Computer crash - blue screen error

[aznkidmike]

I've been having this problem for a while and I noticed that this only happens when I am playing tournaments (usually playing on 2-8 tables and 2 sites at once). I never get this problem when I am playing cash games though (usually playing on 6 tables and only playing on 1 site at a time). Sometimes the blue screen error message is the same, sometimes it is different but the most recent one included the following: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL portcls.sys - address B70DCF21 base at B70DC000, DataStamp 40574049. What does that mean? Where is the problem coming from? I am not sure but if I have to guess, it would be something to do with Pokertracker/PokerAceHud database or whatever that needs to be fixed rather than my computer hardware problem. I have a P4 3ghz cpu w/ 3gb of ram. Some help and advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

-Mike

[ptrack pat]

I don't know what that error message means. I don't know that a database problem would cause this type of error. Are you using a PostgreSQL or Access database?

[aznkidmike]

I am using the PostgreSQL database. I don't know what is causing it.. I thought it might be my computer at first but it only happens when I am playing tournaments (anywhere from 2-8 table at once, on 2 different sites) w/ PT & PHUD running.

[ptrack pat]

Try it without running PAHUD at the same time and see if it crashes so that we can determine if it's PT or PAHUD causing the problem.

[aznkidmike]

Hello and happy new years,

Sorry for bringing this up again but I had this error come up again yesterday. This time the blue screen came up for the first time playing only cash games and only on one site so maybe this had nothing to do with playing on multiple sites or playing tournaments. I have no idea what is causing the problem but it only happens when I am playing poker (when I run PT & PAHUD) so I figure it has to do with either of these programs. I don't know whether if there's something I can do to fix this problem directly by making some adjustments to these programs or if it can be fixed by upgrading to a new computer entirely (although my CPU seems to be pretty decent already; Dell Dimension DM051 Intel, Pentium 4 CPU 3.00 GHz, 3.00GB RAM).Like I said, I depend on both programs a lot but if I keep using both and it keeps crashing then I would never know whether it's PT or PAHUD causing the problem. I guess I can try running PT only when playing tourneys.. but could I try using it along with GameTime+ for cash games in the meantime? Or will it just be the same idea as using PT along with PAHUD and not help diagnose the real problem? I would suspect that PAHUD is causing the problem b/c I don't really recall having my computer crash to that blue screen error when I had PT without PAHUD before. I could be wrong, I don't really remember. I tried looking around the forum and I read somewhere about trying to disable the flicker free option for PAHUD. It doesn't seem like it's for the same problem for the blue screen error CPU cash that I described but maybe it'll help lessen the chance of future crashes by minimizing the system resource usage?

I would really, really appreciate your help to fix this problem,
Thanks!
-Mike

[aznkidmike]

I was looking around the forum to see if there was a similar problem like this and the closest I found was from this:

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=10234&p=49898&hilit=blue+screen+crash#p49926

Should I follow on WhiteRider's advice on the bottom of the page? I think I saw postgres as part of the error message when the blue screen showed up before although the one time when I actually wrote down the error message, it mentioned the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL but I am pretty sure I saw postgres mentioned before as well. Do you suggest I try reindexing my database anyways? Maybe if this can help solve the problem, it can help narrow it down and perhaps suggest a hardware problem?

[ptrack pat]

It won't hurt you to try to reindex the database. This could be a good thing to do a on periodic basis anyway since it will drop and readd the indexes making the db run faster. So try that first and see if it helps.

[aznkidmike]

Sorry, I am not very good at computer stuff and I was unable to figure out how to reindex the database.

WhiteRider instructs to do this from the other post: Click Start --> Programs --> PostgreSQL --> Command prompt. At the prompt that appears, type “reindexdb -a” and hit enter. Be aware that if you have large databases this may take a while, so be patient and wait for it to finish.
(If the re-index doesn't work because you are not logged in as user 'postgres' enter: "reindexdb -U postgres -a").

After clicking on start and programs, I click on 'PostgreSQL 8.0' and I don't know how to get to the command prompt. I see the following under ' PostgreSQL 8.0': Configuration Files, Documentation, pgAdmin III, psql to template1, Reload configuration, Start service, and Stop service. I thought it was the 'Start service' option so I click on it and a small black window pops up briefly (the command prompt I believe) and it closes immediately by itself so I am kind of stuck there.

Also besides reindexing the database, is there anything else I could do to prevent future blue screen errors like upgrades, options that should be disable or enabled, etc.? I am using PT Version 2.17.03b and PHUD Version 1.19.6 beta. Would turning off that flicker-free option help much?

[ptrack pat]

There is an easier way to reindex the database using pgAdmin, see this old forum thread where I give directions on how to do that...
archives/PT2/viewtopic.php?t=13546&highlight=reindex+pgadmin

I don't support PAHUD so I'm not sure what other options you could set/reset, that would be something to ask on their forums.

[aznkidmike]

I followed your instructions until I ran into this part:

Under "Tables" you should see a list of the 20 tables in PT.
Right-click on the first one, blind_structure, and select Maintenance. On the window that opens, click on the Reindex box and then click OK. Do this will the rest of the tables in the list.

Under "Tables", the first selection I see is "holdem_hand_histories" and the closest one I see down the list to "blind_structure" is "tourney_holdem_blinds". Which one am I supposed to right click and select maintenance for?