Some tech-help seriously needed! (Solved, sort of...)
reserv888
Posts: 1,150
Today, suddenly, Daz Studio crashed and the computer froze. After eight hours non-stop working, I've managed to get the computer to work again (not only in safe mode).
I can start DS and load a scene, but i can't render. There seems be a similar problem as in the thread "Recent problem: Iray not using GPU".
When I hit the render button the processor runs up to 100%. That's normal. But then it stays at 100% even when the render process has begun. That's not normal.
It renders for about 20 seconds and then the computer freezes and I have to shut it down manually.
I have tried to use the nvidia driver Richard Haseltine suggests in the above mentioned thread. I have also tried the latest drivers and a few others. No difference.
So either there is something wrong with my graphics card (or its drivers), Daz Studio or something beyond my understanding.
Help really wanted!
Computer specs are:
Windows7 (64-bit)
Titan X graphics card
64 GB RAM
Intel i7
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Comments
Given the scale of the issue (complete system crash) I'm afraid my suspicion would lean towards a hardware issue of some kind. Do you have anything else GPU-intensive you can run, to see if that too has issues?
I tested an old game (Diablo 2). Ran for 10 minutes. Then crashed.
Is there some form of diagnostics tool fpr graphics cards anyone can recommend?
first .. grab battle encoder shirase .. a little prog recommended on here..
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then limit your daz program to 66% or 90% of cpu
that will stop it from ever being able to get 100% of the cpu cycles. which is always bad...
it's not necessarily that your computer is hanging up.. you just can't get a cpu cycle to tell daz to stop
And even if the render moves from card to cpu in the middle daz can't use more than you give it.
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most programs have a build in limiter to avoid this but apparently the part of daz that renders doesn't .. and that happened with 3dl as well as iray.. so it's not nvidias iray driver
here's the link to the programmers web site.. avoiding all the other places trying to trick you into downloading other stuff
http://mion.faireal.net/BES/
GPU-Z from www.techpowerup.com is often used. https://www.techpowerup.com/
Well if that one caused your system to crash, then its most likely something hardware related. If it were me, being fairly weak on computer tech/troubleshooting, I would take it to a trusted computer tech and have them sort it out. Imo, it will cost more to do this compared to being able to fix it yourself, but for someone like me, I would probably end up wasting more time and possibly money unecessarily replacing parts and such before getting to the root of the problem(s).
I use that program frequently but the numbers doesn't tell me if there is a problem. It looks ok to me.
Maybe someone else can see if there is a problem with the graphics card. (see attached file)
If your CPU is getting pegged during an iRay render either you have the CPU selected as a render device or the render has dropped to CPU due to being out of VRAM on the card. That it renders or plays a game for a bit and then crashes indicates its most likely a heat issue.
When was the last time you cleaned out the inside of the case? If you haven't recenlt open it up and clear the dust out, pay attention to the fans on the Titan.
Try rendering again but have GPU-Z open and on the sensors tab. Watch the temps on the card. If the GPU starts getting close to 100C that's a problem.
If the CPU is running at 100% it could also be the culprit so get CPU-Z and monitor its temp as well.
Check that all of the fans, GPU and CPU plus all the case fans, are turning at some sort of reasonable speed. If they aren't they may need replacement.
If dusting doesn't resolve the issue and all the fans seem to be working. You really need to find which component is causing the crash. So monitoring the temps during a crash is very important.
Which ever one got close to 100C at the time of the crash is the culprit. They may not be bad though. The first thing to try is to remove the cooler, clean the thermal paste off the chip and the cooler, apply new paste and see if that helps. This is pretty easy on the CPU but can be an absolute nightmare on a graphics card. Look for videos or guides on GPU teardowns.
If none of that works, if no component is obviously failing then it is time to take it to a tech who can use diagnostic tools on it or just replace the whole thing as that may well be cheaper than any repair.
I hate to start throwing different troubleshooting procedures at you willy-nilly, so I would suggest that you exhaust Ken's suggestions to look into any heat-related issues first. If it were my PC, the next step would be to look at another component that could cause stress-related issues such as locking up or blue screens, etc. : the Power Supply Unit. While PSU's can last a long time if they are a quality unit, they won't last forever and once they start to fail they can cause all sorts of erratic behaviour on the part of the computer. To properly test yours, you will need a digital multimeter to read the voltage outputs to determine if they are within specs and/or if there is any fluctuation. If you have a multimeter, or access to one and wish to test the PSU, it is not particularly difficult to do, and I can walk you through it if you wish.
I'm very reluctant to have someone not technical trying to get voltage readings off a PSU cable. That's one of the get a tech to do it if you want to try saving the rig things IMO. It's almost always easier just to get a new PSU and try it. Worst case you have the first new part for the new build.
Thank you all for kind and helpful replies!
After doing som extensive work with downloading and testing various things, getting tons of crashes, I am suddenly back where it all started yesterday morning. With a Blue screen.
There is some problem with a file called nvlddmkm.sys
While that seems to be a common issue I haven't found any solution to it. (Downloading various versions of the drivers have not been one).
Anyone who knows how to proceed?
Hardware failure.
Put my Titan X in another machine. It also crashed.
So, what card should I buy instead? (I want it to render faster or at least as fast as Titan X).
Depends on how much money you have. Is your card the GTX Titan X or simply the Titan X (Nvidia released two Titan X). The GTX titan X is beat on performance, not amount of VRAM, by the 1080ti, the Pascal Titans, the Titan V, 2070 Super and better Turing cards.If its the Titan X then just the Titan V, 2080ti and RTX Titan (maybe the 2080 Super but it would be borderline).
Thanks! (I have, or had, the GTX Titan X).
If you want 12Gb or more get one of the newer Titans otherwise all the cards have 8 or 11Gb and should be at least slightly better than what you have now. I'd lean toward the RTX cards since they have the RTX features which greatly speed rendering.