Hauppauge HD PVR Freezes whilst recording

[person4659]

So my hauppauge is only 1.5 months old and since the start ive had nothing but trouble. The first one arrived and wouldn't display on my tv properly (yes it was all plugged in correctly) this one come and started working so i was happy. but for some reason after about 35 mins of recording either in one bulk or separated; it would freeze in the recording software and would require a restart to get it working again. Once restarted it would only record in 5 min intervals. Ive updated all the drivers and have tried deleting everything and starting again but nothing seems to work.

at one point it seemed as if i had fixed the problem after removing a USB extension cable as i was able to record for over an hour with no issues; but in the past few days it has gone back to normal.
Im waiting for a reply from hauppauge and am hoping they say its faulty so i can get a refund and try something else as im not sure if i want a replacement.

Computer Specs:
Gigabyte GA-MA78LMT-US2H mother board
AMD Athlon X4 3.0Ghz
8GB Crucial DDR3 Ram 1333MHz
Nvidia Gigabyte GTX 460 OC

Western Digital WD5000AADS 500GB Hard Drive SATA 32MB Cache (i use this for storage and recording directly on to)

with task manager open CPU usage is at around 15-20% whilst recording

Anyone recommend a more stable capture card which isn't lighter than a DVD

 

[Max Collodi]

I couldn't tell from your post, but are you recording to the same drive that the OS is on. This can cause problems. The best setup for recording is to use another internal drive or an external with eSATA.

 

[person4659]

i did mention but didn't make it clear that i have a separate HDD for recording to..at the moment im trying my printer cable in the hauppauge; if i have no problems then i can be pretty sure that the USB B cable is faulty.

 

[person4659]

so ive tried with my printer cable. I left it without recording for about 15-20 mins and then managed to record for 47 mins. The image then froze and total media extreme 2 crashed. and actually froze my whole pc making me have to hard reboot. Im starting to think that the USB which came with the hauppauge is faulty and that total media extreme 2 is also has a bug or something.

 

[RussK1]

What Hauppauge are you using?

 

[person4659]

the normal one...
another update as well; tried to record once more and could only manage 27 mins before it froze this time.. :/

 

[person4659]

with blue lights and not green

 

[RussK1]

the normal one...
another update as well; tried to record once more and could only manage 27 mins before it froze this time.. :/

Dude, do you realize there are many different Hauppauge versions?

http://www.newegg.com/Store/Brand.aspx?Brand=1772&Tpk=hauppauge

I assume you're using a HD/PVR... they are notorious for overheating. Try to put it somewhere cool and put a fan on it.

 

[person4659]

yer sorry about that, i never knew (until now) that hauppages overheated so much. Its always felt quite hot to touch but never put 2 + 2 togeather. Ive seen some pretty awesome mods you can make to keep it cool; but also some soft mods which will probably be the route i go down...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tXio8FRuuHo/SSeJhwwkNXI/AAAAAAAAA18/ogBHZQqtslI/s1600/IMG_5840.JPG

 

[RussK1]

yer sorry about that, i never knew (until now) that hauppages overheated so much. Its always felt quite hot to touch but never put 2 + 2 togeather. Ive seen some pretty awesome mods you can make to keep it cool; but also some soft mods which will probably be the route i go down...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tXio8FRuuHo/SSeJhwwkNXI/AAAAAAAAA18/ogBHZQqtslI/s1600/IMG_5840.JPG

I'll guarantee that's the issue... anywhere from 1/2 an hour to an hour then problems. The link of the image is a good idea and really simple. Why Hauppauge doesn't incorporate a fan in the PVR is beyond me. They know of the overheating issues yet still no cooling solutions.

Again, back to modding a fan, nothing a dremel or drill cannot fix

Good luck!

edit:

Taken from Wiki~

Overheating

I have found that the cause of HD-PVR hanging on my system is overheating due to lack of airflow above the board. Stability problems disappeared when the cover was removed, thermal pad under the heatsink was replaced with thermal grease (likely unnecessary step), and a slow-spinning fan was installed on top of the opened case.
Even though the case appears to have some kind of air vent under the transparent LCD rim, close inspection of the case shown that the only openings that connect the case with outside air are vents on the bottom. Hot air circulates above the board but does not exit, and can't transfer heat except through the plastic walls and lid. Teapot 02:17, 8 December 2011 (UTC)

 

[person4659]

i know it seems quite silly considering the device is made to always be be programmed to record tv channels etc...I havent worked out if i will place a fan on the top or the bottom. Best method would probably be to remove the top and place some form of mesh over the top and then a fan.

 

[RussK1]

Best method would probably be to remove the top and place some form of mesh over the top and then a fan.

+1

non-invasive first; just use the existing vents and some adhesive tape like in the image you linked. See if it works thus while not voiding warranty.

 

[person4659]

so ive converted an old pc fan i had and stuck a USB cable on the end (cant believe it worked). Obv USB is only 5v and as the fan is 12v its not as fast as i would ideally like it to be. But it definitely generates some cool air so will sick it over a couple of the vents on the bottom and see what it does and if i can get much longer out of it. Would probably benefit from having it set up to some kind of stand alone power source or something and perhaps a little bigger. Any recommendations for something which ultimately im gonna destroy?

update you later

 

[RussK1]

so ive converted an old pc fan i had and stuck a USB cable on the end (cant believe it worked). Obv USB is only 5v and as the fan is 12v its not as fast as i would ideally like it to be. But it definitely generates some cool air so will sick it over a couple of the vents on the bottom and see what it does and if i can get much longer out of it. Would probably benefit from having it set up to some kind of stand alone power source or something and perhaps a little bigger. Any recommendations for something which ultimately im gonna destroy?

update you later

If it was me, I'd work it so I could use the Computers 4-pin molex from the power supply. Generally I'd run an extra molex out the back of the case for peripheral power...

Some quick images I took with my phone (sorry if their not great)~

 

[person4659]

hmm thats not a bad idea

 

[person4659]

Ive bought some equipment; initially for a soft mod but i have some stuff from a more open up and look approach. Initially i will just stick a 120mm fan on the bottom over the air vents which will be connected to a molex cable. If this doesn't keep it cool; then i have bought some mesh which i can place over the top of the device and place the fan on top of it with some more mesh once again over the fan; Basically creating a new top for the hauppauge but with holes for ventilation and of course a fan to cool it down.

 

[person4659]

my fan and stuff has arrived; but im just waiting for some molex extension cables to arrive. Obviously as the fan will be connected to my power supply; whenever my pc is on; the fan for the hauppauge will also be on. is there a way which i can control this? Maybe some software or something as obviously it will be a little deprecated cooling down something which isn't even being used.

thanks

 

[person4659]

YAY; i have now done the softmod although im still a little un-easy about whether its completely safe for a molex to be coming outside of my pc :S

bad picture because the camera on my phone is crap

 

[crazy shadow]

i dont know.....ive had weird freezing for quite some time ive tried the following and it seems to be hit and miss....

1. i turn the hdpvr off then plug it in to my laptop and then turn it back on...this helps sometimes.

when i do this, at times it will not freeze at all and at times it will freeze after 20-40 minutes, regardless of if im recording or not...when it freezes it freezes my whole system and i have to hold in the start button and completely shut down then restart computer

but u will this has cut down on my freezing alot

but regardless whenever i have frozen it froze everything...

 

[chlsryu]

How to troubleshoot sync the audio and video recordings in the External Capture Card Hauppauge HD PVR. How to solve problems also hangs during the recordings.

Solved:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4d-aT7j7uo