Multiple Repeat Crashes.

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by enhanced, Oct 2, 2007.

  1. enhanced

    enhanced Member

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    22
    I'm not using AV on my VM, but I'll go ahead and try that utility now..

    I'll report back shortly with my results.
     
  2. enhanced

    enhanced Member

    Messages:
    22
    Okay, got the results in from the utility... it's still crashing.

    However, I was able to get a wealth of data by running activity monitor while the process was running.

    I took a sample of the process during, or VERY near the time of the crash:
    http://office.reenhanced.com/parallels/crash-sample.txt

    I have screenshots of the process inspection window, after the crash:
    http://office.reenhanced.com/parallels/memory.jpg
    http://office.reenhanced.com/parallels/stats.jpg

    And finally, here is the list of open files and ports from the process inspector:
    http://office.reenhanced.com/parallels/open-files.txt

    Is there any other possible data that would be helpful to diagnose this?

    Thanks,
    Nick
     
  3. BenInBlack

    BenInBlack Pro

    Messages:
    372
    I use "Spybot-SD Resident" for spyware and AVG for antivirus.
    these worked fine on 4560 and it is starting to sound like one of these might be issue.

    Well I need this for production programming and im not giving up the spybot or AVG.
    I am totally at loss why Parallels is not even commenting on this, and I am frustrated.
    I'm going back to build 4560. I signed up for the Beta team, If parallels wants me to spend time on trouble shooting they will let me know if im accepted.
     
  4. gegervision

    gegervision Hunter

    Messages:
    185
    I use AVG Network addition and can't say it's the cause, the one common thing is we both use AVG. Might be something they can look into.

    I downgraded today to 5158 because 5160 would crash or lockup at least 10 - 15 times a day for me. In the past versions I never had any serious issues like this and I have not installed any new apps. 5162 is even worse for me. Coherence would crash and Parallels would lockup at the same time. At least with 5160 I could exit out of Coherence to Single Windows and then back into Coherence to temporarily clear up the issue.

    So far 5158 has been solid for me (as well as in the past). I would suggest anyone have these issues to downgrade if you are crashing. It just might help.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2007
  5. BenInBlack

    BenInBlack Pro

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    372
    how can i get this build???
     
  6. gegervision

    gegervision Hunter

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    I'm trying to find out if I can legally post for you to download. Let's wait until tomorrow, Thursday. If I get approval then I'll setup the download. Again, unless Parallels can provide a download link for it.
     
  7. gegervision

    gegervision Hunter

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    185
  8. BenInBlack

    BenInBlack Pro

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    372
  9. Eru Ithildur

    Eru Ithildur Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,954
    Un-install parallels tools, un-install 5160 with the installer that comes in the 5160 disk image.

    Install 5158, install parallels tools.

    You should be set.
     
  10. BenInBlack

    BenInBlack Pro

    Messages:
    372
    thanks very much, I will do that Eru, most likely that link will not survive the night, Im glad I got the download ;-)

    I will make sure to no void the beta agreement and divulge any infor about this build. wait, there is a release build :)
     
  11. Xenos

    Xenos Parallels Team

    Messages:
    1,547
    Enhanced, please, check your PM.

    Best regards,
    Xenos
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2007
  12. gegervision

    gegervision Hunter

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    185
    This beta/rc was released to the entire forums two months ago so it is very likely they will not remove it. You are not violating any beta agreement since Parallels provided the link to us.
     
  13. Eru Ithildur

    Eru Ithildur Forum Maven

    Messages:
    1,954
    Parallels leaves just about all the old links working. They just don't advertise older builds, and so they shouldn't, you don't want people downloading older builds and installing it and calling up with fixed issues. Just imagine the support nightmare that can turn into.

    As to the agreement, you very well might be agreeing with a TOS when you install.
     
  14. BenInBlack

    BenInBlack Pro

    Messages:
    372
    Well, I'm on build 5158, will see how this goes.

    I found also that there is a new build for spybot so I installed that.

    What is weird is even though i have had Smart Select turned off in Guest Config i still got this on startup first time of 5158.
    [​IMG]
    This could be residual from when this VM was under 5160. But I can tell you this for certain this, that I have had Smart Select checked off thru this whole issue.
     
  15. enhanced

    enhanced Member

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    22
    I've just installed 5162 and while there has been some progress made on the error, it's not resolved.

    Now, instead of the VM crashing and disappearing without warning, it merely hangs and doesn't respond. So still.. no fix.
     
  16. gegervision

    gegervision Hunter

    Messages:
    185
    That's the issue I had with 5160 and 5162. You can always downgrade to 5158 and it should be stable. It's worth a try if you're up to it. Can't hurt. it worked for me. I would just backup your HDD first to an external drive in case any issues arise.
     
  17. soopahfly

    soopahfly Bit poster

    Messages:
    4
    @enhanced: I am still fairly sure that at the root of the problem an unbuffered "overlooked" interrupt type signal respectively the way it is being handled (or ignored) is causing problems. I also think the problem only happens in rare situations with a very high I/O load between Guest and Host (maybe while a semaphored device handler takes too much time locking a real device and then causing additonal I/O events being missed by another process). As your system call log ends with Audio Activity, that could also add to or be the problem. You could try to disable the Audio Device in the Guest XP's Device Manager and see if that improves your stability.

    Generally, I think the problem is a fundamental one and would be surprised if a different exisiting build reliably solves the problem. It just postpones or disguises the symptoms. But I may be totally wrong here. In any case, a problem like that is extremely hard to trace because it can destabilize the system state at host level in a very erratic and unpredictable manner.

    E.g. one of these crashes with an older build (I believe 4560) killed my Boot Camp Partition in an irreversible manner and there are few ways of an app being able to achieve that even while crashing with open files - but mostly Parallels just quits and does no harm.
     
  18. Xenos

    Xenos Parallels Team

    Messages:
    1,547
    enhanced, have you updated the VM tools and rebooted Mac?
    You should, if you haven't.
    Our programmers are analyzing your problem.

    Best regards,
    Xenos
     
  19. enhanced

    enhanced Member

    Messages:
    22
    Hi Xenos:

    Yes, I have installed 5162, rebooted OS X and reinstalled parallels tools.

    As reported above, this does change the problem slightly, but now instead of crashing it simply freezes the application.

    As mentioned, this is a consistent and repeatable issue.

    I've now removed the sound device from the VM and I'm running the reports to see if I'm still experiencing the problem. Expect an update in just a few minutes.
     
  20. enhanced

    enhanced Member

    Messages:
    22
    SUCCESS!!

    Removing the sound device has successfully stopped Parallels build 5162 from crashing.
    Thank you soopahfly!

    In order to acheive this result, I needed to edit the VM config and hit 'Remove' on the sound device. After that, the machine is silent (of course), but it no longer crashes.

    I can confirm that in non-beta builds before 5160 this issue did not exist, but I don't know if this issue will be resolved in 5160 with removal of the sound device. 5162 is the only one I can confirm has this issue resolved with the removal of the sound device.

    Thanks!
    Nick
     

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