GV1240 Crashes, Crashes, Crashes...

[solowjoe 0]

Well it has been a long eight months since I purchased this DVR card and it is still not working and now I am wishing I had just paid ADT the twelve grand they wanted... lol! Finding this forum gives me hope, though…

 

First off, here is what I am working with:

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard (North Bridge Intel G31 South Bridge Intel ICH7)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz

Crucial Ballistix 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) X 2

SAPPHIRE 100218L Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 (However this is now fried so I'm currently using onboard Intel GMA 3100 chip for video)

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500AAKS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

 

There is an IDE DVD ROM in the box and that’s everything inside the computer. I am running 16 cameras. No sound (I have microphones but I'm trying to get the video working first).

 

I have tried both XP and Vista SEVERAL times. I have tried GV software 8.12 and 8.2. All the computer does is crashes. I tried an Nvidia graphics card (MSI NX8500GT-TD256E GeForce 8500 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16) and it crashed. I have taken out each of the RAM chips and it crashed. I have tried the card on one of my other computers which is AMD based and of course it crashed (I tried both graphics cards in both machines).

 

At first it would just reboot itself. Which was a pain but at least it rebooted and would auto-login and start recording. Then it just went to black screens and froze. Lately I have been getting a ton of BSODs. A lot of the time after these blue screens I can’t even load windows. Even in safe mode. Last night it froze for the first time freezing the camera picture on the screen. When I restarted it today the computer made a long beep and wouldn’t POST. I turned it off for a few minutes and it started right up and it’s now been up for about four hours with no problem (knock on wood). Also, I have gone through about 4 hard drives in this process (WDs and Maxtors). They seem to fizzle out and I can’t even format them in the windows installer after that.

 

Here’s what I have been doing: I first install the operating system(I have tried XP SP2, XP SP3, Vista Business, and Vista Business SP1). Then I install all the drivers (usually only needs the VGA and GV drivers, maybe LAN). I have tried it with MS chipset drivers and with the ones supplied by the manufacturers. Then I install all available windows updates. Then Geovision system. And finally DDNS server software. That is all of the software on the computer.

 

I also tried installing the card in our server, which is a P4 powerhouse that runs Windows SBS 2003. That ended up crashing the whole network.

 

The last thing I can think of to mention that might be helpful is that the computer is in a small micro-atx case. The case has a temperature gauge on it and my CPU runs at 40 C and my hard drive runs at 44 C. I looked up these temperatures and they do not seem abnormal but the computer is up high in a small office where it is often very hot. Do you think I am burning this thing out? Or do I have a bad Geovision card?

 

Any help at all will be appreciated. The person I installed it for is patient because he knows we saved a lot of money with the DIY job but it is becoming increasingly frustrating to deal with. Plus it’s starting to get expensive. And to think how I laughed when the ADT guy sent me that quote!

 

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[ezCCTV 0]

I would recommend checking the threads on here to make sure that your card is genuine.

[solowjoe 0]

I have checked my cards authenticity as per this thread: (I can't post links yet, but it was entitled "how to check authentic geovision cards").

 

It seems to be the real deal. I also sent the serial number to geovision (I had to in order to download new software) and they sent me the link. It has Geovision, Made In Taiwan, and GV1480/1240/1120 v2.01 imprinted on the card. There is also a Geovision hologram. It came in a Geovision box with all manuals and CDs (Version 8.12 but I bought it in October). It was purchased from Palmvid, who told me they are one of the leading retailers of GV cards (who isn't?).

 

Thank you for your reply, as my situation does sound like those who have gotten knock-offs.

[ezCCTV 0]

A few things..

 

1. Is the system stable without the GV card installed?

2. Can you try moving the card to a different PCI slot?

3. Check to see if there are any BIOS updates for your motherboard.

4. I cannot see why a GV card would cause the hard drives to fail.

5. The chipset is fine. Do you have any other machines that are Intel chipset based to try the card on. If all this fails, then I suggest you may have a faulty card, or motherboard.

[UMDRanger 0]

I'll vouch for Palmvid. Thats there I got my GV-800-4 several years ago. Works like a charm, always has.

[solowjoe 0]

A few things..

 

1. Is the system stable without the GV card installed?

Purrs like a kitten.

 

2. Can you try moving the card to a different PCI slot?

There are only two and I have tried both.

 

3. Check to see if there are any BIOS updates for your motherboard.

There was a BIOS update and I installed it and the computer didn't crash for about 36 hours, then ame old same old...

 

4. I cannot see why a GV card would cause the hard drives to fail.

Me neither but how can you explain going through all those drives is such a short amount of time?

 

5. The chipset is fine. Do you have any other machines that are Intel chipset based to try the card on.

Yes the computer with Windows Server 2003 has an ABIT AW9D-MAX Motherboard (North Bridge Intel 975X, South Bridge Intel ICH7R) and that one crashed almost daily.

 

If all this fails, then I suggest you may have a faulty card, or motherboard.

Doesn't seem to be the baord, right? I have tried three different ones, two of which have Intel chipsets. Do you think I have a faulty card? There was a time where it didn't crash at all for a month, then it just started crashing again almost daily. Maybe I can get Palmvid to swap out my GV card. It's still under warranty...

 

Thanks and please let me know if there's anything else you can think of!

[Javik 0]

What brand and how many watts is the power supply unit? You don't list that in your posts.

 

It may be more of a voltage stability problem if you're running right at the edge of the power supply's capacity limits.

[kensplace 0]

Are you monitoring the temps in the pc to see if its overheating?

[sinbad 0]

what did the BSOD say is the reason?

that should be the first thing to check before swapping crap load of hardware and versions...

check also your windows Event Log for clues.

you didn't mention updating windows after install. make sure you do that too.

IMO before deciding its a faulty card you need to track what exactly causing the PC to crash.

[solowjoe 0]

What brand and how many watts is the power supply unit? You don't list that in your posts.

 

It may be more of a voltage stability problem if you're running right at the edge of the power supply's capacity limits.

 

It is a 500W Apevia Switching Power supply, model number WIN-500PS. Do you think this is sufficient?

[solowjoe 0]

Are you monitoring the temps in the pc to see if its overheating?

 

The CPU and the hard drive are never more than 50 degrees Celsius. I have seen P4 systems run stable at 70+ so I do not think this is the issue.

[dcam 0]

IT sounds to me like you have 2x problems, one that causes your HD's to fizzle out , and the other is definitely the card. You said you tried it out in another computer and it crashed, well that say everything, assuming the card, software, drivers etc.were properly installed, it should not crash another computer, send that thing back straight away, and when you get the new one back try it in another computer first, if it works fine then you know that you are not doing anything wrong with computer build or set up. The only thing is I would be afraid to try it out in the original computer in case there is a fault in it, (maybe motherboard) and it damaged the GV. card, not sure if this is possible though.