[mythtv-users] Recordings Fail

[Nick]

On 14/10/05, MacNean Tyrrell <dardack at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ok, so if my system is up for a day or longer, the system fails.  It doesn't
> crash.  I run mythbackend and frontend out of xterm windows.  After a
> restart it will record no problem forever, i mean i set it up to record like
> 10 hours on each pvr 250 (i have 2), with no problem.  But if it sits for
> awhile, than at times it fails.  Like i'll check the watch recordings and
> the last recording stopped at say like 41:00 into the show, and no more
> shows scheduled for after that recording will record.  If i try to go into
> the schedule recordings program guide, it locks up.  No errors are shown
> that i can see.  Next time it happens I'll try to write everything down, but
> i've never really seen any error messages.  It's almost like it fails to
> access the database or something.  It happens every couple days or every day
> even.  It's like i have to reboot the system every day at 5:00pm to make
> sure it records my shows for the nite.  It really sucks.  I never had this
> problem before with the same system.  The only change is the new 300gig
> harddrive.  Now i don't know if perhaps one of the PVR-250 has failed, but
> it's not always the same one that fails i think.  I'll try to record at
> different times to see if a certain one locks it up, but like lost records 1
> minute past 10: and i was recording law and order last nite, lost recorded
> fine on the first encoder, but law and order failed at 41:33 into the show.
> Other times there has been no other show recording so it was only the first
> recorder recording and that's failed, so don't think its that.  Could it
> really be the harddrive?  But why would it be able to start but not finish?
> I used to have a problem before this harddrive, where if i transcoded
> something, when it ended the same thing happened.  Like if i accidently hit
> the transcode button but than stopped it, it would do the thing where I
> couldn't access the program guide, locks up mythtv, and would stop any
> recordings in progress.  I know it only happens at the end, because i
> transcoded a DVD to XVID and it recorded all the shows while it was running,
> a few hours, but as soon as it finished, it locked up like that.  And it
> only locks up the program guide, i can go to watch recordings and stuff like
> that.  Don't know about live tv, never use it so never checked.  But now it
> does it almost every day, if not every day.  Can any one help?
>
>  New Hraddrive:
>
> Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300GB 3.5" IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive - OEM--
>  Video Card: SiS 315
>  Memory: PC 133, 2 128 sticks, 1 256 stick
>  2 pvr-250's, one recently RMA'd got a new one (recently, about 6 months)
>  KT133 mobo i believe,
>  AMD Athlon 850
>
>  Need anything else?

How about your linux/mythtv versions and the mythbackend and system
logs from the time the machine stops recording/hangs? They may contain
useful info.

Bearing in mind you're running a VIA-based system, it could be related
to DMA issues.

Nick