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ZBRUSH 1.5 crashing every 5 minutes ! (obsolete thread)

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Hello,

the problem I am actually facing is that I cannot use zbrush for a long time. It simply crashes after a few minutes i am playing with it regarless of the action or the tool i am using.

I am using the demo version but it doubt there’ll be a difference between the demo and the retail version concerning stability. Especially if the demo is here to let you try a software that you might buy.

I am using windows 2000 SP3 on a P4 2,3ghz with 1gig of ram, and my graphic card is a radeon 9800 pro with 128mo. Also using the latest ATI drivers.

So if anyone could possibly help me out on this one ? that would be nice !

You will sure understand my concern about buying a software that I cannot use because it crashes all the time.

Thanks.

  • WALEE -
#2

I too wouldnt buy any software that crashes every 5 minutes.
On the other hand you see thousands of users not having this problem.
ZBrush 1.55 is very stable and the problems must be looked for on your machine.

Maybe you try narrowing down the issue?
When do these crashes happen - are they reproducable by any means?

Anyways for starters id suggest the following steps:

Try newer/older versions of your graphics drivers and see how ZBrush behaves.

If you can try diffent memory (sub-par ram often is causing an instable system).

If you took any steps to enhance your systems performance like playing with multiplicators of the processor speed etc - go back to safe default values.

Wish you luck

#3

thanks for the reply nemo.

what do you mean by sub-par ram ?

And if the problem would come from overclocking my cpu that would be a shame that only zbrush is the only application crashing on my computer ! I will give it a try but I doubt it would be that :slight_smile:

#4

I think Zbrush is probably the most sophisticated software renderer ever conceived. Your hardware, and graphics card drivers will need to be similarly perfect to swing with it.

On the otherhand… if you use the quickmenu “Spacebar” in ZBrush you might try avoiding that and see whether the crashes stop.

#5

Hi Walee
Just reload the last Demo version at pixologic.com :slight_smile:
Pilou

#6

If I’m not mistaken, I think Zbrush does most of it’s calculations in software, and relies heavily on the CPU, instead of the graphics card. So overclocking the CPU may in fact be your problem. It could also be that you are using Windows 2000 as well. I’m not sure if that is a supported OS or not. And I think what was meant by sub-par RAM is that you may have RAM that is not running effeciently, and is causing the error.

From my experience, the only time I have had a crash in Zbrush is when I am working on very large files, ie 4096 X 4096 canvas size. I don’t think it has crashed other than that.

Hope this helps a little.

#7

Since RAM and CPU are both so critical to ZBrush operation, any problems with either of them can lead to what you’re experiencing. There are a few things that you should check out.

First, check your Preferences>Mem>Active Mem setting. It should be almost equal to the amount of RAM that you have installed in your system. What this does is allow ZBrush to make maximum use of the RAM that you have available, rather than having to write to disk so often. After changing your preferences, be sure to press Ctrl+Shift+I to save them.

Your CPU most likely is not to blame here unless it is being overclocked. Overclocking can create big problems unless you have sufficient cooling to back it up. As long as we’re talking about heat, that can be an issue with your RAM, too. Any module of 512MB or more should have a heat sink on it. Actually, it’s not even a bad idea for 256MB sticks. With that heat sink, you also need good air circulation inside your case. “Sub-par RAM” means that not all RAM is created equal. Certain brands are distinctly better than others.

Windows 2K is an extremely stable OS – but also very tricky to keep that point of stability. For example, it by default does something called “IRQ Sharing” that often creates problems for graphics users since the video card, sound card, and a few other things all get put on the same IRQ. As has already been mentioned, drivers and hardware configurations can also be involved. If none of the earlier suggestions worked then you’re going to have to go beyond the scope of what can be troubleshooted online.

#8

hello all,

I think my problem is finally solved.

I Checked the Preferences>Mem>Active Mem setting, and put it to 1024 (thats the ammount of memory I have).

And I also cooled a little better my case. by having a better airflow in my case.

And I think that does it. I haven’t tried to work for several hours yet but as for now i haven’t had a single crash ;).

Thanks again.

PS. the crash was only concerning zbrush, that means it simply quit with a message error and a log from Dr. Watson.

Thanks again.

#9

Glad to hear you solved the problem - just save often (as in every program).

Wish you a good time exploring ZBrush :+1:

#10

I am having this problem with my new PC and 1.55b. ZBrush is crashing at every session. I don’t see an “active mem” setting though, only a “compact mem” and “inactive mem” setting. I tried setting “compact mem” to 1970 (I have 2gig of ram), no help.
Running XP Pro, Radeon 9800XT, 1600x1200x32.
The system is very stable with my other software. Any help would be very much appreciated! I miss my ZBrush!
Thanks

Edit: Read the 1.55b manual, set both compact and inacvtive mem to 1024 (manual says 1024 max though one can enter a higher number). Still crashing.
:confused:

#11

One thing that I’ve noticed is that both of you have the Radeon 9800 cards. Have you checked to make sure you’re running the most current drivers for your card? How good is your case cooling – is the card getting enough airflow past it, or is the card’s heatsink/fan too close to another component to get adequate cooling?

How good is the RAM that you’re using? As has been mentioned before, sub-par RAM can create problems.

How long is ZBrush running before it crashes? Is there a particular step that you’re doing that you know leads to a crash, or is it totally random?

The bottom line is, the more information you can provide us with the more likely we’ll be able to help you.

#12

Thanks for the reply Matthew,
I’m using a new Dell Dimension XPS
P4 3.2ghz - XP Pro SP1 - 2 gb ram
256 mb ATI Radeon 9800XT - 1600x1200x32
Driver: 6.14.10.6414 - DirectX 9.0b

After reading your reply I updated the drivers to Catalyst 6.14.10.6422 and was able to run some Zscripts sucessfully again. Good!

But after doodling a bit I did encounter what looks to be a memory error while rendering.

So I guess I’ll look into whether I have some bad ram. I’ve had a lot of Dell computers and all have been safely flawless, but there’s always a first time.
Perhaps ZBrush stresses the ram more than photoshop, trueSpace, etc…?

I will post back with my discoveries. In the meantime, RadeonXT owners - update your drivers! :smiley:

#13

Hi Dognose
I had this sort of problem with a radeon with an another program
The solution was just to re install the prog !
For mysterious reason all works good since!
Maybe this can help you !
Pilou

#14

Thank you Pilou,
I’m still trying to determine if I have a ram problem. I swapped the two ram boards and still have an error in the same location when rendering in ZBrush. I’m not able to duplicate in Photoshop (opened large images until ram was used up). Was able to duplicate something similar using trueSpace though. Will keep looking! :slight_smile:

#15

Still haven’t resolved my crashes. As one test I rendered in trueSpace using a more memory intensive scene (doesn’t crash), but even the simplest render in ZBrush is crashing and indicating the same memory location each time.

Could ZBrush be writing to memory differently? Sorry, I don’t know this end of things. Should re-install ZBrush? Do I just download again? :frowning:

#16

bump, sigh… :frowning:

#17

Very strange… may be related to loading light settings (.zli).
I thought it may be GI lights in particular, but loading any of my saved settings seems to cause the program to crash after a short while. I can even open ZBrush, load a .zli, do nothing else, and after a while a crash happens!

Not sure how to re-install. I downloaded the demo and it’s been stable, but can’t test my .zli problem on the demo version. How would I download my purchased version again? I had simply transferred my ZBrush files from my old PC to the new one, re-registered and then this problem began. Could this have caused a problem?

Thanks for any help. Hope to get this sorted.

#18

I have a ATI 9800XT and also have had alot of crashes but the whole screen just freezes and and I have you manual shut it down, I got use this happining but because I save often just reloaded it.

There does seem to be a ATI card thing happining here. I do often get the blue screen of death and log files shows its a GPU problem but this is just in windows not zbrush running.

For me cant be a heat problem as sys temp is 30c and cpu is 31c but cpu is overclocked.