Ongoing crashing.

[melvin]

Hello well here I am again, today has been a good day for viewing the Sun but after about an hour the laptop just froze, I think it was Sharpcap that crashed again. Before my session began I reloaded Sharpcap with the latest version as well as reinstalling the drivers for the ZWO ASI 120mc camera. I then did a virus scan and updated the AVG antivirus software then rescanned the laptop. I then attached the camera and it was correctly listed in Devices and Printers. As I said all was fine for about an hour then everything just froze. This was never a problem before I installed the drivers for the ZWO camera. I have drivers installed for my Altair Astro gp130 and my DMK 21, Do you think there could be a problem caused by one or the other drivers?

[admin]

Hi Melvin,

is it just SharpCap closing down/freezing, or does the whole computer reboot/lock up/shut down?

cheers,

Robin

[melvin]

Hi Robin it is the whole computer. But as I said it has only begun too happen since I installed the drivers for ZWO camera, could there be an issue as I already have the drivers for my two other cameras.

[oopfan]

Sorry to say, Melvin, but I had the same behavior with my ASI120MC (i.e. Windows freezing.) It did not happen that often but it did happen. Also, more frequently, I had to shut down SharpCap and disconnect the USB cable to the camera in order to reset it. It is a problem with the camera. I ran the latest drivers and firmware but still the problems persisted. Finally, the camera became unresponsive when the ambient temperature got down to +10C even though it is rated to -5C. I don't think that all ASI120MC's have this problem. I know someone who has a good one. Finally, I decided to buy a new, low-noise camera (not ZWO) for about $100 USD more than the ASI120MC. I am getting started with the new camera now but so far I really like it. I am hoping that I can continue to use the ASI120MC for polar alignment. For imaging, no. It is very noisy, and honestly is designed for just lunar and planetary work.

[admin]

I have seen the 'you have to unplug the camera to close SharpCap' thing on ZWO and other brands of camera - I think that the driver gets stuck but removing the device kicks it back into action again.

I haven't seen the hanging the whole computer problem, but it is definitely going to be related to the ZWO drivers (normal applications like SharpCap don't have the permissions to bring the whole computer to a halt). I would suggest making sure your USB cable is good (and not using extenders/hubs) to ensure good communication with the camera as it is almost certain that the problem happens when there is some miscommunication that is not expected by the driver.

cheers,

Robin

[melvin]

The whole laptop freezes once the program crashes and the only thing I can do is turn off the power. It does not let me close Sharpcap or anything. Once the laptop has powered off I then take out the cable from the camera ready to turn the power back on. It is the only way I know, is there any other way and doing it this way will it cause any other problems?

[oopfan]

Try a different USB cable.
Many laptops come with several USB sockets, try a different one.
Just use the cable to connect the camera to the laptop -- no USB hubs.

[melvin]

Thanks for the replies, all very useful and something for me to try, in the meantime I am thinking of getting a new laptop but my research shows that in the main the models have usb 3 ports, will I be able to connect my zwo camera into this newer type of port. I do not understand what the difference is between 2 use and 3 usb. Anyone advise me please.

[admin]

Hi,

USB3 is usually backward compatible (ie it runs USB2 devices with no problems). If you plug a USB3 device into a USB3 port using a USB3 cable then you get higher data transfer rates, otherwise it just works like USB2.

I have heard of some compatibility issues with the ZWO120 and USB3 on rare occasions, but in general I think it works fine.

cheers,

Robin

[turfpit]

Melvin

Which ASI120MC have you got - the older USB2 model or the one which ends in -S (which is USB3)?

The ASI120MC (USB2 and no autoguider port) I am using is not happy in a USB3 port - Windows Device Manager is not happy and system resources like processor and memory are not the issue.

ASI120MC-error-with USB3-port.PNG (14.77 KiB) Viewed 3197 times

I have the problem in 2 of 3 machines, the 3rd laptop is ok with the USB2 camera plugged into a USB3 port. A bit of a lottery really.

So this depends on your answer to the question at the start of this post.

Dave