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Choppy Video Woes

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by ttirsway

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I have a persistent issue with choppy video performance that I just cannot figure out. I suspect it's a hardware conflict, but all the diags I have run insist this is not so. System is a Soyo Dragon MB with onboard sound disabled, installed Audigys.c., PIV 2.4 Ghz, 768 Mb DDR PC2100, Radeon 7500 64Mb, Win XP with all the latest updates installed. Started with directX 8 and then d/l 9, w/same symptoms both versions. DXdiag reports absolutely no problems, yet the bouncing square in the test stops and starts. I had this before and it fixed itself after I tried replacing nearly all the h/w, then went back to the original stuff w/fresh xp install. I have just done a clean install again with the same h/w that used to work and the problem's back. Ideas?

9 replies

by opatzg9

Are the DVD and hard drive on different controllers? IDE1/2 Ran defrag and scandisk successfully? Set your virtual memory low end and high end to 1gig? Cleared your temp file directory? Just suggestions, don;t know if any would actually help butthey sure wouldn't hurt. Do you have an anti virus package running in the background?

by ttirsway

1. Yes, the HDDs are on HPT 372 & DVD is on IDE1
2. Defrag & scandisk report no errors
3. Paging File Size is 1g/2g
4. Temp file is empty
5. EZ Trust installed, but disabling it doesn't affect the problem.
Thanks, tho...hopefully we'll stumble on something.

by csmith

This does not sound like a hardware conflict.
This problem sounds like a software problem.
Some program is bogging down the system so much that the video becomes choppy because of lack of CPU time.
This hardware configuration should work fine.
What programs are running concurrently?
Regards, Chris

by ttirsway

When I run in diagnostic mode, basic services only, the following show as running in the task manager:

explorer, svhost, lsass, services, winlogon, csrss, smss, taskmgr, system, system idle.

I use dxdiag to test changes because if the bouncingsquare hesitates, as it does now, I can be sure all video is going to be choppy. This is part of the reason I suspect a hidden irq issue. Anyway, shutting down most of the running processes and all the apps doesn't have any effect. Thanks for thesuggestion, tho.

by opatzg9

Have you checked for spyware with the adaware product from http://www.lavasoft.de
This also tells you what processes are running in its report stage. Does XP have an msconfig you can run to stop some of the startup programs to see what you can eliminate?

by ttirsway

I run Ad-Aware religiously, but usually just memory scan to check. I ran the check on both Hdds and found several spyware files, which I deleted. They apparently weren't active, tho and I still have the video problem. Thanks for the idea.

by csmith

If you suspect an IRQ sharing problem, have you tried moving the DVD to IDE 2 ?
Also hve you checked that the Video Card and the DVD are not sharing an Interrupt?
That the problem occurs with just the basics running, does tend to indicate hardwareor OS rather than an application.
Regards, Chris

by ttirsway

The problem wasn't limited to just the DVD...it showed up in EVERYTHING video. I had my machine stripped down to the video card, mainboard and one drive. And the dxdiag test was STILL choppy! Just as I was poised to toss a speaker through my monitor screen, I happened to glance at the shelf next to my computer. Squatting there with it's disk stuck out at me was my parallel-interface ZIP-250 drive. Really. Two days of agony and it was that simple. FYI...the fix is to set the port mode to EPP and ECP and install what Iomega calls a "Parallel Port slow transfer patch." They don't say a thing about video ploblems, which is why it took so long to find. Thanks for all the help.

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