Girder stops working when RR is launched

BlackStealth · 06-27-2006, 03:36 PM

On my test machine, I setup winlirc + girder + latest version of RR. Everything works fine.

On my carpc, I setup winlirc + girder + latest version of RR. Girder stops functioning when I launch RR. I am able to get one girder command to execute properly and that's music resume. After that it is non functional as long as RR is running. If I shutdown RR, girder comes back to life again.

To me this sounds like RR is somehow interfering with COM1 where my IR device is plugged into. Searching reveals that switching the GPS port to something else usually solves this problem, but it did nothing for me.

Since I'm desperate, I also changed the XM serial port from 0 to 9, in hopes it would be the culprit. Nope. Changed SIRIUS port from 0 to 9 also, no improvement.

I tested my girder using the F5 key command, and everything works smoothly there. So I'm pretty sure the problem is with a com port being open up by RR. Any ideas where I should look next?

MatrixPC · 06-27-2006, 03:52 PM

RR use serveral COM port.
- GPS info
- Sirus
- XM
- Voltage
- Thermo
If you aren't using any of those, set it to 0.
maybe you can post your rr.ini file to see if we can help trouble shot the problem.

On the site note: why not use iGor plugin instead of Winlirc?

BlackStealth · 06-27-2006, 04:48 PM

Okay, I've narrowed the problem some more. It seems to be CPU utilization related. When the CPU utilization is at 4% (RR at idle) all girder functions work, volume up, volume down, next track, previous track, etc. As soon as I start playing music, CPU utilization goes up to 28-34% and girder stops responding.

This tells me it's not a com port issue, but something else. My motherboard is a SP13000 (1.3Ghz VIA CPU), I thought this should be adequate CPU power. Hmm.

I tried using igorsfh56 plugin with girder but had zero success with it and that includes configuring igorsfg56 plugin input for DCD mode. Only winlirc plugin + winlirc 0.6.5 running in the background works for me.

If I had high cpu utilization, like 90-100% then I could understand why girder would fail, but mine fails at 34%.

guino · 06-27-2006, 06:35 PM

Setup the mouse plugin in girder, and set some commands to RR, see if they stop when using RR (disable the current one first) -- if not, it's a problem with the plugin you're using and not Girder or RR. It's also worth double checking to verify that your commands in Girder are set like the example RR.GML provided.

BlackStealth · 06-27-2006, 08:00 PM

Thanks for replying guino. I ordered a new IR device that's designed for igorsfh56's plugin in an effort to remove the winlirc server and hopefully eliminate this wierd problem.

I'm unable to locate RR.gml, and I've checked in the latest distribution too. I gave up on that search after discovering someone else's gml file configured for RR and winlirc. The gml file worked, so I never gave it any more thought. I'll post it if you wanna take a look, but I'm pretty sure you've already checked it out for someone else though.

While I wait for my new IR device, I'm gonna try running the winlirc server service at a higher priority and see if that makes a difference. Maybe my USB soundblaster has a higher priority than a legacy com1 port. Who knows.

guino · 06-28-2006, 12:53 AM

here it is (default/unconfigured GML file).

Nomader · 06-29-2006, 08:35 AM

I just gor my RC10 (blaupunkt remote) to work perfectly. I had many problems that i solved..the last one was that winlirc would not work occasionally... when RR was loaded.. it would run perfectly without RR. if i waited for it and would not press any buttons for a few seconds it would kick back.. so i thought it was a matter of not pressing too many buttons too quickly.. i tried the following. added another 256 meg of RAM. now it never stops working. it works from a distance of 1 m and it really works good.. so my guess is that the decoding of the pulses sent by the remote is a little heavy on your system resources.. it really takes a lot of resourses.. so solve that and you will solve your prob.

guino · 06-29-2006, 09:35 AM

Yikes, glad I went the RF route.. the only time the ATI remote fails is if the antenna is too far or the batteries are low/dead.

BlackStealth · 06-29-2006, 10:10 AM

I bumped the process priority of winlirc and girder -- no improvements. I've ordered a new IR device so I can eliminate winlirc layer altogether, I just have to patiently wait for it to arrive now.

My carpc setup has 512mb, so it should be enough ram. My Windows pagefile.sys is turned off so I'll turn it back on again and see what happens.

BlackStealth · 09-07-2006, 07:35 PM

Update: Eliminating the winlirc layer improved dramatically, but not always 100% reliable. It worked 50% of the time, where as before it was more like 1%.

The VIA SP13000 doesn't have enough CPU muscle to decode infrared signals, as everything worked 100% fine on my fast desktop computer. You can tell its CPU intense as my MP3 music stops briefly as it decodes the infrared signal on the VIA SP13000.

A better solution is to eliminate infrared altogether and go with carbuttons, as it behaves like a USB keyboard and requires very little CPU muscle. Unfortunately I never got a chance to install my carbuttons as I sold the VIA SP13000. My new carpc will be a notebook AMD 2200+ XP.