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General discussion

DVD Problem

Feb 29, 2004 5:29AM PST

Hello,

Recently installed a new motherboard (Shuttle AN35N Ultra), processor (AMD Athlon XP Barton 2500+), and memory (512MB Kingston PC-2700). I reformatted my hard drive, reinstalled Windows 2000 and most of my other software, including Cyberlink PowerDVD 3.0. I have an LG combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive that I used without problem with my previous computer setup. The trouble I'm having now is that when I try to watch a DVD, I frequently get some "chop" (the video image and sound are not smooth, but jerky).

There is absolutely no reason i can think of for this behavior. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Paul

Discussion is locked

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Re:DVD Problem
Feb 29, 2004 5:49AM PST

The usual is that most OS installers forget the motherboard drivers. Without such, the drives are not in DMA mode.

Some other issues are the MS-Blaster and other worms will invade the system while a person is getting SP4 and such. Since an anti-virus doesn't stop these worms, the OS installer knows to deal with those as well.

Bob

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Re:Re:DVD Problem
Feb 29, 2004 6:35AM PST

Thanks for your reply. I thought of the DMA problem. When I installed my mobo drivers, they were automatically set to PIO mode. I changed the setting to DMA mode, but that did not solve the problem.

Would the MSBlaster worm really cause choppiness on my system? If so, is there a way to determine whether I have the worm or not?

Note also that I had no trouble running this DVD on my laptop DVD-Rom. I also ran this DVD on my old setup (same drive, but with an ASUS A7V mobo, Athlon T-Bird 1000 MHz, 768 MB SDRAM). Not sure why I would get this problem with a newer, faster configuration??? Makes me think it's a software problem. Should I do another format/reinstall?

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Re:Re:Re:DVD Problem
Feb 29, 2004 8:10AM PST

"Would the MSBlaster worm really cause choppiness on my system? If so, is there a way to determine whether I have the worm or not?"

The MS article writes about it and most web based virus scanners detect it. This worm and it's varients (please don't make me list them all...) infect a new Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 install usually within a minute after connecting to the internet. It's up to the end user to apply the patches, eject the worms and move on. It would be very nice if MS would re-issue worm-proof CDs.

"Note also that I had no trouble running this DVD on my laptop DVD-Rom. I also ran this DVD on my old setup (same drive, but with an ASUS A7V mobo, Athlon T-Bird 1000 MHz, 768 MB SDRAM). Not sure why I would get this problem with a newer, faster configuration??? Makes me think it's a software problem. Should I do another format/reinstall?"

Older chipsets may be natively supported and you may have dodged the worm by having an uptodate OS when the worms were released.

Bob

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Lite reading.
Feb 29, 2004 8:26AM PST

"What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm and Its Variants"
- http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp

"Via Hyperion Drivers"
- http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=300

---------------------------

Worth noting is that many new system builders and OS installers will not assure the new machine has the latest BIOS and the CDRW and DVD drive FLASH are up to date. After that, I usually fit 80 conductor IDE cables to the CD and DVD drives, set the jumpers to CS and all seems to work well. Some debate this, but it's my formula and I don't have many headaches.

With all the advances in hardware, Microsoft's rendition of the CD most people have is woefully incomplete.

Bob

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Re:Lite reading.
Feb 29, 2004 2:43PM PST

Well, checked out the MSBlaster possibility. D/Led FixBlast from Symantec and it didn't find anything wrong. Thus, I'm going to conclude I don't have the worm.

So, that leaves me with a weird hardware problem or a screwy Windows install. I think I'll try updating my BIOS, but you also mentioned that "the CDRW and DVD drive FLASH" should be up to date... how can I check this? My CDRW/DVD is an LG brand drive... model number: GCC-4120B.

Also, the Shuttle Motherboard I now have employs the nVidia nForce 2 Ultra chipset. I looked on the nVidia website and found some drivers, but should I use these or should I use the ones that came with the Shuttle Motherboard (or should I go to Shuttle's site and download theirs?).

Thanks for all your help.

-Paul

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One test doesn't find them all.
Feb 29, 2004 8:04PM PST

1. A few stop checking for such with ONE tool or their install antivirus. There are VARIENTS of the worms. The only way I've found them all is to use a multiple tool set like I write about at http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6132-0.html?forumID=32&threadID=1313&start=0

My choice is to be "Parasite Free."

2. "you also mentioned that "the CDRW and DVD drive FLASH" should be up to date... how can I check this? My CDRW/DVD is an LG brand drive... model number: GCC-4120B."

The maker's web sites are where I find such things. I won't search for them today as I will be working some programming issues for a bit.

3. "Also, the Shuttle Motherboard I now have employs the nVidia nForce 2 Ultra chipset. I looked on the nVidia website and found some drivers, but should I use these or should I use the ones that came with the Shuttle Motherboard (or should I go to Shuttle's site and download theirs?)."

a. My last link was for the VIa, which you don't have, but can serve as an example of such drivers.
b. In my first reply, I noted this issue. If you don't install the latest drivers for your board (and BIOS for all parts), then why expect it to work proper?
c. Whatever is in the package was put in there some months ago or longer. A system builder learns quickly to check for latest.

Bob

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Re:One test doesn't find them all.
Mar 2, 2004 8:49AM PST

Yeah... I know, in general, you need to have the latest drivers. The problem is that I don't think the latest nVidia nForce2 Ultra drivers cover every part of my board (there seems to be a USB driver problem if I ONLY install the nVidia drivers).

When reformatting/reinstalling in my old system, I had come up with a procedure that assured everything worked correctly (install windows, install VIA chipset drivers, install Promise ATA controller, install nVidia video, etc). I guess I'm still finding that procedure for this new system.

Just out of curiosity, let's say I get all the latest drivers installed and still have the same problem. Any other possible causes of choppy DVD video? I'm using Cyberlink PowerDVD version 3.0, which was fine on my old system. Perhaps this is out of date or not compatible with my motherboard?

Also, I've read a few posts in other forums that say the audio on my new board is not the best (just to remind, I'm now using a Shuttle AN35N Ultra). The onboard audio uses a codec, which means that it will take CPU cycles to generate sound. Could THIS be the cause of my problem? I still have my old SBLive Value sitting around. Maybe I'll try installing that and disabling the onboard sound and see what happens.

Any more advice would be more than welcome. Thanks for all your help so far!!

-Paul

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What's been done?
Mar 2, 2004 8:53AM PST

It seems that little has been done to work at latest drivers. If you suspect an USB issue, check http://www.usbman.com to see if he notes your board/chipset.

As to PowerDVD 3.0, I don't recall an issue there.

Bob

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Re:DVD Problem
Mar 3, 2004 3:14PM PST

Greetings,

Just thought I'd write back with an update.

I received some input from another forum which suggested that I disable my onboard audio and re-install my SoundBlaster Live card. It seems that the onboard audio can use a significant portion of the CPU (up to 16%). Anyway, after installing the Soundblaster and disabling the onboard audio, the choppiness in the DVD disappeared. Problem solved!!

Note that I am still using the original drivers that came with the board and am still using PowerDVD version 3.0.

I greatly appreciate all of your advice. Happy computing!

-Paul