[mythtv-users] machine lockups and random sound cut-outs

[Micah Wedemeyer]

Ok,

My Myth box is up and running, but it's pretty unstable right now.  It
won't stay up for more than a day or two and usually goes down in about
12 hours.

First off, here's my setup:

Myth .18 (combined frontend/backend)
Fedora Core 3, kernel 2.6.11_(something like FC 14 or something)
AOpen MK-89L (nForce3-150 mATX mobo)
AMD Sempron 2600+
256MB of RAM
PVR-250
NVidia GeForce4 Ti4200
Netgear WG311 wireless card


I followed Jarod's guide to put it together, and I think I followed it
pretty much to the letter, except for the wireless card.  I use(d) the
acx100 drivers since it's a Texas Instruments chipset.  The drivers
worked really well, but I quit using them since I thought they might be
causing the lockups.  Well, it's still locking up...

Here's my symptoms:
1) At seemingly random points, the entire system locks up.  So far, I've
only seen it happen when mythfrontend is running.  This could be because
I usually have the frontend running all the time.  I'll try leaving it
on overnight with the frontend off.  This is really annoying, and I'm
kind of stuck.  If anyone has any advice on troubleshooting crashes (ie.
Logs to look at, settings to tweak, etc.) I would really love to hear
it.

2) While watching (either LiveTV or recordings) sound will cut out.  I
hear a static-hiss for a while, then sound comes back.  The static will
rise in volume, stay for a while, then slowly fade to nothing, then
sound suddenly comes back on.  This seems to happen at random, but my
wife says it happens much more frequently during the middle of the day.
I checked that the cable cord was plugged in tight.  What else could it
be?


Anyways, I would greatly appreciate any advice people have!  The WAF is
starting to fall pretty fast, and I don't know how much time I have
before the axe drops and I have to go buy a TiVo...

Micah