I guess I should try a drive intensive test to see if the drive has a problem.
The only times I have had lockups is when the UPV firmware is running.
If I shut down the firmware and just let it run Prime95, it seems to be fine. But when firmware is loaded, it will hang while just idling.
How do I access the smart data from the SSD?
The only times I have had lockups is when the UPV firmware is running.
If I shut down the firmware and just let it run Prime95, it seems to be fine. But when firmware is loaded, it will hang while just idling.
How do I access the smart data from the SSD?
What version firmware is on the instrument?
One would assume that the guy who rebuilt it used the latest version.
If so, the firmware release notes say your drive C; must have over one gig of free space or else you have to do a registry edit. You might need to see if he did that.
You could always blow away the current install and re-install the latest one yourself.
One would assume that the guy who rebuilt it used the latest version.
If so, the firmware release notes say your drive C; must have over one gig of free space or else you have to do a registry edit. You might need to see if he did that.
You could always blow away the current install and re-install the latest one yourself.
RE SMART If its a Samsung drive they have utilities for that. Same for most of the other guys. The utility will tell you a lot.
It's running a current version of the firmware.
The C: drive has 16.3 GB free.
I'll look on the Samsung website for a utility to test the drive.
UPDATE:
"This program requires Windows NT version 6.1.7600"
So much for Samsung's SMART utility...
The C: drive has 16.3 GB free.
I'll look on the Samsung website for a utility to test the drive.
UPDATE:
"This program requires Windows NT version 6.1.7600"
So much for Samsung's SMART utility...
Last edited:
There are others-http://carlcheo.com/best-smart-monitoring-tools At least one says XP and is free to try.
Windows NT 6.1 is Win7 Windows NT – Wikipedie
Standard linux tool is smartmontools. I have been using it for over 15 years. History – smartmontools . They have windows build too S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring Tools - Browse Files at SourceForge.net
Installer is GUI, then running smartmontools in CMD admin mode (command directly in windows menu in the smartmontools section)
Listing available drives
SMART details for the first drive
Second drive:
You can copy the text output - select the text with mouse (should scroll automatically), ENTER key copies to clipboard. If you post it here (wrapped with CODE tags in advanced edit), we can have a look at the values.
I tested on WinXP running in virtualbox and native Win10, works flawlessly.
The SMART of a drive can be read in any PC, even through USB-SATA adapter.
Standard linux tool is smartmontools. I have been using it for over 15 years. History – smartmontools . They have windows build too S.M.A.R.T. Monitoring Tools - Browse Files at SourceForge.net
Installer is GUI, then running smartmontools in CMD admin mode (command directly in windows menu in the smartmontools section)
Listing available drives
Code:
smartmontools --scanSMART details for the first drive
Code:
smartmontools -a sdaSecond drive:
Code:
smartmontools -a sdbYou can copy the text output - select the text with mouse (should scroll automatically), ENTER key copies to clipboard. If you post it here (wrapped with CODE tags in advanced edit), we can have a look at the values.
I tested on WinXP running in virtualbox and native Win10, works flawlessly.
The SMART of a drive can be read in any PC, even through USB-SATA adapter.
Last edited:
Did you check the drive filesystem? The files belonging to the UPV suite could be corrupted. E.g. How to Run a Chkdsk Function on Windows XP: 14 Steps
If the drive is OK, I can imagine that the custom drivers communicating with UPV peripherals crash the windows kernel when unexpected errors from the peripherals arise. Peripheral errors are usually poorly handled by the drivers/tested for as they are difficult to simulate. That would be the bad but not surprising alternative...
In any case I would check all data connectors on the board, esp. the custom PCI headers, for dirt, loose, ...
If you want to run the Samsung utility the thing to do would be to remove the drive from the analyzer and plug the drive into a desktop with Win 7 or newer OS and a spare SATA port and operate it as a secondary drive. Load the Samsung utility and run it on the ssd. The Samsung utility will also allow you to update the ssd firmware and I'm not sure aftermarket programs will do that.
I've found its an optimum time to run virus checks on the drive when it's loaded as the non-boot drive into a different computer. I had viruses on several of our old XP systems and none of the programs or tools I tried would fully get rid of them when they were loaded as the boot drives. However loading the drives as secondaries into a newer OS desktop allowed me to fully devirus them. You would hope that the freshly loaded OS in your analyzer is clean but you never know.
I ran CrystalDiskInfo 8.4.2 and that is giving me a "Good 100%" rating for the drive. Temperature is 20°C, too, so no overheating.
It shows a Samsung SSD 840 series, 250GB.
I ran a disk check earlier and it found zero errors.
So the CPU, RAM and disc are testing 'good', so why is the system freezing daily?
That's an interesting point about viruses. In 2008, I bought a used Lenovo laptop and the seller claimed to have wiped drive and reinstalled the OS (genuine MS Win 7 disc included). But using it to browse an electronics forum, it suddenly went gray screen and turned out to have locked with a ransom virus. That laptop could not record audio without gapping every second. After I reinstalled from the customer's DVD ROM of Win 7, it was fine after that. But this is test equipment that's not used on the internet, so I doubt the seller was using it to watch porn on the internet.
It shows a Samsung SSD 840 series, 250GB.
I ran a disk check earlier and it found zero errors.
So the CPU, RAM and disc are testing 'good', so why is the system freezing daily?
That's an interesting point about viruses. In 2008, I bought a used Lenovo laptop and the seller claimed to have wiped drive and reinstalled the OS (genuine MS Win 7 disc included). But using it to browse an electronics forum, it suddenly went gray screen and turned out to have locked with a ransom virus. That laptop could not record audio without gapping every second. After I reinstalled from the customer's DVD ROM of Win 7, it was fine after that. But this is test equipment that's not used on the internet, so I doubt the seller was using it to watch porn on the internet.
Last edited:
My computers were mostly contaminated by users with USB thumb drives. Many of these computers are not on the network so I know it was spread by someone with a usb drive. I could take my thumb drive down and plug it into one of these systems and everything seemed fine. I'd bring the thumb drive out to my office and I'd get a flashing red warning that a virus was detected when I'd plug it in. Clean the thumb drive go down and plug into a different computer and the same thing would happen. The only indication that something was awry was that the thumb drive activity light would flash for a longer period of time when plugged into an infected computer.
Is there a bootable thumb drive with a virus scanner that can do an in place check of the entire system drive without taking the UPV out of the equipment stack and taking it apart?
I was just reading an article about Easy2Boot, a sort of 'swiss army knife' of programs that boot from a thumb drive. Maybe I should try something like that. If I can boot from a USB drive and then scan the system drive.
I was just reading an article about Easy2Boot, a sort of 'swiss army knife' of programs that boot from a thumb drive. Maybe I should try something like that. If I can boot from a USB drive and then scan the system drive.
Sure you can try this. It's been about 5 years since I went through and cleaned our computers up. I used a rootkit killer (can't remember which) and malwarebytes at the time but still couldn't get everything off until removing the drives. I'm not sure how supported XP is going to be with any current virus programs you find. That's why it may be better to install into a different computer with a newer OS.
I'd say the probability of a virus is low especially if it was a recent OS load and if it's really only crashing while running the R&S software. It sounds like it's running okay for you with other programs operating.
I'd say the probability of a virus is low especially if it was a recent OS load and if it's really only crashing while running the R&S software. It sounds like it's running okay for you with other programs operating.
There are several bootable virus removing tools and you can even make a USB bootable Win 10. That would allow lots of detailed analysis of the main components.
There are also diagnostic tools for XP which could allow you to see exactly what crashed the system. Since its XP you will need to do some looking to find them and instructions. I have not looked at those in 10 years. This may work: Download SimpleProgramDebugger - MajorGeeks
There are also diagnostic tools for XP which could allow you to see exactly what crashed the system. Since its XP you will need to do some looking to find them and instructions. I have not looked at those in 10 years. This may work: Download SimpleProgramDebugger - MajorGeeks
I much doubt it's a virus too, since it's a recent rebuild and the seller seems to be competent, technically.
Of course running MemTest86 for four hours, or Prime95 for an hour, without errors, may not be conclusive. I should probably run Prime95 for a 24 hour run and see if it crashes.
I have the impression that a debugger won't be able to write to the log file if the system halts like it's done daily here.
Going to play with this bootable USB program and see if they have any virus testing tools I can use to diagnose the drive.
Of course running MemTest86 for four hours, or Prime95 for an hour, without errors, may not be conclusive. I should probably run Prime95 for a 24 hour run and see if it crashes.
I have the impression that a debugger won't be able to write to the log file if the system halts like it's done daily here.
Going to play with this bootable USB program and see if they have any virus testing tools I can use to diagnose the drive.
I set up an Easy2Boot thumb drive with Sophos anti virus scanner and booted from the stick. I got as far as the main menu and starting the anti virus program. Scores of lines of "code" scrolled up the screen as the system was loading but then the screen turned white and even 15 minutes later, was still solid white with no indication of the tool working. So I cancelled out of that.
Starting Win XP in Safe Mode just results in a BSOD, too, so that's not an option either.
I ran Prime95 overnight this time and it's still running as of this morning and responsive. I did notice something interesting though: the UPV is running cooler than usual without the firmware loaded. I expected Prime95 to have that thing toasting hot by the morning, but nope. It's running cooler. Perhaps the specialized hardware is shut down when the firmware isn't running?
Starting Win XP in Safe Mode just results in a BSOD, too, so that's not an option either.
I ran Prime95 overnight this time and it's still running as of this morning and responsive. I did notice something interesting though: the UPV is running cooler than usual without the firmware loaded. I expected Prime95 to have that thing toasting hot by the morning, but nope. It's running cooler. Perhaps the specialized hardware is shut down when the firmware isn't running?
I made a discovery over time about the UPV locking up. If I leave the UPV in stop mode, it will run indefinitely without lockup. If the UPV is running, not stopped, it will lock up randomly.
All the Prime95 testing vindicated the motherboard and RAM pretty well. So the problem seems to be with the UPV firmware.
All the Prime95 testing vindicated the motherboard and RAM pretty well. So the problem seems to be with the UPV firmware.
I made a discovery about the UPV lockups yesterday. The machine stopped responding as usual, but for some reason I could still moe the mouse pointer and I tried to access the Windows task bar and this popped up. It seems that "DSP_B1" stops responding and causing the whole thing to freeze. That explains why it doesn't crash if I have the UPV in Stop mode or if the firmware isn't running. The main PC is fine, but something's awry with the DSP board.
BTW, I searched for that log file, but could not find it.
BTW, I searched for that log file, but could not find it.