BI crashes - Advice Prior to Computer Rebuild

[Donut17]

My HP Elitedesk 800 computer ran BI for a couple of years with no issues. For the past 2-3 months it refuses to run for more than 24 hours on average. About once a day when I sit down at the computer the computer is on but non-responsive (blank screen) and requires a hard reboot (hold power button to power down). I have been through a variety of things to get this working. I have tried numerous earlier versions of BI, reinstalled BI, rolling back computer drivers, new power supply, researched numerous System error codes. Nothing seems to help.

The computer runs fine for days without BI running!!!

Out of desperation, I am going to do a fresh install windows and then a fresh install of the most recent/stable version of BI.

My question is if there is anything else I need to do (sequence-wise) as I try to diagnose this mess? I have a export of BI settings but that could actually contain the issue (who knows). Could a single camera cause this? I have not added a new camera in nearly a year. I only have a couple of important videos which I have already saved on a flash drive so I will be reformating my storage drive as well.

Any advice or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

 

[wittaj]

Sounds like you have done the most commonly suggested things.

Other things are could it be memory going bad or a HDD starting to fail.

But yes one camera can go wonky and cause crazy things. I had a similar issue happen where BI would all of sudden crash all the time. It ended up being one camera.

So first disable every camera.

CPU should be at 0%. If not, you know there is a funky corrupt file.

Provided it stays at 0% then enable a camera and let it run awhile and see what happens.

Then keep adding a camera one by one and watch for the camera that causes it.

If for some reason you can't find it, it is best to build from scratch because as you said, any corrupt issues will follow it in.

 

[Flintstone61]

could very well be a hardware issue. Esp if its been running 24/7/365. Are you recording video to SSD or spinning drive? if the thing is stable with the spinner unplugged then it may be that drive. If its still Wonky with 1 drive running, then it may be the SSD or C:\ drive.
and or a Thermal paste issue on the processor or a ram fault...plugged up cooling etc.
The processor will run hotter pushing Cameras then idling along surfing Arjuns websites.

 

[Flintstone61]

try doing a massive file transfer to the Video storage drive and see if it acts up.
maybe run SMART

How to Check Your Hard Drive or SSD's Health With S.M.A.R.T.

Your drives have a host of useful diagnostic data hidden away. Here's how to read it.

www.howtogeek.com

 

[Donut17]

CPU should be at 0%. If not, you know there is a funky corrupt file.

With all cameras disconnected including the ethernet from POE switch to BI computer it fluctuates between 4-8%. Should this be exactly zero or close to zero like 4-8%? This has been going for the past 15 minutes thus far. I will keep monitoring it.

could very well be a hardware issue. Esp if its been running 24/7/365. Are you recording video to SSD or spinning drive? if the thing is stable with the spinner unplugged then it may be that drive. If its still Wonky with 1 drive running, then it may be the SSD or C:\ drive.
and or a Thermal paste issue on the processor or a ram fault...plugged up cooling etc.
The processor will run hotter pushing Cameras then idling along surfing Arjuns websites.

C: drive is ssd

file structure is:
C:\BlueIris\db
C:\BlueIris\Alerts
everything else goes to D: which is WD purple 6TB

 

[wittaj]

My 4th gen sits at 0% with all cameras disabled. It will jump to 1%, but 4-8% with no load, no that is too high. Many here are running 4-8% under normal BI load.

So you have something else going on. Did windows update and is now trying to run BI and videos thru antivirus?

Post a screenshot of your Task Manager to show what is eating up the 4-8% CPU.

 

[Donut17]

My 4th gen sits at 0% with all cameras disabled. It will jump to 1%, but 4-8% with no load, no that is too high. Many here are running 4-8% under normal BI load.

So you have something else going on. Did windows update and is now trying to run BI and videos thru antivirus?

Post a screenshot of your Task Manager to show what is eating up the 4-8% CPU.

that is with no cameras connected.

 

[JeffCharger]

A couple of suggestions to consider:
1) memory problem? If you have 2 sticks, remove one at a time and see if it disappears
2) power supply? Check the Event Manager to see if anything pops out.
3) heat? Run a heat monitor like “Core Temp”. If there’s a problem, Reset the processor with new grease.

 

[wittaj]

Yeah something isn't right. BI should be at 0% since everything is disable. Hardware failing or antivirus is running on BI.

 

[Jim I.]

Also make sure your Bios and chipset drivers are current. I just built a new PC for Blue Iris and am dealing with random crashes as well. The Windows event viewer app just reports an unexpected shutdown, with no details. I just loaded a new recently released Bios for my Asus Z590 motherboard yesterday. Don't know if that takes care of it or not. Time will tell..

 

[Donut17]

I really appreciate all of the ideas.

A couple of suggestions to consider:
1) memory problem? If you have 2 sticks, remove one at a time and see if it disappears
2) power supply? Check the Event Manager to see if anything pops out.
3) heat? Run a heat monitor like “Core Temp”. If there’s a problem, Reset the processor with new grease.

Forgot to mention I ran memtest and installed a new power supply with no luck. I'll give Core Temp a try.

Yeah something isn't right. BI should be at 0% since everything is disable. Hardware failing or antivirus is running on BI.

No antivirus installed. It does have the Antimalware crap from Microsoft running but that has been present forever it seems. I may try to stop it or uninstall.

Also make sure your Bios and chipset drivers are current. I just built a new PC for Blue Iris and am dealing with random crashes as well. The Windows event viewer app just reports an unexpected shutdown, with no details. I just loaded a new recently released Bios for my Asus Z590 motherboard yesterday. Don't know if that takes care of it or not. Time will tell..

Keep me posted. I may try to do a BIOS and chipset update just to be thorough.

 

[Flintstone61]

Add an exclusion to Windows Security - Microsoft Support

Find out how to stop Windows Security from alerting you about or blocking a trusted file, file type, or process, by adding it to the exclusions list.

support.microsoft.com

.

 

[Flintstone61]

 

[The Automation Guy]

You might want to start out by uninstalling and reinstalling just BI. See if that corrects the problem. If not, then a full wipe with OS reinstall might be in order.

 

[JeffCharger]

Rereading this thread, it certainly sounds like a BI problem. Do you have a restore point from 3 months ago - before the problem?

 

[Jim I.]

I really appreciate all of the ideas.



Forgot to mention I ran memtest and installed a new power supply with no luck. I'll give Core Temp a try.



No antivirus installed. It does have the Antimalware crap from Microsoft running but that has been present forever it seems. I may try to stop it or uninstall.



Keep me posted. I may try to do a BIOS and chipset update just to be thorough.

I can confirm the bios update didn't fix the concern with my new build. I think I'll just load Blue Iris on my trusty Dell Optiplex i5-6500 until I get it sorted out.