playing dvd freezes my system. possibly DMA channel issue,etc

[meatmeatof]

Hi. My system hangs up and freeze when playing dvd movie at the beginning.

I run diagnostic test on full hardware. The computer hardware has no problem. The only drawback is that the system is old. It is althon 1GH CPU and 256MB RAM and the motherboard is old.

i upgraded the firmware of the DVD rom drive and upgraded motherboard BIOS to latest version.
i runs turns up and do scanning virus and spyware. They are clean and has no problem.

i bring these 2 dvd rom drives to a decent working machines and test, and the outcome is that they can play DVD and no system hangup.
The dvd roms are able to read cd and dvd data.

Before i upgrade BIOS of the motherboard, the primary and secondary IDE channel using the same Ultra DMA Mode. i check other computers and the primary and secondary are set either Ultra DMA mode 5 and 2, some set s 3 or 4.

If both IDE channel share the same Ultra DMA mode, means 2 dvd rom and 1 hard drive gonna share the same Ultra DMA? ( there's no "number" behind the word "Ultra DMA mode". Usually there are a channel "number" follow the "mode")

Then i upgrade Motherboard BIOS. i double check the DMA channel for both IDE channel. Guess what.. the secondary IDE channel set DMA channel to "PIO" by itself automatically and Primary IDE use "Ultra DMA Mode".

i finalize a conclusion about this problem: the problem could be old motherboard and old controller.
what do you guys think? Do you know how to fix them?

If i change the primary IDE channel to "PIO" and secondary IDE channel to "Ultra DMA mode" for dvd rom. do you think it helps to play dvd movie?
If i change primiary IDE channel to PIO, it might slow the data transfer for hard drive. I duno what happen if i set it.
I can't take risk because the computer is not mine.

so i need some expert who tried these options and please tell me.

 

[meatmeatof]

the computer use windows 2000 pro

 

[BadBigBen]

Here is a fix for your PIO mode, as this happens with XP when there are more than 6 DMA errors in a row it reverts back to PIO...

DMA reverts to PIO

http://winhlp.com/node/10

I would also suggest that you up the RAM to at least 512mb, if possible...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[wahnula]

Good one Ben!

My guess is your hardware is not up to the task, although I was able to view smooth DVDs on a Dell Inspiron 4000 w/ P3 500 and 512MB RAM, so resetting to DMA and adding RAM should help.

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[ceh4702]

I am surprised they made drivers for DVD players for that OS. The OS is kind of dated and you could probably use More RAM. Power supply may also be an issue.

I have an older 1.2g Celeron system and I have played a DVD on that system.

Is your DVD up to the task? Some of the DVD drives were software based and not hardware based.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[meatmeatof]

hardware is not up to the task? you mean DVD-rom or entire system??? It's possible that the system is old. The PC has 2 DVD rom drive. one of them is DVD-RW Dual layer.

i didn't reset DMA, but i try different DMA configuration setting for both IDE channels and the problem didn't solved.

i also bring a working DVD and installed in the PC and the problem still occurs.

The PC is using windows 2000 pro.
I will try to install a fresh XP for the PC and see what happen. If it still doesn't work, then the system is probably old.

 

[BadBigBen]

i didn't reset DMA, but i try different DMA configuration setting for both IDE channels and the problem didn't solved.

it will not... reason is that the there is a REGISTRY setting that prevents the access to the IDE channel with DMA, that is why you should try the DMA FIX I posted above...

The system is OLD, but still up to the task of watching DVD's as long as the DMA works fine...


Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[cdogg]

Where are you seeing the DMA or PIO rating? Do you see that in the BIOS or in Windows 2000? If it's in the BIOS, then a Windows fix will not resolve it. Also realize that each device can have its own DMA mode. It will not affect other IDE devices, even if one is on the same channel.

Here are a few other things to check:

1) Make sure the DVD-ROM drive is using an 80-wire cable. A 40-wire cable will often force PIO.

2) Try the DVD-ROM drive on the secondary channel all by itself. Set it as "master" and attach it to the end of the cable (not the middle).

The following is to try if we think it's a problem in Windows:
3) Uninstall Roxio or Nero if either one is installed, then delete the Upper and Lower Filter keys in the registry. This link has instructions:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/270008/

After trying the third suggestion, reboot and DO NOT reinstall Roxio or Nero until we get DVD playing fixed. If it still is not playing, delete the other keys mentioned by Tektilityva in the following thread:
thread602-1458737

Reboot.

If you still continue to have problems, then one of the last steps before a clean install will be to try a different DVD software player. If you're using WinDVD, try a newer version or switch to PowerDVD (and vice versa). I know older versions of WinDVD for example had issues in Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Do not attempt to force PIO on the hard drive as you suggested above. It will not help and only make things worse.

And because this is an older system, if you must do a clean install, talk your friend here into upgrading to XP. XP isn't as bloated as 2000 and will have noticeably faster boot times. While you're at it, upgrade the RAM to 512MB (which might be the max for that motherboard).

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[meatmeatof]

BadBigBen and cdogg. i am glad you guys helping me :").
You guys are expert and very nice.

Today. i did these:

today morning, i brought a testing hard drive and installed in the PC. i installed XP and try. It failed again.
So. probably the system and software related are not the problem.
After i installed XP and i check DMA setting. WoW. The DMA setting is automatically adjust correctly by itself. Both IDE channels are automatically set to "Ultra DIM mode either 4 or 2". I don't remember the exact number.
So i believe installing XP probably solve the DMA problem.
I try to play DVD and system freezes within 3 mins.

the system is AMD Ahlthon 1GH, 256MB RAM, and 16MB Nvidia gateway graphic card(AGP). The system model is gateway select 1000

i has another machine which is low-end system. This low-end PC is 256MB, P4 2GHz, and it's XP. It can play DVD-movie.


===========================================================
1).I replaced the 40pin cable with 80pins cable.
2).The pc has 2 dvd-rom drives. They both are in secondary IDE channel.
3). The PC is installed a Nero 6.
I will try fix step 3 and see what happen. i might continue to use testing hard drive with XP for testing purpose.

 

[cdogg]

That's a start.

2) I realize that you have 2 drives on the secondary IDE channel. I am asking that you remove one for the test. Make sure that the one you leave is set as master and is on the end of the cable.

If you did a clean install of XP, then there's no need to follow my third suggestion. Your problem is not Windows. However, it would help if you tell us what software you are using to play DVD's (name/version). Also don't install Nero 6 or any other burning software until after you get DVD's to play.

 

[BadBigBen]

Hola,

in my opinion, if what CDOGG suggested does not work, then I believe that your problem lies with that 16mb gfxcard, in that it is overheating or not up to the task...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[chronics]

I would try cdogg's suggestion. Is the freezing happening on both drives or just 1. What happens if you try to write to your dvd rw. Also does this happen with different dvds that you are playing or are you using the same discs.

 

[meatmeatof]

i am sorry. i posted video card which is not specific.
let me re-type the video card name.
the Video card is Nvidia Vanta 16MB(gateway).
It uses WinDVD7.
i also install k-lite mega pack. This software include all types of codec pack and it's like all-in-one.
i have powerdvd6. i installed it before. however i deleted.

 

[meatmeatof]

chronics. i tried that before.

 

[meatmeatof]

cdogg. i tried #2.

 

[meatmeatof]

i re-run the memory test. found WATS+ failed.

 

[meatmeatof]

due to time problem.i cancel the test after it found the first WATS+. error

 

[cdogg]

OK, the point is that when you install XP from scratch, you want to avoid installing things you don't need for DVD's to play. So here, you would not want to install things like Nero or the "k-lite mega pack" until afterwards.

It does sound like a hardware problem though at this point. You never know, it could be the motherboard or video card.

On Cyberlink's site for PowerDVD, it recommends you have the following:
"[blue]AGP or PCI Express graphic accelerator with DirectDraw Overly Support[/blue]"

WinDVD just says any video card that supports DirectX, though it wants you to have DirectX 9 installed. That video card you have is not a DirectX 9 compatible card, so maybe that's the problem? You may need to try an older version of WinDVD like version 3 or 4.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Einstein
[tab][navy]For posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[meatmeatof]

i replace video card with GF 6200 256MB DDR2 and system freezes at the beginning of the play.
i will try to install WinDVD7 and test it again

 

[wahnula]

meatmeatof,

Try VLC video player:

http://www.videolan.org/

It works with XP, not 2000.

I am surprised they made drivers for DVD players for that OS

There are lots of DVD players available for Win2K, it's still MS-supported until 2010. We use it almost exclusively in our office (except me of course!).

I am also feeling that it's a hardware issue. That PC is definitely capable of playing a DVD, especially with the 6200 GFX card.

Check the thermals of the PC with SpeedFan:

http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

Tony

Users helping Users...