I’m running a VB6 application that does image processing on an image grabbed using an external trigger, a Euresys Picolo1 board and an NEC camera.  The program runs continuously, doing analysis of a new image every 15 seconds or so.  The problem we’re having is that the program and computer freeze up a couple times a day, requiring the machine to be rebooted.  We have not ruled out a hardware issue; we’re using a Compaq computer with a Pentium 4 2.5 Ghz processor, running Windows XP.  But I’m also trying to figure out if there is anything in the software that might be causing the crash.  Any thoughts on any of this?

just a tot... well... how big are the images being processed?

that might be a problem... how do you load the images?

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Been busy trying to take a second degree <--it's not working out...

Each image is about 900 KB.  The dimensions are approximately 8000x7000 pixels (using a Euresys image box [EC24Image]), not a regular VB Image or Picture Box).

The Picolo board and camera are configured to receive an external trigger from a production-line machine.  Once this trigger is received the camera grabs an image and a scan routine runs within VB, analyzing the image.

I'm not sure if I'm giving enough info, but thanks for any input you may have.

well... how fast does the image get processed?

is the image copied to the clipboard? yuo'd have to clear the clipboard, to prevent hanging... due to lacking system resources.

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Been busy trying to take a second degree <--it's not working out...

you did'nt mentioned the memory of your pc i mean ram

because you need a ram about 256mb or higher

mail me your  problem briefly
i can be a hardware problem
i am a hardware engineer and i will help you
sajoo

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sajoo

vbgen,

The image gets processed in one or two seconds.  There are about fifteen seconds between images (i.e. the external triggers).

I did find out that the board we're using does not have its own memory.  So the image may be copied to the clipboard.  I'm not really clear on that--is the clipboard just part of main memory?  We may end up replacing the board with one that has its own memory, although I don't know if that will solve our problem.

I've run a version of the program on a laptop without any external trigger.  That is, the same image was being processed over and over.  I had our scan routine running every two seconds in this version; the program ran for about twelve hours and there were no freeze-ups.

Other people have suggested a memory leak, which is what I think you’re getting at.  We’re looking at our code as well as the drivers for the board.


sajoo,

Tomorrow I’ll check the memory amount on the PC we’re using at the site.  It’s a new Compaq so I’m guessing it would have 256MB (at least).

Besides the description I gave in my first reply, what info would you need to troubleshoot this?


Thanks to you both for your input.


Brad

the clipboard uses a lot of memory... especially when you use images. if the clipboard isn't cleared, then the memory used won't be freed, and that would slow down the process...

if it's working on the laptop, then perhaps you should run and test the program in the original hardware it's supposed to run on...

as for sajoo's offer, i would strongly suggest that you collaborate with him... we'll never know, maybe the problem is in the hardware.

i also think you should tell us where the images go afterwards... do you save them in the hard drive? then tell us how much space you have in your hard drive... and how many drives do you have in your pc.



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Been busy trying to take a second degree <--it's not working out...

vbgen,

We’ve had a bit of a breakthrough with this program.  We switched computers (from a Compaq to an HP) and we made a couple changes in our code, and so far the freezeup is not occurring.  We now have to figure out which change solved the problem (basically whether it was hardware or software, although a combination is possible).

An images is saved to the hard drive only if our scan routine deems it to be a “fail” (based on criteria in the routine).  There shouldn’t be an issue of running out of hard disk space, at least not yet.  Our concern was that the images being loaded into memory were not being cleared out, but I don’t think that’s happening here.


Sajoo,

The memory amount on the Compaq is 256MB.  I believe it’s the same on the HP.



I’ll try to give an update as we continue to troubleshoot our software in the next few days.

Thanks again.

hi

sorry for delay

ok

you r using 256 mb ram what kind of it i is it "sim" , "dim"
or "ddr "
if you are usig windows xp  it should be 'ddr'
an other thing

the external device you are using is it have is own memory
and are you using it on  usb or com port  

may be your computer is not competible with the device

ok



sajoo

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sajoo

well, brench... i do belive it may be a combination of both... but... to be safe...

use the same code you used on the compaq and run it on the hp... if there's a change, you'll know for certain that a factor is the hardware.

ait?  

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Been busy trying to take a second degree <--it's not working out...