[MPlayer-users] mencoder often COMPLETLY locks up my machine

[Matija Grabnar]

This may sound stupid, but...
Check your CPU fan, and if possible install the lm_sensors package
to check your CPU temperature.
If your CPU fan is dead your system may be OK at small loads, but
can jam whenthe CPU is highly loaded and overheats. (My CPU temperature
gains 10-20 deg C when mencoder is running).

I've had a server running Solaris/Intel that worked OK most of the time
but would jam or reboot every time we tried to perform a backup
over the network. Turns out, the CPU fan had died, and the additional
CPU load from performing the backup pushed the CPU over the edge.

Hope this helps.

Matija