Error waking up from standby

[perf]

Testing continues:

Now I tried uninstalling SP3. Still no change.

/Per

[nmendelson]

Also on Win2K (SP3) with Girder 3.2. The USB-UIRT works great upon booting. But if I come in the next day to use it, none of the Girder commands respond (the USB-UIRT lights still come on). (Unlike the poster here, the system does NOT hibernate or go to standby, just a day passes with the system on.)

Now if I disable the device in Girder and then try to re-enable it, I get an error message. I have to unplug the USB cable, plug it back in, disable the device in Girder, then re-enable it, and only THEN it works. I've tried different USB ports and drivers, but the problem won't go away. And it can't just be a bad cable or port because once it works, it's perfect until the next day.

[jrhees]

Hmmm.... that's very strange. Any idea if your system performs any tasks in the middle of the night?

I would somehow either suspect a loose USB connection or possibly a defective USB-UIRT?

-Jon

[nmendelson]

The only task it performs is a system clock update. I'll try turning it off, though I can't imagine how that could interfere.

I thought about a loose connection/defective product first, but the USB-UIRT always works perfectly after plugging it back in, and it never works the next day. The light still flashes, showing that the power is still getting to the device. I've also tried different USB ports. If it were a loose connection or defective device, wouldn't you expect some sort of intermittent operation, or no operation at all?

Funny thing is, I don't recall having this problem the first few days with the USB-UIRT. The only real change since then has been a few Win2K critical updates. I see there's a new USB-UIRT driver out too, I will try that as well.

[perf]

What critical updates did you install?

I and Jon were never able to figure out why all of my three W2k computers (two laptops and one desktop) had the same problem, while his did not. One of my ideas was that Windows updates was the problem - I had installed the same updates on all of my machines.

/Per

[jrhees]

I think that these are two separate problems, though.

btw - what error message do you get when you try to disable/re-enable in Girder?

Is it the :

a) Cannot find USB-UIRT
or
b) Cannot communicate with USB-UIRT?

-Jon

[nmendelson]

Despite upgrading to v1.1 drivers and disabling scheduled tasks, it still doesn't work today.

The exact error message in Girder when trying to disable/reenable is:

"Unable to connect to USB-UIRT device! Please ensure device is connected to the computer."

I'm at the computer right now, and according to Control Panel, the USB-UIRT is installed and active. The driver panel says "Provider: FTDI, Version: 1.5.5.0." The driver details are as follows:

C:\WINNT\System32\Drivers\FTD2XX.sys - v1.05.05
C:\WINNT\System32\FTD2XX.dll - v2.00.06
C:\WINNT\System32\FTD2XXUN.exe - v2.0.0.2

The system is a Shuttle SB51G PC BTW (i845GE chipset + P2.4B), with all updated Shuttle drivers, Radeon AIW 7500 w/Catalyst 3.2, 512Mb memory, Delta DiO sound card. Pretty standard stuff except for the sound card. I have 2 other USB things plugged in, a UPS and a Gyration keyboard/mouse, and they work all the time perfectly, even in the same USB slots as the USB-UIRT with the problem. Girder version is 3.2.9 (upgraded from 3.2.8, which also had the problem), and the only other device plugin is the serial port driver by Mark Fietchner.

I don't know of any other test I can run right now to test whether it's connected properly, but the light does come on on the device so it's getting power for sure. Just unplugging/reinserting the USB cable will make it work (I'm sure), as always.

As for critical updates, I install all of them regularly using the automatic installation feature of Win2K. I could probably live without them if it fixes this problem, as this system is just a home theatre PC. But reinstalling Win2K SP3 at this point would be a major headache and besides, it should be working with them installed.

I wish I could solve this little snag because otherwise I've grown completely dependent on the USB-UIRT to control all aspects of the home theatre.

[perf]

Several similarities to my situation:
- Same error message
- I also have a Shuttle (SK41G - different chipset), but my W2k laptops had the same problem
- W2k, SP3, all critical updates - but I also tried uninstalling them
- I also have an ATI AIW card - but the problem was there with my old Nvidia based video/TV card as well
- Plugging in and out also resolves the problem for me

/Per

[nmendelson]

I've been trying to pin down the source of the problem, and found one day that while everything works OK after 12 hours, after 24 hours Girder and the USB-UIRT will no longer communicate.

I tried shutting down Girder last night after using the system and then manually restarting it tonight, and it happily accepted USB-UIRT commands. Unless it was just a fluke, it suggests either (a) a Girder issue or (b) a USB-UIRT Girder plugin issue, or a combination of both. This doesn't look like any kind of hardware problem with the USB-UIRT.

I have no idea why it's OK after 12 hours, but dead after 24 hours. Could the version of Girder (3.2.8 or 3.2.9) be incompatible somehow? Has the plugin been successfully tested with another version?

[jrhees]

Hmmmmm,

the next possibility might be some sort of memory leak. What OS are you using?

If its 2K or XP, you may want to open up task manager to the memory summary and look to see if something is ticking up constantly.

I'll take a look at this as well tomorrow,

-Jon

[nmendelson]

It's Win2K. If it's a memory leak, it must be a tiny one because the rest of the system isn't affected (even after weeks). I'll try to check the peak memory use of Girder and see if something unusual is going on.

[jrhees]

I ran several instances of Girder with USB-UIRT over the night and didn't see anything unusual either.

The fact that not running Girder through the night made a change *is* interesting. Probably to be conclusive you ought to try that at least one more time. Then if it still helps perhaps the next test to try is leaving Girder running but with devices disabled.

-Jon

[perf]

FYI: My problem has been solved by the "Restart driver" option in the new plugin.

/Per

[nmendelson]

After hours of tinkering, emails with jrhees, and a replacement unit, I think I've tracked down the source my own problem too: the external emitter. Since removing it a week ago, everything has worked like it should.

I'll give it another week to make sure, then get one of the Xantech models suggested in the general forum to see if it works.

[jrhees]

nmendelson,

Could you describe your emitter (i.e., how long is it, where does it run, etc)? I would somehow suspect a static problem...

-Jon