dllhost.exe boiling over at DVinfo.net

Stuart Campbell · June 11th, 2014, 06:36 AM

As I am trying to use a client delivered clip on Vegas I thought I'd come here for help first!

I've received a MOV file from a client. The first problem I'm having is that if we open the file, view it in a list within its containing folder or navigate to it in any way it sends physical memory usage (via the dllhost.exe) through the roof until any of our machines stall. We have to end the process tree to rescue the machine.

The second problem is that whilst the file does play (albeit before the dllhost.exe crashes the machine some minutes later) the image has been spilt into two identical halves! Split down the middle.

I'm guessing this could be some codec incompatibility issue? Does anyone have any ideas what my client has done in sending this to us?

Never seen anything like this before.

Seth Bloombaum · June 11th, 2014, 01:09 PM

There are some odd codecs out there, not to mention some in common use on Mac that don't work so well in the Windows implementation of Quicktime player that Apple has supplied. Go figure.

Couple things:
Recent versions of Vegas Pro have Sony's own decoder for *some* mov codecs, instead of depending on QT. If you haven't tried the file in Vegas yet, you should.

Are you running the latest QT Player?

Do you have a "codec pack" installed, that may be misinterpreting the file. Generally, codec packs from the internet that promise to be universal and complete are a bad idea for just this reason.

Finally, do install the latest free version of MediaInfo to determine what codec is actually in this MOV wrapper. That will give you a starting point for google searches or asking more questions here.

MediaInfo is great, but you do need to take care to download just it... there are lots of links that will give you something else (including codec packs!). The most recent version is low cost, but the freeware works fine too. If you do end up using it a lot do consider the paid version.

In MediaInfo, you need to select one of the advanced views like "Tree" to see all the details.

Greg Kintz · June 11th, 2014, 04:14 PM

This might not be your problem, but the dll issue below at least for me was a major issue on all of my windows 7 computers:

Windows 7 (and 8?) process dllhost.exe high resources usage | Chandoo.org Excel Forums - Become Awesome in Excel
Google searches on this topic will bring up other threads as well.

For my 3-D work, often working with the oddball resolutions with paired left/right images (1440x480 for SD, 3840x1080 for HD, 1556x4096 for 2K etc) would for awhile cause dll cascades that eventually would consume all effective memory. Killing the dll host process tree repeatedly did the trick, but once a paired file was played or accessed again, the cascade would usually start over again. Going into the Windows update history and removing update KB2670838 stopped the issue completely. It is now a mandatory "must remove and then hide update" for every new Windows computer I use.

But the take home on this is even if one doesn't work with 3-D, if some of the files you are working with are non-standard resolutions, it could still be triggering this dll cascade issue.

Stuart Campbell · June 12th, 2014, 12:52 AM

Thanks for your help.

I'll certainly download MediaInfo - We've removed all traces of the file and we're back to normal but as soon as we download it again and access it - the dllhost begins to skyrocket.

I'd not considered that the paired L+R could be a 3d render. We're not working in 3d so I'll get in touch with the person who sent it. Can't think why they may have done that.

Nicholas de Kock · June 12th, 2014, 07:26 PM

Your file is corrupt, something either went wrong with the upload or your download, I'm guessing upload. I had the same problem and after hours of Googling discovered a corrupt *.mp4 on my desktop was causing my system crash via dllhost. It's my understanding that Windows uses dllhost to generate thumbnails, if the file is corrupt something goes wrong & it chows memory. I've had this happen a few times since, luckily I knew what was happening and deleted the problem file which is sometimes hard to do as dllhost keeps accessing the file I'm trying to deleted then it won't delete.

Stuart Campbell · June 14th, 2014, 01:10 AM

Thats exactly it. I thought I'd deleted it but I kept seeing physical memory exceed 99% and the machine crash. Every time I stopped the process it started to climb up the list until the same happened again and again. Eventually I realised the suspect file was still in the download list. Since finding and deleting all incidences of it I have no problem.

I've since learnt that there is a memory leak caused by a dodgy codec when the file was produced. I've notified the person who sent the file. Hoping the next one that arrives doesn't bring my office to a half for the best part of a day again!

June 11th, 2014, 06:36 AM	#1
Stuart Campbell Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hannover, Germany Posts: 400	dllhost.exe boiling over As I am trying to use a client delivered clip on Vegas I thought I'd come here for help first! I've received a MOV file from a client. The first problem I'm having is that if we open the file, view it in a list within its containing folder or navigate to it in any way it sends physical memory usage (via the dllhost.exe) through the roof until any of our machines stall. We have to end the process tree to rescue the machine. The second problem is that whilst the file does play (albeit before the dllhost.exe crashes the machine some minutes later) the image has been spilt into two identical halves! Split down the middle. I'm guessing this could be some codec incompatibility issue? Does anyone have any ideas what my client has done in sending this to us? Never seen anything like this before.

June 11th, 2014, 01:09 PM	#2
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Re: dllhost.exe boiling over There are some odd codecs out there, not to mention some in common use on Mac that don't work so well in the Windows implementation of Quicktime player that Apple has supplied. Go figure. Couple things: Recent versions of Vegas Pro have Sony's own decoder for some mov codecs, instead of depending on QT. If you haven't tried the file in Vegas yet, you should. Are you running the latest QT Player? Do you have a "codec pack" installed, that may be misinterpreting the file. Generally, codec packs from the internet that promise to be universal and complete are a bad idea for just this reason. Finally, do install the latest free version of MediaInfo to determine what codec is actually in this MOV wrapper. That will give you a starting point for google searches or asking more questions here. MediaInfo is great, but you do need to take care to download just it... there are lots of links that will give you something else (including codec packs!). The most recent version is low cost, but the freeware works fine too. If you do end up using it a lot do consider the paid version. In MediaInfo, you need to select one of the advanced views like "Tree" to see all the details. __________________ 30 years of pro media production. Vegas user since 1.0. Webcaster since 1997. Freelancer since 2000. College instructor since 2001.

June 11th, 2014, 04:14 PM	#3
Greg Kintz New Boot Join Date: May 2013 Location: Fort Wayne Indiana Posts: 5	Re: dllhost.exe boiling over This might not be your problem, but the dll issue below at least for me was a major issue on all of my windows 7 computers: Windows 7 (and 8?) process dllhost.exe high resources usage \| Chandoo.org Excel Forums - Become Awesome in Excel Google searches on this topic will bring up other threads as well. For my 3-D work, often working with the oddball resolutions with paired left/right images (1440x480 for SD, 3840x1080 for HD, 1556x4096 for 2K etc) would for awhile cause dll cascades that eventually would consume all effective memory. Killing the dll host process tree repeatedly did the trick, but once a paired file was played or accessed again, the cascade would usually start over again. Going into the Windows update history and removing update KB2670838 stopped the issue completely. It is now a mandatory "must remove and then hide update" for every new Windows computer I use. But the take home on this is even if one doesn't work with 3-D, if some of the files you are working with are non-standard resolutions, it could still be triggering this dll cascade issue.

June 12th, 2014, 12:52 AM	#4
Stuart Campbell Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hannover, Germany Posts: 400	Re: dllhost.exe boiling over Thanks for your help. I'll certainly download MediaInfo - We've removed all traces of the file and we're back to normal but as soon as we download it again and access it - the dllhost begins to skyrocket. I'd not considered that the paired L+R could be a 3d render. We're not working in 3d so I'll get in touch with the person who sent it. Can't think why they may have done that.

June 12th, 2014, 07:26 PM	#5
Nicholas de Kock Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: KLD, South Africa Posts: 983	Re: dllhost.exe boiling over Your file is corrupt, something either went wrong with the upload or your download, I'm guessing upload. I had the same problem and after hours of Googling discovered a corrupt *.mp4 on my desktop was causing my system crash via dllhost. It's my understanding that Windows uses dllhost to generate thumbnails, if the file is corrupt something goes wrong & it chows memory. I've had this happen a few times since, luckily I knew what was happening and deleted the problem file which is sometimes hard to do as dllhost keeps accessing the file I'm trying to deleted then it won't delete.

June 14th, 2014, 01:10 AM	#6
Stuart Campbell Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Hannover, Germany Posts: 400	Re: dllhost.exe boiling over Thats exactly it. I thought I'd deleted it but I kept seeing physical memory exceed 99% and the machine crash. Every time I stopped the process it started to climb up the list until the same happened again and again. Eventually I realised the suspect file was still in the download list. Since finding and deleting all incidences of it I have no problem. I've since learnt that there is a memory leak caused by a dodgy codec when the file was produced. I've notified the person who sent the file. Hoping the next one that arrives doesn't bring my office to a half for the best part of a day again!