Cel. v1.3.2pre1: target at vega crashes

[selden]

This problem is not seen in Celestia v1.3.1-1 final.

Problem:

The Windows version of Celestia v1.3.2pre1 crashes when trying to select a Target after going to a planet around Vega.

Instructions to reproduce the problem:

0. install Windows Celestia v1.3.2pre1 from scratch
1. create the following MyPlanet.ssc and put it in extras. (It has been drastically simplified after first encountering the bug.)

Code: Select all

"MyPlanet" "Vega"
{
   Texture "earth.*"
   Radius 100

   EllipticalOrbit {
   Period            1
   SemiMajorAxis     4
   }
}

2. Start Celestia
3. Wait for it to get to Io
4. Type [return]Vega[return]G
5. Wait for it to get to Vega
6. Type [return]M[tab][return]G
7. Wait for it to get to MyPlanet
8. Type [return]
9. Type any letter
*crash* at Offset 00092c2b

Exception information:
Code: 0x5 Flags: 0
Record: 0x0 Address: 0x0...0492c2b

System:
256MB 500MHz P3, Windows XP Pro SP1
128MB Nvidia Ti4200, Nvidia drivers v44.03

[don]

Hi Selden,

Thank you for the clear step-by-step instructions.

However, I am not able to get this error on my system (XP Pro ATI card). Yes, I did a fresh install too. I also tried changing a couple of other things, such as render mode, FOV, ambient light, etc.

Any other nVidia users getting this error?

Have you done a cold-start of your system lately (power-down, wait 10 sec, power up)?

Do you have any other programs (apps) running when doing this?

Maybe someone else here knows what a Code: 0x5 means?

Hope we can nail it down.

-Don G.

[selden]

Don,

My system has ECC memory and SCSI disk drives and is running IBM's (no longer available) SMART disk monitoring program. It doesn't have the glitchy problems that afflict systems that have non-ECC memory and IDE disks. It was down overnight and I did power it up this morning before I discovered this problem, though.

I'll try a restart after I've finished today's work on the other major project I'm working on. (Planets for Partiview.)

[don]

Sounds like a real nice setup Selden.

Yes, graphics card, memory and disk were my initial thoughts when I could not duplicate the error. If you would like a fresh copy of the 1.3.2p1 celestia.exe file, I could e-mail one to you. Then you could copy your base-install, replace the exe, and manually run that copy. This would rule out a disk error.

To help rule out a memory error, try loading / un-loading other apps before running Celestia, to force it into different memory positions.

Not sure what else to try.

-Don G.

[selden]

Don,

I was trying to tell you: it is not a memory problem. ECC = Error Correcting Code. ECC memory uses the SECDED (Single bit Error Correction, Double bit Error Detected) algorithm to sense memory problems at runtime. Windows will halt if there are any memory problems.

As a side effect, the manufacturers are forced to use higher quality memory chips, since people will notice any problems immediately. Memory without ECC too often is of lower quality, since they figure you are unlikely to notice right away if it drops a bit here and there....

[Bob Hegwood]

Selden,

Just FYI...

I tried your steps to re-create the problem on my limited machine, and I did *not* get a problem of any kind.

Just thought I'd let you know.

Take care, Bob

[don]

Hi Selden,

I've been told in the past that many PC CPUs don't properly support ECC. And, if I remember correctly, ECC must be selected / set in the BIOS also. I assume you know all of this already and believe you know what you're doing, but it never hurts to try memory experiments.

Have you tried throwing salt over your left shoulder for good luck?

-Don G.

[selden]

Don,

Yes, I know about those things. It's part of my job requirement

Those were some of the considerations which lead me to choose an Asus P2B-DS motherboard a few years ago. Although it's rather slow by modern standards, I'm waiting for the cost of dual-processor systems to come back down out of the stratosphere before I upgrade again.