Premiere Pro is Shutting My Computer Down when Rendering
 

Okay....this is really starting to get weird. I don't know if its something I'm doing, an effect I'm trying to use, or how I'm exporting - but everytime I try to export my movie from Premiere Pro CS3, it gets about 1/3 of the way done, and then shuts my computer down completely. It doesn't ask me to reboot. The program doesn't close and then shuts down. It shuts down like I unplugged the computer.

I've tried multiple things and its still giving me this problem. I've exported as a quicktime using H.264. I've exported as an mpeg 2 -- it shuts down at around the same point every time.

My footage is 1080i footage that I captured from my Canon XH-A1 cameras. I took all of the effects off the footage and its still doing it. I'm trying to export to a lower resolution than the original footage, but I've tried exporting to the same size.

I am really at a loss here and am really getting frustrated because I need to have a draft of this video uploaded today. Can someone please help me?

Just a guess, but it could be heat related. I know that my fans really kick in when rendering some projects. Shutting down is one thing that can happen when a PC overheats, iirc.

I really don't think that it is heat related. Just in case - I removed the side of my case to make sure there is plenty of air ventilation. I have plenty of fans in my computer and I've never had a problem rendering other things out like C4D animations or After Effects compositions. I've also been able to render out other PPro sequences with no problems.

Okay -- I've tried wmv and m4v and I'm still getting the shut down. Here's the weird part -- Its shutting down at different times in the render every time. When I rendered out wmv, it made it completely through the first pass but shut down about 10% into the second pass. When I rendered m4v, it didn't even make it 10% into the video.

What could be causing this!?!?

Evan - I take it back. You may be right about the temps. I downloaded speedfan and got the following during a Premiere Pro render:

SYS: 102C
CPU: 99C
AUX: 43C
HD: 37C
HD1: 49C
HD2: 50C
TEMP1: 40C
Core0: -16C
Core1: -17C

I really don't know what these mean, but I posted them over at Tom's Hardware so hopefully someone can tell me if this is normal or if things are running hot. I'm not sure what I'll do if its running hot though -- I thought my system was pretty well ventilated...

Depending on which version of SpeedFan you have, you may need to calibrate it to get it to report your temperatures correctly. I'm no expert, but I remember reading up on it a few months back when I got my new machine, and I had to adjust the CPU temperatures in SpeedFan by about 15 degrees to get it to report correctly (I used another program's trial version - Everest I think - to compare). Unfortunately I can't remember if I had to adjust up or down.

If those are your temperatures, that sounds hot to me, but my knowledge is limited, and it probably depends on what kind of CPU you have. In other forums that I frequent (the company that built my system), a moderator said "Idle temperatures for Core 2s should range from 20C to 50C depending on ambient temperature. Normally load temperature is ~15C higher than idle temperatures." I don't know whether that is correct or not.

Probably a good way to tell is see what your idle temps are, and compare that to your render temps.

I'm new to video, but I am not new to PC's :-). I have built several myself, including the one I'm using right now, and I have had this problem before. I would say that it is heat related. If those are the temps, than you PC is running at 99 degress CENTIGRADE. which means, it's roughly 210 degrees Fahrenheit. How hot is it in SC? Not that hot. You'd have to look at the bios, but your motherboard should have a certain degree at which it shuts the system down, no questions asked. It's a safety net so you don't fry your system. Do you know what CPU fan you're using? Or if it's even working?

On another not, I'm sure the guys at Tom's Hardware can help you out. You're in good hands. :-)

Hope you get this fixed!

EricK

If those temps do turn out to be accurate (as opposed to what you might get if you haven't configured Speedfan), and if you have done similar work in the past with no problems, check to make sure your fans are all working.

Jordan... It could be heat. It also could be you're over taxing your power supply. Have you added any hardware to the stock configuration? Drives, video card, things like that?

You might try uninstalling any non-essential cards in the various PCI slots. You might also want to disconnect any DVD/CD drives from the power supply. Not sure if/how much they might draw when they're not working, but it couldn't hurt.

Also, it used to be that PCs and other computer gear really needed all of the casing components in place to appropriately direct the cooling airflow. Taking the side off may not be an effective strategy in your case. Pun intended.

I've built and overclocked several computers during my "gaming" years. For me, a CPU temp over 50 degrees C is the danger area. If yours was reaching 99 degrees C, that's way beyond what I consider normal operating temp and it could be going into shutdown to prevent damage.

Make sure the CPU fan connector isn't pulled out. I would try re-seating your CPU fan (the one bolted to your CPU chip). Buy a small tube of "Arctic Silver" thermal compound. Unbolt your cpu fan, clean off the old thermal compound with alcohol (on both the fan base and cpu chip), apply a pea-sized amount of compound and reseat fan. If it still overheats, you may need to upgrade your CPU fan.

Good luck,
Drew