movies/ run slow

johnnycat2525 · #1 (**permalink**) March 30th, 2008

hey can anyone help me with movie watching..... having a problem with movies and shows running slow or the sound playing faster then the video. also when i burn movies they freeze even though there great copies (thanks l*e*a*) i have a pentium dual core processor/ 1024 mb ram/ still have about 95 gb of hard drive left/ using windows vista and the latest version of limewire pro... i have been having a problem with my video driver!!!! dont know if that is the problem but i know it makes playing games a ***** because it stops working then recovers, but it makes my game freeze. tried the online fix but it said there is no fix available.......very frustrating computer is only 6 months old

Xcom46 · #2 (**permalink**) March 30th, 2008

What kinda Video Card is it.
Did you try the windows update that is on your Pc.
Even newer computer's have updates so check to see if your card needs a update.
It just might be your Video Card.

ursula · #3 (**permalink**) March 31st, 2008

As always, try the really simple things first...

Do you do frequent defragmentation of your HDD ?
If not, try a few defragmentation runs... not just one.

Any problems with general audio files ?

What (if any) CODEC packs have you installed ?

Can you play straight (store-bought) DVDs ?

Intermittent problems with video cards are often a result of overheating.
Do you have fairly free air circulation within the case (i.e. not crammed full of cables that block air flow) ?

Or, is it a portable machine ?
You have not told us any details of your system other than CPU, RAM and OS.

p.s. The 'age' of a computer, as in 'new' versus 'old', is no guarantee that components, compatibility issues and the quality of installation of hardware and/or software are correct. This is true for ALL computers.
The failure rates of new computers are outageously high.

AaronWalkhouse · #4 (**permalink**) March 31st, 2008

What screen resolution are you using?
Try some lower resolutions while playing video.

johnnycat2525 · #5 (**permalink**) March 31st, 2008

my home pc is a hewlett packard/ genuine intel r cpu 2140 @ 1.60ghz / 32 bit operating system.. the back of the computer is free and clear, audio files play fine. i have not downloaded any codecs. everything has always played with windows media player with no problems. usaully if i have a problem i close the player and open it back up and its fine... i dont know what video card i have but i think its only 64 bites? because when i downloaded shadowrunner it said i needed 192 or higher... what kind of video card should i buy????? i am very new to this but am very determined to figure this out. i dont know what resolution i'm using factory settings i guess

johnnycat2525 · #6 (**permalink**) March 31st, 2008

my computer defrags its self. graphics are media accelaretor driver and it wont allow changes....graphics adaptor is 82945g express chipset family..... resolution 32 bit 1680x 1050

AaronWalkhouse · #7 (**permalink**) March 31st, 2008

That's unusually high, more suited to a big screen high def TV.
For most videos, try 1024x768 in 24 bit colour, which
should be a good fit for your 64 MB video card.

To change the display resolution,

right-click an open area on the desktop,
hit "Properties",
go to the Settings tab and hit the Advanced button.
In the General tab there's three choices on the bottom half.
Select the one that says "Apply the new display settings
without restarting" and hit the OK button. That will drop
you back to the Settings tab.
Try new resolutions with the color quality set to 24 bit and
hit the "Apply" button to try each resolution.

Don't worry if your monitor goes blank, because if you just
wait Windows will go back to the previous setting and you
can try again.

Play around with it for a while. You might as well get familiar with it.

If you want to buy something better there are plenty of
good choices. Virtually all of them are better than 64 MB,
with 256MB pretty much being the smallest right now.

Look for one with output jacks compatible with your TV, if
you have a good one. Home theatre is pretty cool.

While your mind is on video playback you might as well
upgrade your software. There are better players and codecs
out there and you can get a bundle with all the bells and
whistles for free. Here's one that I found useful:
Download K-Lite Mega Codec Pack

[The VideoLAN VLC media player] is also highly recommended.

KoolerBlaster · #8 (**permalink**) March 31st, 2008

Johnnycat2525,

It sounds like a codec/driver conflict,you may want to think about getting a codec and Direcshow filter that does not use as much RAM and CPU power like FFdshow,which can be found here> Free-Codecs.com :: Download latest audio codecs, video codecs, codec packs and tools, FREE!, I recommend the CCCP(Combined Community Codec Pack) and playing your movie files in Windows Media Player Classic.

As with the ideas above,defrag your hard drive,or at least just the files,Limewire allocates space from all over you HDD,so after downloading severl files I use Auslogics Disk Defragmenter(it actually only defrags files,not the entire disk) and no annoying LONG start up delays while it "analyzes" your system. It is available here> Auslogics - Download Auslogics Registry Defrag.

Also make sure you have the latest updated drivers and windows updates.

You may also want to enter your BIOS on reboot and make sure your RAM and CPU are running at the appropriate clock rating(you may even want to check to see if your BIOS is up to date as well)

My Dad had a similar Problem on a Celeron(CRAP) 1.8 GHZ With On-Board 64MB Shared Memory,He had upgrade his RAM so the clock was to slow,I changed his BIOS settings and Used SIS Sandra to tweak his entire system...it almost runs like a Pentium Class now!!

Hint: If you have files that have already allocated space in Limewire DO NOT DEFRAG YOUR HD,this will cause the resumed file to be CORRUPT!!(do to the aforementioned erratic way limewire allocated space for these files) I really wish they would develop a linear algorythym(if you HDD space allowed it,then if not go to the erratic one))

johnnycat2525 · #9 (**permalink**) April 2nd, 2008

how do i check the bios? and as for the resolution my monitor is 24 in and thats the recomended, but i'll try lowering it. also try to download codecs, thanks everyone i'll post to let you know how i make out...

ursula · #10 (**permalink**) April 2nd, 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by KoolerBlaster

Hint: If you have files that have already allocated space in Limewire DO NOT DEFRAG YOUR HD,this will cause the resumed file to be CORRUPT...

Hmmm... Interesting.
Using Diskeeper I have never experienced the problem you mention.

btw... Another thing to perhaps check out is whether or not there may be any IRQ conflicts... especially if there are any RAID drivers installed and enabled. This is a more common problem with on-motherboard sound 'cards', but I have seen IRQ conflicts between RAID installs and video cards.