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Old 02-11-2020, 10:58 PM
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FireCapture and Windows 10...help!!!

Dear all,

I have been using FireCapture v2.5 on my HP Pavillion laptop (Intel N3710, 1.60Ghz) quite happily with Windows 10 up to now. I realise its no core i3 or i5 processor, but its been doing the job fine so far. I have a ZWO ASI224MC planetary camera.

In my last session however, it all fell apart. Basically it's not capturing all the video properly, highly variable eg. a 60sec video will only capture say 15 seconds of chopped up video. I have subsequently verified the problem by recording an in-door video of a 60 second (iPad) timer using the supplied ZWO videocam lens, and the video was similarly all choppy and truncated.

I noticed the problem happening after (the lastest AP session) booting up the software was unusually slow, and it had trouble finding the ZWO driver. It's never behaved like that before. I am virtually 99.9% sure its due to some frakking Window 10 update (behind my back) which has corrupted the FireCapture software/driver. I have dumped and re-installed FireCapture v2.5 and I installed the latest ZWO drivers - but the problem is still the same. I have tried swapping to a spare USB3 port, but that didn't help at all.

I have to say that I am predominantly an Apple Mac user, and I have found Windows 10 & Office 365 at my workplace (esp. Outlook 365) a modern day monstrous disaster. To me, it would have to to be the most sh... software I have ever come across, and I hate Microsoft with absolute vengeance. The update to Windows 'modern day workplace' has been the most disruptive and unproductive experiences at work so far - thats another story altogether. Admittedly I am no expert with trying to troubleshoot/re-install on Windows etc.

Whats the best way to tackle this, is it possible to roll things back ???
Cheers
Fox
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Old 02-11-2020, 11:14 PM
sunslayr (David)
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If you have already re-downloaded firecapture and that didn't work the problem might actually be the usb cable, do you have another one you can try it with? I have had several die on me.
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Old 03-11-2020, 12:17 AM
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Thx, good idea, i'll give it a try!
Fox
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Old 03-11-2020, 07:53 AM
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multiweb (Marc)
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+1 check the cable.
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Old 03-11-2020, 12:40 PM
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OK, I just bought a new cable, and unfortunately no change !
It’s still only recording about 10 seconds of choppy video from a 60-second videocam recording.

I even installed the latest version of FireCapture v2.6, and reinstalled the ASCOM platform and ASI Native drivers from the ZWO website.

I think the only thing I can try now is to save my existing AP data to an external hard dive, wipe the PC and reinstall Windows 10, I am pretty sure I have my Windows 10 licence key using the Get-WmiObject query command.

Ok, I need your help here... how do I wipe my laptop clean an freshly install Windows 10, given I have no hard media like a CD drive or USB stick with Windows 10 installer - is there a good website or YouTube video you can recommend?

Am I approaching this problem in the right way, HELP... urghhh!

Thx
Fox
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Old 03-11-2020, 01:26 PM
sunslayr (David)
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That's disappointing, here is the instructions from Microsoft for creating a bootable usb flash drive. If you have signed in to a microsoft account on the laptop it should automatically reactivate once you sign in again.
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Old 03-11-2020, 02:54 PM
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Yeah, barring it’s not a camera or laptop hardware problem (that really seems unlikely to me) I reckon it’s some bizarre software corruption that’s happened, can’t think of anything else... Fox
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Old 03-11-2020, 03:07 PM
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Fox,
Don't Panic!


Download the latest V2.7beta FireCapture, it's very stable and works 100% for me.
If you already have the ASCOM V6.5 installed and the latest ZWO camera drivers you should be good to go.
Your usb3 camera may need the USB traffic setting increased.
When it is capturing..what frame rates do you see?
Full screen or ROI?


I'm running V2.7 with an ASI 1600MM and the latest Win10 "upgrade" - no issues.
Can you explain further:
60sec video will only capture say 15 seconds of chopped up video
Are the frames collected distorted, incomplete showing random lines etc???

You could also install Sharpcap to see if there's any difference.
To verify the camera you could also install the ZWO "ASI Studio" and see if that works....

I think there are a few more steps before you wipe the drive....
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Old 03-11-2020, 05:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox View Post
It’s still only recording about 10 seconds of choppy video from a 60-second videocam recording.x
Maybe a process is hogging the hard drive or CPU. Do a CTRL+ALT+DELETE to bring the windows task manager and check the process list in the "processes" tab. "System Idle Process" should be the biggest in CPU usage. Also click on the "resource monitor" button in the "Performance" tab and check that as well for RAM, CPU or disc activity.
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Old 03-11-2020, 07:38 PM
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Hi Ken and Marc

Thanks you for your replies and help, I really appreciate your time and comments. I'm not total Pc newbie, its just that i prefer the Apple Mac having used them since the mid'80's.

Upon your recommendation, I will definitely try FireCapture v2.7, what have I got to lose now?

In my most recent indoor testing I was using FullScreen and the "Moon" setting and just videocaming the daytime still room and my iPad showing a Stopwatch timer. FPS was around the 60-70 FPS, and only a total of ~10 seconds was recorded using a time limit of 60 seconds. On the iPad, the timer shows that the time index might start like 20 sec, jump to multiple successive time points and grabbing a few seconds each time - basically its a mess !

The same was happening under real use on Jupiter and Mars where I zoned in on the ROI, also also the moon as well. There's no pattern, sometimes it grabs 'most' of the video, sometimes only 10-20% of it.

There are no 'random lines' or partial framing, its like a bad choppy/edited video.

I thought of just moving over to Sharpcap, but it bugs me oi there is lingering software bug that might crop up in other ways down the road, ie. maybe is just best to bite the bullet and wipe/clean and fresh-start the whole thing.

What is ASI Studio - I saw it in the ZWO options list...?

Marc, finally, wrt to a process hogging the PC, that would be a definite no, I only use the laptop for AP acquisition and subsequent processing, nothing else at all. Invariably I only have FireCapture running when I am video-AP recording, exactly the same way when it was all working fine before.

What I did notice is that the boot up just prior to all this happening, I distinctly got the impression that Windows 10 was auto-updating something for at least 5 mins before I was able to get to the login screen.

Admittedly, I realise that my HP laptop is like a 'Celeron' chip, so it's bottom of the barrel, but hey - its did the job beautifully and fine uo to now, just a bit slow on the uptake at times.

I see there are many videos on Youtube on how to 'reset/reinstall' Windows 10 without the need for a USB stick and of CD drive - are these methods OK to try?

thx
Fox
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Old 03-11-2020, 08:22 PM
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Fox,
ASI Studio is ZWO's camera control software.
If anything was to work with an ASI camera then I'd expect the ZWO to be the most robust.
Just a means of checking the camera and interface.
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Old 03-11-2020, 09:00 PM
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Hi Ken,

Well things just got interesting, and not exactly in a good way.
I installed FireCapture v2.7, and got it up and running.
Have a look at the screen shot

Test 1, limit set to 1 min, recorded exactly 1:00 min of video (perfect result).

Test 2, limit set to 2 min, recorded exactly 1:53 min of video (ie. less than 2 mins).

Test 3, limit set back to 1 min, recorded 1 min of video (as proven by shooting an iPad screen timer) BUT the length of the video runs over 1 min 39 secs ! - ie. viewing the video on the same laptop actually shows the video running 'slowed down' with a real length of about 1.5 minutes! Note the file size is virtually the same as Test 1 - that's good, but 'slowed down' !!! What the Frak ???

I give up, I'd say everything points to the underlying OS as stuffed !!!

Time for complete wipe/reset?

Fox
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Old 05-11-2020, 01:53 PM
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Fox,
Need to see the FC logs # frames captured, settings etc.
Could be the transfer times to your hard disk just slowed down??
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Old 17-11-2020, 04:51 PM
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Dear all,
An update of my woes...
I completely wiped my laptop, reinstalled Windows 10, ASCOM, ZWO software and Firecapture v2.6. Things were good for a few turns, but then it showed choppy truncated videos like last time...!!!!

I conclude either there is something faulty in my laptop, or my camera, or possibly that Firecapture simply just doesn't play well with my lowly spec’d HP Celeron “craptop”.

I am going to try ASI Studio and possibly even Sharpcap, albeit things have been on hold due to crushing work demands, I hope to find time to solve this thing...

Has anyone has similar things happen like this?

Cheers
Fox

Last edited by Fox; 17-11-2020 at 10:06 PM.
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Old 17-11-2020, 05:20 PM
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To get the best frame rates (for solar imaging) I “invested” in a MSI hot and sexy gaming computer, i7 16 Gb and 1Tb SSD drive.
Used with FireCapture and the ASI 174 or the ASI 1600 they give me maximum frame rate and performance.
No complaints.
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Old 17-11-2020, 10:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Merlin66 View Post
To get the best frame rates (for solar imaging) I “invested” in a MSI hot and sexy gaming computer, i7 16 Gb and 1Tb SSD drive.
Used with FireCapture and the ASI 174 or the ASI 1600 they give me maximum frame rate and performance.
No complaints.
Thx Ken, it's crossed my mind maybe a laptop upgrade is ultimately the way to go. Fox
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Old 18-11-2020, 05:59 PM
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If you are running that laptop with a standard Hard drive expect slowdowns as that heap of cr*p gets old. Upgrading to an ssd will speed capture immensely as would a little extra ram.
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