A reboot fixes my problem so now I have a scheduled task to shutdown the computer at the end of the night and an auto power up set in the BIOS for just before the show starts. This resolves the issue. I just figured the hardware was getting old, maybe the hard drive would stop spinning and would not spin up again until a power cycle. But maybe it's something in S3 or a new XP Hotfix? Either way I have a work around now that seems to be working.

-Pat

[PaulXmas]

chartrand wrote:

Running XP (32 bit) Pent 4 with all hot fixes, service packs and the new FTDI drivers. And I'm having weird problems to. Once my show finishes and the machine sits for awhile nothing will run on it anymore. I have no Power Saver anything enabled and the only software loaded is the OS, LOR software and my Projector utility to turn projector on and off with the show. A reboot fixes my problem so now I have a scheduled task to shutdown the computer at the end of the night and an auto power up set in the BIOS for just before the show starts. This resolves the issue. I just figured the hardware was getting old, maybe the hard drive would stop spinning and would not spin up again until a power cycle. But maybe it's something in S3 or a new XP Hotfix? Either way I have a work around now that seems to be working.

-Pat

That would be a good suggestion for anyone that is having problems.

Reboot your PC before the show.

I had mine stop the first night as well.

I have disable the gateway so there is no longer access to the Internet. Disabled everything that is not needed including virus checker (since I am NOT connected to the Internet).

Windows has a "shutdown' command that can be scheduled.

I created a batch file called Restart.bat that will run at the end of the show and before the start just to clear things up.

[pixeldigger]

I had this same problem.
I UNINSTALLED LOR, then reinstalled it, and the read errors went away!

[Don]

pixeldigger wrote:

I had this same problem.
I UNINSTALLED LOR, then reinstalled it, and the read errors went away!

For my own clarification, you un-installed 3.1.2, then re-installed 3.1.2?

[JonB256]

Have you run the LOR Verifier routine? It will find lots of loose ends that can build up errors.

[heystew]

for those that have problems are you using DMX? If i remember correctly one of the big additions to 3.1.2 was the ability to use the Enttec DMX Pro natively (rather than as raw DMX).

[jseaton]

no dmx on mine ... tx Bert