Random crashing in background

[Slugsie]

I'm getting a lot of random crashes when NB is left running in the background. I usually just leave it there and let it download the latest headers every 5 or 6 hours, and then check to see if there is anything of any interest when I can. This is how I've used NB for years now with no problems. But with v6 it just crashes and I get a Windows message letting me know it's not responding. There is no error message, nothing I can use to immediately pin it down. Sometimes it runs for a few days OK, sometimes just for a few hours.

NB v6 b1019 x64 (upgrade from v5)
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
4GB RAM
Plenty of disk space free.

[Quade]

I don't really know. There's not much to go on. Is it downloading in the background or just sitting? Do you have "Fail encrypted files" checked?

[Slugsie]

I'm sorry, I know it's not a lot to go on, but it's all I have really.

I get the feeling that it might be related to downloading headers in the background. I'm 99% sure that it won't be downloading bodies as I only ever download stuff manually, and so it's unlikely that any body download will be going on. I don't have 'Fail Encrypted Files' checked.

One slightly odd thing that I've also just noticed, not sure if it's related. I'm using the Astraweb Europe server as my master server (with the Secure Europe server as a slave), and body downloads seem to hang every now and again. When I do a 'Download latest' it queues up all 20ish groups, and downloads most of them quite quickly. However some of them (the bigger ones) occasionally stop with the throughput meter dropping to zero for anything up to maybe a minute at a time. Then it'll kick back in and I'll get 20+Mbps (I have a good line and I can see anything up to 120+Mbps on headers with compression).

If there is any way to enable better diagnostics/logging let me know and I'll do it.

As this is an upgrade from a V5 database I'm wondering if I should maybe start the DB from scratch - without losing my settings, filters etc. Would doing a 'Delete stored posts' do the trick, or is there more?

[mho]

However some of them (the bigger ones) occasionally stop with the throughput meter dropping to zero for anything up to maybe a minute at a time. Then it'll kick back in and I'll get 20+Mbps (I have a good line and I can see anything up to 120+Mbps on headers with compression).

What kind of disk are you keeping your headers on? Updating the database can be quite disk intensive, so a USB disk (or a netbook) will have trouble.

If you enable DEBUG logging (Options->Options->Advanced->Status Tab Logging: Debug) and get tons of

Code: Select all

[12:02:50] DEBUG  NRF  - Spool: P:\NewsBin\Data\SPOOL_V6\alt.binaries.test\Storage.db3 Loaded: 2548 Bytes

while it "hangs", that's probably it.

- mho

[Quade]

There's an option in the settings called "Background Update". You might try turning it on before a header download. The header download will be faster but, it'll take longer for the new records to show up in you post listings.

[Slugsie]

What kind of disk are you keeping your headers on? Updating the database can be quite disk intensive, so a USB disk (or a netbook) will have trouble.

If you enable DEBUG logging (Options->Options->Advanced->Status Tab Logging: Debug) and get tons of

Code: Links not allowed for unregistered users

[12:02:50] DEBUG  NRF  - Spool: P:\NewsBin\Data\SPOOL_V6\alt.binaries.test\Storage.db3 Loaded: 2548 Bytes

while it "hangs", that's probably it.

It's all running on a reasonably fast SATA drive. I never had an issue like this with v5 on the same setup.

I've enabled the debug logging mode, but unless it's logged to a file I may not be able to actually read the log.

@Quade, I've enabled that option too.

Lets see how it runs now.

[Quade]

Newsbin trades more intensive insert effort for faster loading and searching. If you're downloading headers on a fast pipe for multiple groups, no SATA can really keep up. Background updates spreads out the insert time over a longer period.

[Slugsie]

Well, I've done all that, and it still crashes. It seems to do it when it's been left to run in the background, and I then click on the entry in the taskbar to bring the window to the front. I get the outline of the window, but no contents, and then after a few seconds it crashes.

This is quite annoying as V5 has been the paragon of stability, often running for a week or more with no issues. In fact I doubt v5 crashed more than 2 or 3 times on me since it was released.

[DThor]

Sadly, without a way to reproduce, it doesn't get fixed, if indeed there's anything in Newsbin to fix.

At this point, you need to troubleshoot. Strip out variables until you find something that causes it. Leave it running in front - still happen? Is there a funky screen saver you're using? How hard is memory being used? Have you tried leaving it running and doing absolutely nothing else? How long do you need to run it for this behaviour to happen? etc etc

I'm not asking for answers to those questions specifically, just giving examples. Certainly I've never seen this behaviour, so something your end is different.

Also, not having a clue about your setup, maybe update your graphics drivers? Maybe it's a glitch in window swapping during heavy IO, dunno...

DT

[Quade]

Wonder if your disk drive is spinning down?

In the power options, make sure it's set to high performance and make sure it neither goes to sleep nor spins down the hard disk. Then see if you still have problems. I'd disable any screen savers and just let the screen go to black. Like D says, unless someone else can make it break and describe how to make it break. It's going to be hard to find. You can always revert to 5.59 too.

[Slugsie]

Nope, I turn off those options already. No screen savers in use, just blanks monitors after an hour or so. I'm trying with leaving NB not minimised, seems OK after being left all night. Physical memory use seems to be quite light, I have 4GB and there is usually plenty spare and NB has never been a memory hog. I can't say for certain how long it needs to be left before the crash. I tend to leave it running all the time and only check once or twice in the evening to see if there is anything worth downloading.

If it's still OK after being left non minimised by tonight then I'll try turning off the auto headers download (it doesn't take long manually so no great hardship for me) and then see how it behaves.

Will keep you posted.

[Slugsie]

I think that I had traced the problem. It was happening when I kept a group open during header updates.

Luckily it's all academic now as I updated to 6.01b1 built 1127 and the problem seems to have gone away.

Thanks all, and keep up the good work.