HouseBot

This is strange. For some reason about a week ago HousebotServer.exe has started bringing my computer to a crawl. Essentially, it will load and run ok for about 10 minutes (variable) and then its CPU usage will go to 99%. I've tried un-enabling different tasks and devices, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Once the CPU usage goes to 99% the computer becomes unusable. Getting task manager up can take as long as 10 minutes.

I have a little bit of a history with this problem. Version 2.20 worked fine with no problems. When 2.22 came out I upgraded and experienced this problem right away. I then went back to 2.20. After Scott got Housebot back and released the current version I upgraded, and was pleased to find that I didn't have the 2.22 problem. However, about a week ago it started happening again. Like I said above, it usually runs fine for about 10ish minutes. No changes that I am aware of have been made to the computer between the newest version working fine, and then the newest version having this problem.

Has anyone else had this happen? Any ideas how I can fix it without going back to 2.20?

Thanks for the help,
--Jon

Jon,

Not sure exactly where the CPU problem is coming from in your situation. I have recently fixed a similar problem that would result if you were working in the Theme editor with slider controls. If you have noticed the problem after working on a theme with slider controls, then this problem will be fixed in the next update.

Hmmm... I've never been in the theme editor. My setup is all automated with motion sensors, so I don't have any sort of special interface. It just runs minimized. The strangest part is that it worked fine when I initially upgraded to the current version, and now it doesn’t. I'll keep playing with it, but I'm about out of ideas. When the new version comes out, I'll give it a try and let you know.

--Jon

Let me know if you find anything.

What Hardware Interface are you using for the motion detectors?

Jon,

Are you using any special plugins?
Do you use scripts?

I'd suggest to focus by eliminating things.

I'm at work instead of home, so this is off the top of my head, I might butcher some terms. I do use several vbScripts. That was my first thought as well, but I disabled those and the same thing happens. As for the motion sensor interface I have a RF800WS RF interface that plugs into the RS232 port. As for plugins, I use the Powerlinc USB, external control plugin (installed, but I don't actually use), voice commands plugin (installed but I don't actually use anymore), WinAmp plugin, and I think that's it. There might be several other plugins installed from the default install that I didn't un-check. I'll try removing any plugins I don't use tomorrow morning and see if that works.

After backing up my settings, I did a clean install of 2.3 with ONLY the W800 and PowerLinc plug-ins installed. It's been running just fine for about 9 hours now, so I hope that did it. Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll post again if things go south. However, I am now getting two error messages (in the error log) when Housebot loads. I'm at work again, so I might not get the wording exactly correct, but they say "Unable to find device "Voice Control"", and "Unable to find device "External Control"". I don't have any tasks that are calling for those devices, and obviously I don't have those devices anymore. Any idea what is calling on them, and how I can get rid of the errors?

--Jon (again)

When you did a clean install, did you completely wipe the HouseBot directory? It sounds like those devices still have a reference in the HouseBot database and that is why you are getting those errors.

Yes, I completely deleted the Housebot directory. The HBData.backup file was copied to another location and then used to restore my settings after the clean install without all the extra plugins. Should I have done it in a different way?

I just deleted two lines from the “Devices” section in the HBData.mdb file (for voice control and external control) and I don't get any more errors while loading. With the exception of a separate issue that I had already spoken to Scott about, I think 2.3 is now running perfectly. Thanks for the help.

--Jon