[flexgrip]

Hello,

I have two Ubuntu Hardy 8.04.1 systems running xbmc from PPA (8.10a4-hardy1).

System in my living room:
-P4 3.0ghz HT
-2GB memory
-1tb of storage (mixed EXT3 partitions across several sata and ide hard drives)
-Nvidia 6800oc

Older System in bedroom:
-Athlon XP 3200+
-1gb memory
-Accesses shares from the living room server through NFS.
-Nvidia GeForce 2 MX

*The older computer in my room runs xbmc perfectly. I'm not kidding. I have never had a crash, freeze, error, or anything. I walk into my room, pick up my mce remote and start streaming video over NFS and it is rock solid (even 720p). and I have been doing this for months, and after each update I notice no difference in stability. Feels just like finished quality software. (I figured you devs might want to know this part, and if you want my exact system specs I am willing to post them.)

*The faster newer computer in my living room runs the exact same version of everything but is very unstable. Sometimes it runs for a whole day without messing up. Then, I have random lock ups at random points of use. Sometimes when browsing it freezes, sometimes i will watch a video and it will segfault, sometimes I will start it up and before it gets to the home screen it just dies.

Sorry for the long intro but I wanted to be thorough. To me, this is a clear example of alpha software and its' stability on different hardware. I have many problems (which I am trying to read through the forums and clear up on my own).

So my basic question is: Should I try to trace down and submit bug after bug until it becomes usable? OR, should I try a different platform; maybe debian, openSUSE, gentoo, or fedora (windows is not an option)?

What would you all recommend? And any general information on what a Segfault points to would be helpful. It could be that all my problems are coming from one error or one piece of hardware. If so, I can pastebin my logs and backtraces. Before I do, I just want to know what direction I should head. I guess part of this question is, from experience, what is the most stable platform to run xbmc on (other than an xbox... I need HD).

Thanks,

[flexgrip]

Actually, what I meant by instability is that I can't really reproduce the errors. They never happen in the same spot. And any help on where to start kicking these bugs is also what I am after. I guess I just talked myself into doing a backtrace and pastebin everything I have.

[althekiller]

$20 says if you disable hyperthreading you'll be in business on the newer system. Most of the stability issues stem from threading and thus rarely, if ever, cropped up on single core hardware (ie xbox, your ath 3200+). We'll never turn down a quality bug report, just make sure you a) search the forums and trac thoroughly to ensure it hasn't already been reported (feel free to add missing info where applicable) and b) follow http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=34655 when collecting data.

[flexgrip]

I don't understand what /path/to/core means when i try to run gdb to create a backtrace. also, does it want the xbmc.bin from /usr/share/xbmc or /usr/bin?

Just a reminder, I am on Hardy.

[Morpheus78]

Path to core is found in "homefolder" and are named core.xxxxx

[flexgrip]

Okay,

Last night I turned Hyperthreading off and it does seem to be running better in my livingroom. It just tends to freeze when you start up and try to play a video before it is done scanning the folders.

BUT, I realized that my bedroom computer had not been updated to (8.10a4-hardy1) from (8.10a3-hardy1). So I did it and bam, problems.

So here is everything:

8.10a4-hardy1 (PPA) SVN: 15111
Ubuntu Hardy 8.04.1 (i686)
XBMC running PM3
Cpu: Athlon XP 3200+
Video: Geforce 2 MX

Basically, when I turn on xbmc I notice from the start that the CPU usage is between 80%-95%. If I use the keyboard, it is a 75% shot that I can watch a video from start to finish. If I use the remote (mceusb) it tends to die in the menus or shortly after a video starts.

Here is my debug log.
Here is my backtrace.

Like I said though, my living room computer that I turned hyperthreading off has been running smooth all day. Only one freeze when starting a video while it was scanning folders. Where do you want the $20? In the donation box ?

[althekiller]

Yep donation box would be fine :p There are plenty of issues with the background scanner, we're recommending only running a manual update when the machine can site idle 'til it's done, and disabling the auto scanning all together until it's fixed.

[flexgrip]

I didn't see anything in the debug log that would indicate why the newest update makes my bedroom system crash. And I have no idea how to read the backtrace. I wish I did, so I could stop bugging you guys.

You guys have any ideas? I don't see how using the remote would crash the app.

[flexgrip]

I am hesitant to post this, but everything seems to have worked itself out. I just watched an entire formula one race on both systems and it was fine. I then added a source with more video and when it was done scanning, was able to watch them.

I have a question though, I have folders with dvd files in them (vob ifo bup). Sometimes I click on them and they play, other times I click on the folders and it displays the dvd files inside and wont play them. This is with stacking on or off, it makes no difference. I can do a restart and eat a bag of chips. Come back later and it will play the contents the next time I click on it. It almost seems like it gets in these moods. I searched and found no other complaints about this. Is this something anyone has ever had happen before?

[flexgrip]

Ohh yeah, and maybe a moderator can change the title of my post to something like "Questions about segfaults". I didn't think about it but someone else might think this is a tutorial.

[BLKMGK]

I can usually play VOB\IFO stuff now by selecting "play" vs hitting OK on my remote - using MCE codes. When I hit Play I get a menu asking me if I want to queue the file, select type, or Play etc. - I use Play. After I've done that, on current builds, it plays fine. There for a long time this wasn't the case but it seems that most of that weirdness has been worked out.