Hoster program shuts down every 5 minutes

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by wb6bna

Hey there I still need help. Last week I was having a problem with Hoster 4.06causing an error and shutting down. I corrected the problem I thought. Last night (Friday) I used my laptop for work and it once again shut down. I have sort of narrowed it down to when I play audio files. If I just play karaoke songs it doesn't seem to do it. Any suggestions. Thanks Alan

If you are down to occasional shutdowns then you have definately narrowed it down. There has been some problems with a few MP3 audio song files and MTU has been trying to figure out why. If that is what you are using try converting some of them to wma or wav, to see if that keeps it from shutting down.

[wb6bna]

Thanks. I always play wav files of people that sing at karaoke and some from other sources. Last evening I got a shut down almost every 15 seconds. I switched hard drives to my backup and had the same problem until I only used kma files, then the problem went away. I experimented and noticed when I added wav files to my playlist the program shut down. Really bad when you are getting paid and your equipment keeps crashing. Hope to find the trouble. In mean time I am going to go back to 3.321 as this is the only other version I have.

I removed my wireless card and it still shuts down. I may be getting close though. All seems to be working now except for the first time I open the program all works well, then once I play a kma file I am unable to use my Instabuttons. Still can't figure this one out. Tried to remember what changed prior to the shut downs and could only think of installing wireless card.

Thanks Again Alan

[Hawkman]

I am having the same problems with shut downs. I have gone back through and updated everything per your instruction. I am following MTU guidelines and have downloaded all updates. System crashes in just a few songs. I'm using xp service pack 3 2gb ram. I'll check my Mp3 also.

Hawkman

[wb6bna]

yesterday afternoon I tried 3.4 and still have the same problem. I removed my wireless card and tried it still shuts down. I may be getting close though. All seems to be working now except for the first time I open the program all works well, then once I play a kma file I am unable to use my insta buttons. Still can't figure this one out. Tried to remember what changed prior to the shut downs and could only think of installing wireless card. Still getting very frustrated. Alan

[wb6bna]

I am using a Dell c640 laptop 1.8G, 384 mb ram, mobility radeon 7500 video card, xp sp3. I am purchasing 2 gig ram on ebay and hopefully that will eliminate the problem completely. I am trying to play wav files on the insta buttons. They worked a-okay before, now they only work the 1st time until I play any audio or kma file. I use a program called Ultramon to give me my dual display and it works great also. I have very few programs installed on the laptop. Just Hoster, Excel, Songverter, True image (for cloning), Wordview for songbooks, McAfee A/V, The only programs running with hoster are Hoster and Excel. I am cujrrently uninstalling all other programs. Thanks again Alan

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by wb6bna

I am using a Dell c640 laptop 1.8G, 384 mb ram, mobility radeon 7500 video card, xp sp3. I am purchasing 2 gig ram on ebay and hopefully that will eliminate the problem completely. I am trying to play wav files on the insta buttons. They worked a-okay before, now they only work the 1st time until I play any audio or kma file. I use a program called Ultramon to give me my dual display and it works great also. I have very few programs installed on the laptop. Just Hoster, Excel, Songverter, True image (for cloning), Wordview for songbooks, McAfee A/V, The only programs running with hoster are Hoster and Excel. I am cujrrently uninstalling all other programs. Thanks again Alan

These two items "384 mb ram, mobility radeon 7500 video card" are your major problem. First the absolute minimum required is 512MB and the recommended minimum is 1GB (XP) and 2GB (Vista). Second is This type of Video card uses Shared Memory, meaning it borrows memory from the computer memory, but with the small amount you have, there isn't much to borrow.
The memory you are getting from Ebay, is it specifically for this laptop? Memory has to be exactly what the laptop or desktop motherboard requires. Anything else will not work and could cause damage to the ram or motherboard.
Do you have Roxio or Nero installed on it? (Usually comes with the computer)

[wb6bna]

I went through the services running and disabled many that are not needed to run in order for the computer to function. I uninstalled some programs and disabled the wireless card. The programs functions well now. All features are as they should be. I re-enabled the wireless card and have played both audio (wav) and kma files for more than 2hrs now without a crash. The memory is for Dell laptops and also requires that the exact model number and serial number are included with the order. I am going to buy 2 1gig of ram that makes 2gig. Both my sound and video cards never give me any problem so far. I have been running Hoster vers for more that 2 years on this same laptop and haven't had this problem until, I believe I inserted the wireless card about a month ago. Thanks again for all the advise. Knock on my head (wood) all is okay now.. Alan

[Hawkman]

As I said earlier I have followed all instruction from MTU and downloaded all updates for windows. I am running xp sp3 2gb ram & 93gb hard drive. I have continual shutdowns on 4.06--4.03. I went back to 3.4 and everything is running fine. Any suggestions, everytime I down load the 4.0 versions I get an error message 1706. I was told to ignore that and continue the download.

I will attempt to free up space on my hard drive but I don't think that is my problem.

Should I delete remove all versions of hoster and download again?

Hawkman

[marklwood]

For future reference to anyone who has problems and reads this thread. The major issue most people have with intermittent problems is computer resources. Windows itself puts a lot of items in memory in the form of services. These compete with what is needed to run your show and is of no benefit to you. The other problems are related to software running in the background also competing for the same resources. With a little investigation, you can determine what is actually necessary and what is not. Start with any programs that are running on start-up. If they are not absolutely necessary, why are they running? Each one is like having an extra waitress at the bar. Do you really want to pay them (in the form of computer resources) for just standing around? You may think, they are not very expensive by themselves, but they do add up and take away from the bottom line.

Next, I would suggest a web site I have used for many years. It is http://www.blackviper.com/ take the time to read about all the things that are running in the background that are sucking up CPU cycles and memory. The same rules apply. If they are not adding to your show, why are you paying them to be there?

Next, are all your Windows Custom Updates done?

Then, after all of this, you are ready to proceed. If Hoster is still not running correctly for you, post a message. There are plenty of people here that are willing to help. They are going to ask you a series of questions designed to narrow down the problem. This is a back and forth conversation that can take as little as a few minutes, up to a few weeks. It would be a whole lot faster for you to get your answer if you have taken the time to get your "house" in order before the questions start.

I am posting this to help all of you. Please don't take it the wrong way. We all want the same thing. For everyone to have a trouble free show with as little down time as possible.

[swany]

For what it is worth pick up a flash drive with say 4GB or more. Windows Vista uses 1gb just to run windows, XP a little less.

Plug in the USB card, format it, do not put anything on it, leave it in when using the PC, it adds memory. You don't have anything to lose by trying it if it don't help you simply use the flash drive for other things like transferring media.

TigerDirect has a sale on 4s, 8s, 16s and 32gb flash drives.
The 32gb and 64gb flash drives are handy for backing up your music.

[ddouglass]

Originally Posted by swany

For what it is worth pick up a flash drive with say 4GB or more. Windows Vista uses 1gb just to run windows, XP a little less.

Plug in the USB card, format it, do not put anything on it, leave it in when using the PC, it adds memory. You don't have anything to lose by trying it if it don't help you simply use the flash drive for other things like transferring media.

TigerDirect has a sale on 4s, 8s, 16s and 32gb flash drives.
The 32gb and 64gb flash drives are handy for backing up your music.

Swany, a flash drive does not add memory. It adds drive space but is actually slower than a standard hard drive.

[swany]

Format one check your ram, plug it in and check it again.

[ddouglass]

Just to satisfy you I did and it didn't change. You cannot check RAM through the task manager if that is what you are doing. The Task Manager shows a combination of Physical Memory (RAM) and hard drive space dedicated as additional memory (Pagefile).
The requirement listed for Hoster is Physical Memory. If it could be fulfilled with hard drive space all you would have to do is increase the PageFile. Anything in the PageFile must be copied back to the RAM to be used. It cannot be used or changed while it is resident in the PageFile.

[swany]

There is a lot of duplicate programming on most PCs and Vista is loaded with unused prgs we don't need in a DJ & KJ show, turning off all sorts of processes like auto updates.
Delete all extras like log on sounds I don't need a sound for the recycle bin, low battery yes, ect in the media sample music, pics, who needs more than one arrow pointer? Every little bit helps. My Vista PCs came with the 2007 extras good for students but alas. Had a BigFix prg. 13 different ways to get on the internet, several toolbars for that. Napster trash ect. Most of our PCs will benifit from a good cleaning. Do a search on your C: for .jpg hoo boy do ya really need all that. I'm trying to help, mine went up a notch or two.

This will help some plus you can check the ram %

http://www.speeditupfree.com/

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by swany

This will help some plus you can check the ram %

http://www.speeditupfree.com/

I checked it out. It does give enough control to ease my fears, and its easy enough for a novice to use.

I have always recommended http://www.blackviper.com/. It gets you to the same place, but as a techy I know what I did and how to undo it. Plus, I learn a little along the way.

(edited by Admin for clearer recommendations)