Is media causing my computer to die?
March 16, 2010 12:36 AM Subscribe
Media playback seems to be killing my computer. And my wireless router. And my modem. How is this possible?
This is strange. There was weirdness going on with my (6-months-old) PC as of about two weeks ago, and tonight it got worse.
### The past two weeks:
After being online for some time, media I am playing (e.g., music or movies, I've noticed it with both) begins to stutter, and then my connection to my router drops, and I am unable to reconnect. I have been able to connect to another open network and never have this problem. It only happens with my router/modem.
Additionally, my computer will sometimes disconnect from this other open network (but without the weird media playback glitchiness), and then Windows will report "No connections are available", despite the fact that there are a dozen or so networks in the area that usually show. A minute or so later, the networks will all show again, and I can then reconnect to this other open network. (Still unable to connect to my own network.)
Things I tried to no avail:
A new wireless adapter
Resetting my router to factory defaults
A new router
A new modem
My roommate's iMac (dunno if this is the case, but it seems that he also loses the connection indefinitely once my computer kills it)
### Tonight:
ABout an hour after I boot up the computer, I was in the middle of playing a video on YouTube when the computer froze and a long "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" sound emanated from the speakers (as if the audio got stuck on a single note). I powered down the computer and restarted. Two hours later, while listening to a song in WinAmp, the computer froze again and the same single sound played from the speakers (maybe it was different, but it sounded similar). I have currently been on the computer again for about three hours (avoiding doing anything besides talking on AIM) without a problem.
### Yeahbuhwha?
The common denominator is media playback, but I haven't changed any drivers recently so I don't know why it would break now. The only software I have installed recently is Adobe Catalyst beta. Not knowing if that was somehow causing issues, I uninstalled it, but continued to have the network problems.
I am using Windows 7, Core i7 720 CPU (stock speed), 6 GB RAM, ATI Radeon 4890, Linksys WRT160N router, some no name wireless card running Ralink drivers, and a Scientific Atlanta modem from Comcast.
This is strange. There was weirdness going on with my (6-months-old) PC as of about two weeks ago, and tonight it got worse.
### The past two weeks:
After being online for some time, media I am playing (e.g., music or movies, I've noticed it with both) begins to stutter, and then my connection to my router drops, and I am unable to reconnect. I have been able to connect to another open network and never have this problem. It only happens with my router/modem.
Additionally, my computer will sometimes disconnect from this other open network (but without the weird media playback glitchiness), and then Windows will report "No connections are available", despite the fact that there are a dozen or so networks in the area that usually show. A minute or so later, the networks will all show again, and I can then reconnect to this other open network. (Still unable to connect to my own network.)
Things I tried to no avail:
A new wireless adapter
Resetting my router to factory defaults
A new router
A new modem
My roommate's iMac (dunno if this is the case, but it seems that he also loses the connection indefinitely once my computer kills it)
### Tonight:
ABout an hour after I boot up the computer, I was in the middle of playing a video on YouTube when the computer froze and a long "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" sound emanated from the speakers (as if the audio got stuck on a single note). I powered down the computer and restarted. Two hours later, while listening to a song in WinAmp, the computer froze again and the same single sound played from the speakers (maybe it was different, but it sounded similar). I have currently been on the computer again for about three hours (avoiding doing anything besides talking on AIM) without a problem.
### Yeahbuhwha?
The common denominator is media playback, but I haven't changed any drivers recently so I don't know why it would break now. The only software I have installed recently is Adobe Catalyst beta. Not knowing if that was somehow causing issues, I uninstalled it, but continued to have the network problems.
I am using Windows 7, Core i7 720 CPU (stock speed), 6 GB RAM, ATI Radeon 4890, Linksys WRT160N router, some no name wireless card running Ralink drivers, and a Scientific Atlanta modem from Comcast.
Change routers and see if it happens. If so, the you know it's your computer. If not, the it's your router. This happened to me last year with a Belkin router that overheated. The last few years I think router quality has gone downhill. I never used to have problems with them.
posted by thorny at 2:40 AM on March 16, 2010
posted by thorny at 2:40 AM on March 16, 2010
I've rate very similar symptoms with several retail routers and wireless cards from a variety of manufacturers. The routers overheat and bork/shutdown after a sustained datarate of over 1 MB/s which is pathetic since they have all be g draft rated for over 5 MB/s. The only solution I have found is to run CAT5 instead. Sounds like your wifi card might also be overheating. Try looking in the datarate your media is pulling.
posted by turkeyphant at 5:14 AM on March 16, 2010
posted by turkeyphant at 5:14 AM on March 16, 2010
Best answer: Sounds like it could be overheating. Is this a laptop or desktop? If its a desktop, what's your fan/dust situation like? If it's a laptop, is your fan going full-blast when this happens? Has this always happened or is it new?
posted by Xoder at 5:46 AM on March 16, 2010
posted by Xoder at 5:46 AM on March 16, 2010
Best answer: We had a similar problem with my girlfriends new computer and my couple-of-years-old linksys router.
The fix for us was to stop using WPA2 as our encryption and switch to WPA (any works...enterprise, personal, etc.) There is an obvious conflict between the card and the router. I have also done this at least 4 times for clients and it has also fixed the problem. In one case, it was as simple as changing the access PW for the network.
In any case, delete the connection from your wireless utility and re-enter it. That also often fixes problems. I'm assuming it's a caching issue,but I'm not sure.
posted by TomMelee at 6:17 AM on March 16, 2010
The fix for us was to stop using WPA2 as our encryption and switch to WPA (any works...enterprise, personal, etc.) There is an obvious conflict between the card and the router. I have also done this at least 4 times for clients and it has also fixed the problem. In one case, it was as simple as changing the access PW for the network.
In any case, delete the connection from your wireless utility and re-enter it. That also often fixes problems. I'm assuming it's a caching issue,but I'm not sure.
posted by TomMelee at 6:17 AM on March 16, 2010
Response by poster: @beerbajay: Running a virus scan now, and will go through a memory scan when I get home from work.
@thorny, etc.: I have tried my roommate's spare router. Going into the settings, I can see the modem isn't passing along IP/DNS info. Just to be sure, though, I am going tomorrow to pick up a brand new router. My computer is upstairs while the internet is downstairs, so running wired ethernet isn't feasible. I may consider ethernet over the power lines, though.
@Xoder: Desktop. I haven't noticed the fan running any faster when this happens, but I'll pick up some compressed air and clean the thing out just in case. Also, this is new to the past couple of weeks.
@TomMelee: I wondered if the encryption was an issue, so I opened the network. Problem persists. I am going to try to do another hard reset of the router to see if that helps.
posted by isnotchicago at 8:04 AM on March 16, 2010
@thorny, etc.: I have tried my roommate's spare router. Going into the settings, I can see the modem isn't passing along IP/DNS info. Just to be sure, though, I am going tomorrow to pick up a brand new router. My computer is upstairs while the internet is downstairs, so running wired ethernet isn't feasible. I may consider ethernet over the power lines, though.
@Xoder: Desktop. I haven't noticed the fan running any faster when this happens, but I'll pick up some compressed air and clean the thing out just in case. Also, this is new to the past couple of weeks.
@TomMelee: I wondered if the encryption was an issue, so I opened the network. Problem persists. I am going to try to do another hard reset of the router to see if that helps.
posted by isnotchicago at 8:04 AM on March 16, 2010
isnotchicago make sure you delete the connection entirely. As in find the list of networks in the utility, and delete them. Don't just change the network password or w/e. Delete it and restart and refind it.
posted by TomMelee at 9:23 AM on March 16, 2010
posted by TomMelee at 9:23 AM on March 16, 2010
Response by poster: I am tentatively letting dust take credit for the recent bout of shutdowns. I have been playing media for a couple of hours now with no issue. (Thanks Xoder! I have only had the computer for half a year, and have it placed off the ground, so I did not even consider dust build-up/overheating.)
Overheating may also have been the issue with my network access, as I am now able to connect to my router again. However, this whole router thing is still a mystery as I don't understand what my computer could do to break the network enough that even my roommate could not connect with his iMac.
Or, switching to WPA may have fixed things. Dunno why WPA2 would all of a sudden not work, but it is working WPA now, and I am too much of a scaredy geek to try WPA2 just yet.
posted by isnotchicago at 1:06 AM on March 17, 2010
Overheating may also have been the issue with my network access, as I am now able to connect to my router again. However, this whole router thing is still a mystery as I don't understand what my computer could do to break the network enough that even my roommate could not connect with his iMac.
Or, switching to WPA may have fixed things. Dunno why WPA2 would all of a sudden not work, but it is working WPA now, and I am too much of a scaredy geek to try WPA2 just yet.
posted by isnotchicago at 1:06 AM on March 17, 2010
You might want to consider adding an additional case fan, if your case has room for it. The last computer I built had these problems, but a quick run to CompUSA (yes, I'm dating myself and spent too much for right now convenience) and grabbing a few fans helped a lot.
A note on airflow design: your power supply is (almost certainly) blowing out of the case so go with it by sucking air in the front of the case and blowing it out the back with additional fans.
posted by Xoder at 7:58 AM on March 30, 2010
A note on airflow design: your power supply is (almost certainly) blowing out of the case so go with it by sucking air in the front of the case and blowing it out the back with additional fans.
posted by Xoder at 7:58 AM on March 30, 2010
Oh, yes, and don't forget to dust regularly. Long-term overheating can damage your computer long before you notice symptoms.
posted by Xoder at 8:00 AM on March 30, 2010
posted by Xoder at 8:00 AM on March 30, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by beerbajay at 2:37 AM on March 16, 2010