(solved) par2.exe crash makes downloads fail

[yehuda]

I've been having download problems on a friend's box after I set up sabnzbd (latest version) and configured it with a newsgroupdirect block account. Pretty much all downloads fail with such errors as missing or malformed articles.

I'm sure the problem is not due to ISP or retention, because the same files download fine on another computer that uses the same ISP and news provider (no account sharing).

I have checked the computer for hardware errors (RAM, HDD) but it's healthy. The computer runs up-to-date XP without firewall software and is wired to Ethernet. Turning on SSL does not help.

What else can I do to troubleshoot the issue?

[shypike]

Did you set a retention time for the server?
Normally you shouldn't.

[yehuda]

No I haven't, retention time is at 0, but let me try to uninstall and reinstall sabnzbd with a fresh configuration and I'll let you know what happens.

[yehuda]

Same behavior after a fresh install, but now that I pay attention closely, I can see that par2.exe crashes after every download. I believe it had crashed before too.

[shypike]

Which OS are you using?
32 or 64 bit?

[yehuda]

XP SP3 32-bit, some old single-core processor. Someone mentioned there's a switch for multicore support in the sabnzbd settings for par2 so I'm going to disable it and retry.

[shypike]

Look here for instructions:
http://wiki.sabnzbd.org/configure-special
Set "par2_multicore" to 0.

[yehuda]

I'm happy to say that disabling multicore support solved the par2.exe crash problem, and consequently the sabnzbd error.

I've uploaded a cpu-z report about the computer, in case the par2 dev is interested: http://pastebin.com/WqDLhCrH

Thanks shypike!

[shypike]

Good that it works now.
We are looking at an alternative multi-core par2 program.
Can I contact you in the future for some testing?

[yehuda]

Sure feel free to PM me and I'll be in touch.