[mythtv-users] Re: X runs at 90-95%CPU

[Alan Anderson]

So far this has turned out to be bad hardware.  The X running at 90-99% of 
cpu turned into a random hard system lockups that required a power cycle.

I originally built mythtv on a old athalon 1ghz box  that was working but 
it was just too noisy for the family room.  So I bought a Antec Overture 
case and a Chaintech 7NIF2 motherboard athlon 3200+ and 512m ddr400 memory 
as an upgrader box via a mail order hardware supplier.

The antec case has two slow speed fans designed to connect to standard 
power.  And the Antec power supply has two fan only power connecters 
designed to control speed and noise on standard cab fans.  The mail order 
company that put the MB into the case connected the slow speed case fans to 
the fan only connector.  So the case fans ran very slow and things got real 
toasty in the box. After cutting a half dozen cable ties I connected the 
cab fans to the correct power source.  Things are running cool now.  But I 
suspect I cooked something in the mean time.

I eventually got frustrated over the steady deteriation and ripped the 
chantech out and swapped it with another pc's MB with a via KT400 chipset. 
  Mythtv has been solid ever since.  The only wild card is the via agpart 
isnt detected properly on the KT400 MB.  But X peaks once in a while at 
20-25% of the cpu so im not worried about it for now.  And the picture is 
great (chaintech MX440 video card nvidia 1.0-1666 driver).  The same video 
card that I used with the chaintech MB.

Currently I am waiting on a replacement memory module, I'll test the 
chaintech MB in another system.  I probably wont be putting it back in the 
mythtv box.

A good memory test that identifed the flakey memory  http://www.memtest.org/

Things leaned.  I'll build my own systems next time.  That way I will know 
who to blame the mistakes on.

Thanks to all that helped.

-- 
Alan Anderson
andersonas at adelphia.net
Linux is user friendly.
Its just real picky about who its friends are.