myDMX Crashing

There is a documented issue(a bug becomes a feature via documentation!) in which you are instructed to unplug and re-plug in the dongle. That usually is indicative of a .dll being wonky. Then again, Microsoft is known for making core changes through updates without taking into consideration anything other that Microsoft.

If you're crashing, it's usually recommended to STOP what you're doing and reboot. Microsoft does not use protected memory(despite claiming they do), so crashing doesn' purge fully that memory. It's best to just start with a clean slate sometimes.

Now that I have my MyDMX and can start tweaking, I can examine this closer. I also bought Sonar to expand capabilities and will be experimenting with that over the next few weeks.

Hang in there. I left it running on my laptop(the intended end point for MyDMX to live for shows) for a full 5 days. Granted, I wasn't doing much with it, but it didn't crash. Pre-dongle, I might add.

Pre-dongle everything was cool.

I rebooted 3 times on Saturday night. Withing 15 minutes of running a show it would crash again.

Soooo frustrating.

System Config:
Dell Inspiron e1705
Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
200GB Hard Drive
ATI X1400 Graphics

myDMX was the only thing running.

ARRRGGG... Now it wont patch anything when it's in USB Mode. WTH... I would expect issues from a $50 product. But a $299 product should be fairly bug free. I did manage to get a screenshot this time.

Dude, $299 is a drop in the bucket.

Oracle sold the State of California a bug riddled database management solution for damn near a quarter billion dollars and it had more bugs in it that a termite farm. DOn't even get me started with how that's affected my other business.

And another note: It's a 1.0.

See that? A Point ZERO release. Come on, they're all gonna have a few kinks to work out.

Did you reboot? Mine's working fine at the moment.

After aboupt 2 hours of playing this morning. I got it running... Right now I'm running my shows with the USB dongle plugged in, but no lights plugged in. It's been solid for about 30 minutes so far.

Also this isn't a 1.0 myDMX is a rebrand of Sun Suite. But thats beside the point. I know $299 is a drop in the bucket.

I also am beginning to think that the dmx module is highly suseptable to DMX feedback. I was not running a terminator on Saturday night due to the fack my DMX chain was only 18' long. But with none of the lights plugged in it seems to be going solid.

Are you using DMX cabling?

DMX is a unidirectional language. Using a TX+ and TX- to balance the signal for longer drive runs.

Using a DMX terminator isn't going to be a great soliution if you're not using the right cables.
Speaking of which, I gotta spool off 200-feet of accucable and make my main DMX run. It's not running down my snake anymore, that's for sure. I'll get a real for it later this week.

If I can, I'll design a show. Gee exciting. Fade this, fade that..... on this, on that. Basically, dimmer packs and maybe a mover and a color changer. No Par38's or hi-tech or center peices plugged in. I want this to run AC-power light.

Since the average wedding seems to drag on for 4 hours of drunken insanity, that's what I'll aim for. Copy and paste will be my new bestest buddy.

how much RAM is in the computer your using to run my dmx? And also what kind of computer do you have and how much video memory? Give me the run down on your system and then we can troubleshoot from there. Sincerely,

Specs were posted in the thread, here they are again.

System Config:
Dell Inspiron e1705
Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
200GB Hard Drive
ATI X1400 Graphics

Yes I am using LiveWire Data Cabling. All brand new as of Saturday.

So we dont have two communications goin on I'll just post everything you requested in the email here.

System Config:
Dell Inspiron e1705
Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB RAM
200GB Hard Drive
ATI X1400 Graphics

I'm not running the 3d Visualizer. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the software numerous times, from various media (ie the included CD, the internet, etc.) On a bright note, I got it running this morning about 11:30 or so and have been running a program for over an hour and a half w/o any issue. But there are no lights plugged into the DMX box (not sure if that has any effect or not)

well given the nature of this product i certainly hope not. ok so it has been running fine? try it with the lights plugged in and also are you using DMX cables?? not mic cables. there is a difference. if you dont have any try some of our accu cable. good stuff at a low price too! sincerely,

OK I can't test the lights until later today. But I will definately give them a run in a bit. Also yes I'm using Data Cable.More specifically I'm running Live Wire DMX3 Data Cable.

Are you sure these are data-rated 120-ohm cables?

Last I checked, LiveWire cables doesn't make DMX cabling. They do make MIDI cables, but not DMX cabling.

Also, are you using a terminator? If not, why not?

I just bought a 300-foot spool of Accucable. I am not using it yet but that's a technical issue due to a minor mistake. I'll be swapping out mic cabling for this DMX cabling. Works better, trust me. Not pushing Accucable just because I bought a lot, but it's necessary to use the right cabling for the application. Loks are deceiving, especially when both Mic and DMX use the same wiring(which is why all should be using the original 5-pin DMX cabling specification, even if just pins 2 and 3 are hot)

XP or vista? Also 32 bit or 64??

XP Pro 32Bit

Chris I don't think LiveWire makes the cable I think they just rebrand it. The cable itself specifically reads VTG AUDIO DMX CABLE 1 PAIR.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Live-Wire-Advantage-DMX-Cab...03142428-i1169397.gc

Also not using a terminator b/c I had forgot my terminator on Saturday. I figured it wasn't going to make too much of a difference at 18'

JUST IN CASE IT MATTERS:
I was using the following lights on Saturday when the crashes were happening.
1 ADJ Pearl LED - DMX Addr 1
2 P64 LED - DMX Addr 3 & DMX Addr 9
1 Extreme Laser Cosmic Frenzy - DMX Addr 15

Terminators are easy to lose. I've build many and my crew just won't pay attention. I've done runs MUCH longer without a terminator, but right now, I don't do anything without a terminator laying around.

Anyhow, third-party cable being rebranded under a trademarked name is unethical as well as illegal since Live Wire doesn't make that type of cable. But that's Guitar Center's lawsuit to deal with, not mine. If it's not a part on the Live Wire page, it's not an authorized part.

But, assuming the cable is 120-ohm, what else do you have on your computer clogging up the resources? Give a run-down of other software installed, as well as commonly used hardware that may be installed or connected. Are you current with the latest batch of patches and fixes for all your software, including XP Pro 32-bit? How was your operating system loaded? Dell pre-load, or did you wipe it and start fresh(my recommendation!)

When you are removing the software, are you rebooting afterwards? A DLL or drive or even an INF file may be sitting in memory still. Depending on the nature of the driver, it may execute a TSR(terminate, stay resident) software routine which stays active until rebooted or forced to be unloaded(which can be tricky).

When removing software, especially for a re-install, you might want to go all the way: Remove, reboot, reload.

In the case of software like Nero, once something goes wonky, you're boned to infinity and beyond. But it's poorly designed from the ground up. I could give you horror stories about trying to make a simple edit or do something simple and Nero constantly bombing.

But having said that, you night also take it a step further. Delete the MyDMX directory from your C: drive(it doesn't load under Program Files unless you want it to, which is perfectly fine).

Also, follow the install instructions: ensure the dongle is out, install the software(after a clean reboot) and then plug it in.

You may also need to experiment with which USB port you SHOULD use for the MyDMX dongle. Sometimes devices marry to a port, some done. Some USB ports on laptops have better power than others(will be consistent for the model), so perhaps you're on the wrong port. Using a USB hub? Is it powered? You should use a powered hub for this application.

Oh, my test environment will be as follows. Nobody throw rocks at me, OK?

My Dell D410 laptop from hell. 504MB RAM, 16MB video, XP Pro 32-bit, 1.8GHz Intel(not sure what exact flavor), screen at 1024X768(max) at 32-bit resolution. 60 or 80 gig drive.

Has MyDMX on it, will attach dongle to it. I also use a USB Mouse on it.

DMX environment: Chauvet Intimidator Color, Chauvet Q-Spot150 and an ADJ DP-DMX20L, which should be sufficient. Cabling will be sub-part for the application using high-quality XLR cables because I'm not ready to start chopping my real of Accucable yet. I have my terminator and will use it. I feel that even without attaching fixtures to the dimmer pack, it will be sufficient to emulate a working environment. Will post when I have results. may take a while, things have a tendency to get out of control at the home.

XP is my install. All drivers/updates have been run.

Nothing else really loads at startup other than anti-virus, and the M-Audio driver for my pre-amp that I WASNT using that night.

Funny thing is, today I'm killing the software with a very long and very extreme show. While also running Adobe Audition, and I've have no issue for the past 2-3 hours. Again thats w/ zero lights plugged into the usb dongle.

keep me posted as to what is going on when you hook the lights up. i know when i first recieved the dongle it took a litle bit for the coputer to adapt or something but after that on a 32 bit vista OS and 128 dedicated video ram and 1GB of ram total it runs fine on mine. sincrely,

Well, I'm still learning MyDMX, and I still have a lot to learn.

My rig is as described, but with 20-foot XLR mic cables between each fixture. I've designed a very simple and LAME show but it works.

All white, all red, all green, all blue, all yellow. Loop it all every 12 seconds. I am telling it to change my 64B LED Pros as well, even though those aren't in the box. I have no clue how to program advance moment in my moving heads right now, but this whole thing has been looping for a while(say, 30 minutes) and all is well. Yes, the lights are plugged in. And I'm on that computer right now typing this up.

But I'll do additional tests in a bit. Such as stopping, restarting and doing non-recommending things, like unplugging the dongle, killing the app in the middle and stuff like that.

What I can say is that I'm perfectly pleased with my Q-spot 150 profiles, but I need to redo those in their proper location, so I'll be heading out for a bit of documentation and transcription in a bit. Then emailing a bundle of stuff off to Jingles tonight.

For your Q-spots, if you use the built in effect generator, you can design nice sweeps, and pans w/o much hassel. I was using the built in effect generator with my AccuSpot 300's

Theoretically that would be cool, but once I hit that mode, MyDMX crashes.

I can confirm some strangeness, but mine seems tied to that issue mostly. I have very HARD crashes with MyDMX. It ran fine for over 45 minutes running 5 simple scenes, each involving movement on the Q-spot 150's, but not cool stuff, more of a "move here chance color, sit", then change X,Y and color for next scene.

My findings I will keep to myself and submit through authorized channels. In my case, I run this laptop lite. Dongle plugged in or not made no difference. DMX units plugged in or not made no difference.

I'll ask each of you to mail me your findings. Jamesk at American dj DOT COM ok? Chris you especially. Sincerely,

I'm compiling it right now. It's gonna take a while. I'm quite literally fighting to be able to get out the door to get my truck fixed. I have very narrow windows of opportunity and someone keeps narrowing them down further and further.

It's hard to succeed when people around you do their best to prevent it.

Chris Pickett said:

quote:

I also bought Sonar to expand capabilities and will be experimenting with that over the next few weeks.

Chris, have you had any luck with this???

Thank you,

Dave Zag

zag hey im so sorry it took so long. i just found out last night that it should run fine using both programs and will recognize each other as far as midi triggering goes. sincerely,

Just my 2-cents:

A few weeks is a rapid timeline for me these days. Most of your heads would explode if you had to deal with what I do around here on a daily basis.

I figured since MyDMX is looking for a MIDI event trigger, it is listening to the MIDI interface. But, what I see it it's expecting something a but more than a quick keyboard press for ease of entry. It would be nice if there was a more "robust menu" for that with a customizable setting. Say, I mash Note 36 for example, I could copy/paste and then tweak it to be a different note should I want to.

I guess between patch change commands and note values, you can get 256 options no problem.

I don't see any particular single right way to do things. I just need to sit and test more. But my priorities are elsewhere right now. I did have a good time playing with MyMDX yesterday. It was cool seeing my lame show design working in front of me with actual fixtures. Cool stuff!

quote:

I don't see any particular single right way to do things. I just need to sit and test more. But my priorities are elsewhere right now. I did have a good time playing with MyMDX yesterday.

Jingles & Chris,

Thanks a lot for the communication. I have a Trigger Finger that has programmable MIDI faders and buttons that I can run thru Sonar on its way to the light interface. I hope to record that in Sonar, and then have the lights play from a midi track, just as if they were a musical instrument. I will order a MyDMX dongle tonight, and let you guys know how my adventure goes.

Zag

thats great1 im sure you'll be pleased and have a TON more questions for us aswell! have fun!
sincerely,

I'm getting my truck fixed next week. Once that's done, I have a place to move my mains into. Then I can drag out my little Roland MS-1 sampler and I can use that as my MIDI trigger unit.

I have an absolutely perfect application for that too.

With this one guy I work with, he does "game show" type stuff. I can trigger lighting scenes via the MS-1, which I was gonna load up with "game show" music and sound effects. Wrong answer? Set the stage RED for 5 seconds, then fade back to an all white scene. "Contestant hunt" and do some random-crazy lighting sequences. Even if I'm not running sound off the computer(yet), I can still get what I want done.

Awesome. More I use the product, more I like it. Still lots to learn. Be patient, I'm a sound guy.

I sucessfully ran a 15 fixture show last night for 5 hours w/o a crash. I did "upgrade" the usb cable to one that has some sheilding. So it's entirely possibly the thing stock usb just wasn't cutting it in my environment. For right now I'd say the issue is gone.

So, bad cable? I'm using the supplied cable with no problems other than what I submitted in my report.

It's not like it needs mountains of bandwidth, it's just 256K.

As long as everyones happy! glad you got it to work! sincerely,

This sounds similar to issues I'm having. I had the same esa error message, and I've been completely unable to patch lights.

The program works fine if I uninstall, reinstall, then use without rebooting... can't do this for too long.