Question / Help OBS Studio softlock, stops streaming/recording

[SakuyaSama7]

I've started streaming/recording with OBS again recently, but I've been running into an issue where I would only be able to stream or record for maybe 3-5 minutes, and suddenly the preview will just freeze to a frame and hitting Stop Streaming/Recording will cause it to stay there until I force close the program.

Additional info: I am on Windows 10 Anniversary

Log file is here: https://gist.github.com/anonymous/c7e8d2d1cfe868c053bdb342ad9e0b5a

 

[Osiris]

Try removing update KB3176938 and/or KB3189866

 

[Nebulon Ranger]

Try removing update KB3176938 and/or KB3189866

Yeah whatever Microsoft did with those two updates (one is cumulative of the other, so you won't have both) hosed OBS' access to the Direct3D frame / texture buffers. Seems every other Windows 10 update breaks something. I just hope my audio interface drivers aren't next.

 

[RytoEX]

Try removing update KB3176938 and/or KB3189866

Or KB3193494.

KB3193494 is the successor cumulative update to both of those, though it's actually the same as KB3189866.

 

[Thrasher9294]

I'm having the same issue when trying to stream Forza Horizon 3. It's pretty bizarre, actually.

 

[The L!ne]

Was this fixed by removing the updates?
SInce I have only 5 updates installed and none starts with KB3...

 

[JoeMomma]

Hi, I just signed up to confirm the fix for this problem by removing the update KB3189866 (in my case).
I just did a test stream of 2 hours in length, without any problems!

I recently started getting these freezes, and luckily found these threads concerning this problem.

I attached a picture of the respective update with install date prior to uninstalling it.

 

[RytoEX]

Was this fixed by removing the updates?
SInce I have only 5 updates installed and none starts with KB3...

All Windows 10 cumulative updates (and, as far as I can tell, regular updates) since public release start with KB3. The only ones that don't are for the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. Are you on Windows 10? What version/build? You can check this by running "winver" from your start menu.

Hi, I just signed up to confirm the fix for this problem by removing the update KB3189866 (in my case).
I just did a test stream of 2 hours in length, without any problems!

I recently started getting these freezes, and luckily found these threads concerning this problem.

I attached a picture of the respective update with install date prior to uninstalling it.

Yes, it seems that rolling back KB3176938 or any of its successors (up to KB3193494, for sure) temporarily resolves these issues.

 

[Grim Trashcan]

Try removing update KB3176938 and/or KB3189866

Unfortunately this renders peripherals (like game controllers) un-useable.

 

[OG See OH Zee]

How is it possible to remove the update KB3176938? When I tried when I still had Windows 10 there is no uninstall option but there is an option to remove KB3189866.

 

[Grim Trashcan]

So...essentially what OBS is saying is...this software is great with an old version of Windows. If your version of Windows is the most updated-you're on your own with trying to find a solution

 

[Osiris]

What do you want us to do? It's something that started happening eventhough there was no obs update, just windows updates.

Not sure why you think game controllers would stop working, did they not work before the windows 10 anniversary update?

 

[RytoEX]

How is it possible to remove the update KB3176938? When I tried when I still had Windows 10 there is no uninstall option but there is an option to remove KB3189866.

They are successive cumulative updates. One supersedes/replaces the other. KB3176938 was replaced by KB3189866 which was replaced by KB3193494 which will be replaced by something else down the road. See here.

So...essentially what OBS is saying is...this software is great with an old version of Windows. If your version of Windows is the most updated-you're on your own with trying to find a solution

I don't believe OBS is saying that, no. I'm just a community member trying to work out solutions and workarounds. The lead developer did say that Windows 10 is causing issues and that so far there hasn't been anything found that points to OBS as being at fault for causing the issue. Nvidia, Sage, Logitech, Dartfish, Firestorm, and many others have pointed to Microsoft breaking things either in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update or its subsequent hotfixes.

Currently, workarounds for getting OBS Studio to work right now on Windows 10 Build 14393 (Anniversary Update) are:

1. Disable the OBS Studio preview.
2. If using an Nvidia graphics card, rollback your drivers to 368.81 or 365.19.
3. Rollback Windows updates KB3176938, KB3189866, KB3193494, or their successors.
4. Revert to a Windows 10 build that is before the Anniversary Update.

One of these might work for you, or none of them may work for you. I've been researching this for weeks and have found the most consistent workaround to be #3. However, uninstalling Windows Updates is generally a temporary solution, and it understandably makes people uneasy. Additionally, since I'm unable to reproduce these issues on my computers, it's hard to troubleshoot it and find good workarounds.

If you're working on a Windows 10 system and software just suddenly stopped working after a Windows Update, I highly encourage you to report it to Microsoft so that they can investigate what they changed and if their code is at fault. If they changed something significant and expect developers to do things in new ways, then that would also be useful information to have.

 

[OG See OH Zee]

Windows 10 has always been the issue when it came to OBS, right down to generating a lot more lagged frames when GPU usage is roughly above 95%, with the only workarounds is reducing GPU usage by capping the in-game fps or using Vsync @ 60Hz (only if you can keep a high fps for this case).

The thing is the lagged frames issue has been present since the release date of Windows 10 which was first noticed in OBS Classic and I can even confirm that on older Windows such as 8.1 as of this time, that I tried to replicate the issues present in 10 by trying to load the GPU and only got 0.7% lagged frames during recording on 8.1.

EDIT: Now that the Anniversary Edition came on Windows 10 it's been breaking OBS even more by freezing on Nvidia cards when VRAM is high. Easy way of replicating it is trying games that use a lot of memory such as setting textures to Extra on Black Ops 3, since that game is notorious for having a memory leak on the GPU.

 

[The L!ne]

I was actually not finished installing updates thats why I did not had any installed updates starting with KB3. I did a completly fresh install of Win10 just some hours before posting here. But I already had the freezing of the video Stream in OBS. (AU was installed)
Now I have all the updates and the problem persists. Since I have the chance to try out some other software, I did: FFsplit has the same issue but recording the Monitor with Bandicam does not cause a freeze. Tested like 10min and the recording was fine. So I assume the Update broke the way you encode/record in OBS since there is software which is able to run fine. But on the other hand: that software is not free.

 

[RytoEX]

I was actually not finished installing updates thats why I did not had any installed updates starting with KB3. I did a completly fresh install of Win10 just some hours before posting here. But I already had the freezing of the video Stream in OBS. (AU was installed)
Now I have all the updates and the problem persists. Since I have the chance to try out some other software, I did: FFsplit has the same issue but recording the Monitor with Bandicam does not cause a freeze. Tested like 10min and the recording was fine. So I assume the Update broke the way you encode/record in OBS since there is software which is able to run fine. But on the other hand: that software is not free.

As far as I know, it has nothing to do with how OBS encodes. The issue seems to occur most often when using Game Capture, possibly in conjunction with having the Preview enabled. However, the current consensus is that OBS is not at fault, but that Windows 10 is now mismanaging the VRAM, which causes the VRAM to be filled until the graphics card device is "removed" from the system (as far as DirectX can tell). What Windows 10 version and patch revision are you on?

 

[RytoEX]

Check Your Build Numbers!
Just go into windows add/remove programs and select remove windows updates, then remove the anniversary update (1607)

Updates for Windows 10 Version 1607
September 29, 2016 — KB3194496 (OS Builds 14393.222)
September 20, 2016 — KB3193494 (OS Builds 14393.187 and 14393.189)
September 13, 2016 — KB3189866 (OS Builds 14393.187 and 14393.189)
August 31, 2016 — KB3176938 (OS Build 14393.105)
August 23, 2016 — KB3176934 (OS Build 14393.82)
August 9, 2016 — KB3176495 (OS Build 14393.51)
August 2, 2016 — KB3176929 (OS Build 14393.10)

Just remove that garbage and you will be fine.

I know others have said the same thing in this thread, but I figured I would say something since I'm giving you the full list of updates that are included in the anniversary update.

You could just link to the Windows 10 Update History page from Microsoft. I don't think encouraging users to roll all the way back to base Win10AU with no security patches is advisable without warning them that they risk running a system with unpatched security vulnerabilities. Windows is also going to try to reinstall those updates as soon as it can. There are also other workarounds that could possibly be tried and tested before performing a potentially risky and very temporary update rollback.

 

[The L!ne]

You can't use Gamecapture with Forza Horizon 3 since it is a "universal Windows App". So you actually have to use Monitorcapture like I did in Bandicam.
"Winver" tells me that I am on Version 1607 (Build 1493.187). As far as I know I am on the latest official patches. According to my update service.

 

[RytoEX]

You can't use Gamecapture with Forza Horizon 3 since it is a "universal Windows App". So you actually have to use Monitorcapture like I did in Bandicam.
"Winver" tells me that I am on Version 1607 (Build 1493.187). As far as I know I am on the latest official patches. According to my update service.

Hmm, you are right about the Game Capture and UWP thing. Actually, there's a new update that was just released, 14393.222. Though, I'm not sure how that affects things.

The updates I listed are simply the updates that are required if you are using the Anniversary Update and would no longer be needed if the anniversary update were removed. By posting that list of updates, it helps easily identify whether or not the user is using the anniversary update because if the user doesn't have any other those updates, it would confirm that the user doesn't have the anniversary updated installed.

I've heard some rumors that some newer AU installations bundle the updates so you can't actually see them, but I haven't been able to solidly confirm or deny that. Some users I've interacted with have not seen any of those updates listed in their updates list. The easiest way to tell if you are on AU is to check "winver" or "About your PC" to see if your Windows 10 is Version 1607 or Build 14393.

 

[The L!ne]

Right now I don't need to start streaming. OBS gets kicked out of rendering after 1min without doing anything but showing the preview