Server Help

General Questions - Timer Errors

Yoda - Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:31 am
Post subject: Timer Errors

I have recently started getting Timer synchronization error on myself, whenever I enter a ship in my own zone.
After several of these:

Code: Show/Hide

Timer synchronization error (Yoda)(xxx)(xxx)(sec=2650)
Timer synchronization error (Yoda)(xxx)(xxx)(sec=2654)

The server stops my client from doing anything, even entering spec, as though I was flooding it.
I am not sure what caused this to start appearing lately, but my guess would be the fact that I changed my virtual memory size on my PC from 768MB to 1536MB.

My question is, why would that be the cause for Timer synch errors and also how can I make it stop without having to reduce my virtual memory back to a smaller size.

I am running Subgame version 1.34.14a, hosted on SSCX.
I've tried also adding my name to vip.txt to no avail.

Ori Klein - Wed Oct 12, 2005 2:55 pm
Post subject:

Unless I'm mistaken, such errors ussualy stem from the clock going high-wire, such as from overclocked BIOS or speedhack.

Yoda - Wed Oct 12, 2005 3:22 pm
Post subject:

Ori Klein wrote:

Unless I'm mistaken, such errors ussualy stem from the clock going high-wire, such as from overclocked BIOS or speedhack.

Yes Grav, I know that.
But it seems to be something else in this case, and I would sure like to know what.

Dr Brain - Wed Oct 12, 2005 4:27 pm
Post subject:

As far as I understand it, the page file size shouldn't have any effect on those errors. Especially when you make it a larger size.

Yoda - Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:59 pm
Post subject:

Dr Brain wrote:

As far as I understand it, the page file size shouldn't have any effect on those errors. Especially when you make it a larger size.

Nevertheless, it started happening right after I increased it's size.
Here's the Tinfo output:

Code: Show/Hide

ServerTime UserTime Diff
119719052 164457 119554595
119719512 164957 119554555
119719969 165457 119554512
119720426 165957 119554469
119720874 166459 119554415
119721342 166959 119554383
119721785 167459 119554326
119722239 167961 119554278
119722699 168461 119554238
119723148 168961 119554187
119723598 169462 119554136
119724061 169962 119554099
119724513 170464 119554049
119724962 170964 119553998
119725405 171464 119553941
119725851 171964 119553887
119726300 172465 119553835
119726729 172965 119553764
119727170 173465 119553705
119727618 173967 119553651
119728066 174467 119553599
119728509 174968 119553541
119728938 175468 119553470
119729382 175970 119553412
119729838 176470 119553368
119730291 176970 119553321
119730734 177470 119553264
119731176 177971 119553205
119731626 178475 119553151
119732068 178976 119553092
119732508 179476 119553032
119732950 179978 119552972

Mr Ekted - Wed Oct 12, 2005 7:57 pm
Post subject:

Looks like your computer's GetTickCount() value is running 10% faster than it should.

Yoda - Wed Oct 12, 2005 8:05 pm
Post subject:

Is it because of the added Virtual Memory?
And is it normal in such cases?

Mine GO BOOM - Thu Oct 13, 2005 12:48 am
Post subject:

Do you use Azureus at all? This program has been know to cause funky changes with the system clock, such as what you have. They released a couple of fixes, but certain people still have problems with it.

Try running Continuum just by itself (not even an AOL client or anything else) and see if problem still occurs. Also try running Continuum in Safe mode. These should help narrow down if it is some secondary program causing a problem.

If it is Azureus causing problems, give µTorrent a try. It is a very nicely done C torrent client. Very small, yet has a shitload of features.

Yoda - Thu Oct 13, 2005 10:11 am
Post subject:

I usually use BitLord, but it wasn't on during any of the times I tried to leave spec.

I have now confirmed the problem to is with the Virtual Memory addition, since I changed it back and forth a number of times now, and the only time the same errors appear is when I have 1536MB of Virtual Memory.

I've tested this on 0.38, 0.39pr1 and 0.39pr3 all with same results.

Btw, this is the tinfo from when my Virtual Memory is set to 768MB:

Code: Show/Hide

125194303 4654326 120539977
125194802 4654826 120539976
125195302 4655326 120539976
125195804 4655826 120539978
125196303 4656328 120539975
125196806 4656829 120539977
125197307 4657329 120539978
125197806 4657829 120539977
125198306 4658329 120539977
125198806 4658829 120539977
125199306 4659329 120539977
125199806 4659829 120539977
125200305 4660329 120539976
125200806 4660829 120539977
125201306 4661329 120539977
125201806 4661829 120539977
125202305 4662329 120539976
125202806 4662829 120539977
125203305 4663329 120539976
125203805 4663829 120539976
125204306 4664329 120539977
125204806 4664829 120539977
125205306 4665329 120539977
125205806 4665829 120539977
125206306 4666329 120539977
125206806 4666829 120539977
125207306 4667329 120539977
125207806 4667829 120539977
125208307 4668329 120539978
125208806 4668831 120539975
125209307 4669331 120539976
125209809 4669832 120539977

So, how do we go about solving this problem so I could have normal Virtual Memory settings?

Cyan~Fire - Thu Oct 13, 2005 10:48 am
Post subject:

Well, that's a very strange error, but knowing Microsoft, you might never have a fix for it. What OS are you running? What Service Packs have you applied?

And why do you want to make your virtual memory that big anyway?

Yoda - Thu Oct 13, 2005 12:29 pm
Post subject:

Windows XP Professional, Service Pack 2 with all the latest updates and fixes.

I need lot's of memory because I work with heavy graphics programs at the moment, among other things.

Ori Klein - Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:33 pm
Post subject:

A most peculiar coincidence if I heard of one.
Enlarging the swap should have no effects what-so-ever to the system timer, especially not an increase of speed by all accounts.
There must be some way the swap is affecting other systems in turn...

The next question which comes to mind: does your designated HD can actually support your VM setting?

I would suggest you lodge an account of this dilema to one of the IT newsgroups, this requires disection by a BOFH.

Cyan~Fire - Thu Oct 13, 2005 7:51 pm
Post subject:

Hmm, you sure your graphics program can't make its own swap file that it uses like GIMP does? Shouldn't Windows resize the page file when it needs more anyway?

Dr Brain - Thu Oct 13, 2005 8:15 pm
Post subject:

Ori Klein wrote:

The next question which comes to mind: does your designated HD can actually support your VM setting?

Does your designated underwear support your stupidity setting?

What the hell does the hard drive have to do with the paging file?

Mr Ekted - Thu Oct 13, 2005 8:30 pm
Post subject:

Dr Brain wrote:

What the hell does the hard drive have to do with the paging file?

The paging file is ON the hard drive, for starters.

Dr Brain - Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:36 pm
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Yes. So are all the other files, as a matter of fact. Does your hard drive support your video files size?

Yoda - Fri Oct 14, 2005 2:28 pm
Post subject:

I fail to see how my harddrive is related to Continuum having problem with increased swap file size.
I have 104GB free on the primary HD.

Any other clues?

Mine GO BOOM - Fri Oct 14, 2005 8:25 pm
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Go with Ori Klein's suggestion, and try posting this problem on some newsgroup. As I don't do much for this, I don't know where to find a group of people who are knowledgable about the underworkings of Windows.

Ori Klein - Fri Oct 14, 2005 8:55 pm
Post subject:

http://board.win32asmcommunity.net/

Or, if you are that desperate and brave (or plain suicidal) you can try the devil monestary at alt.sysadmin.recovery *shudder*.

Yoda - Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:02 pm
Post subject:

What would you suggest I tell them?
That my 10 year old game broke because of a Virtual Memory problem?

Dr Brain - Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:35 pm
Post subject:

Did you try setting it back and seeing if the problem went away?

Yoda - Fri Oct 14, 2005 10:53 pm
Post subject:

Yes Brain, I did.
And the problem did indeed went away.

Ori Klein - Sat Oct 15, 2005 6:18 am
Post subject:

I suggest you make a professional detailed account of the problem.
Explain what situation you expect of them to reach in their resolution (IE playing subspace, running heavy gfx programs and having extra swap to handle it without the system timer acting up).
Provide a listing of all your hardware, their device drivers and all software running, make sure to include version numbers as well as any additional data you posses that may or may not help (such as the timer logs, maybe some shit *info dish out too? I think it got some client non-packet-traffic-related statistics).

And if you're going to speak to the devil monestary, you should talk in the form of something such as:
If you kind gods of IT would find it in your benevolence to assist a luser like me with my puny insignificant problem, because this is beyond my low life brain's understanding while you posses infinite wisdom and know all, I would sacrifice my first born in your glory.

No, this is not a joke.
Your attitude should be that they own your soul and you're a newb at their sysop mercy.
Yeah, I'm not shitting you.
After all, you are coming to them for help, they don't need your help, ever, they don't even care about you, to them you are an ant (or a gnat, and they carry swatters, very large and heavy ones).
Besides, they could as easily help you install a machine more powerful than what the pentagon has as they could simply make your machine spontaneously combust.

Dr Brain - Sat Oct 15, 2005 11:21 am
Post subject:

Remove all the swap, reboot, defrag, set it back, reboot again, see what happens.

A surface scandisk wouldn't hurt, either.