topic Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi! in PCs & Accessories

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

rwc101 — Sun, 04 Apr 2004 19:26:49 GMT

I have a PCG FR285 with a QSI SBW-241, and all of a sudden its started freezing playback and skipping when i watch dvds .
Can you help please!
Thanks

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Sun, 04 Apr 2004 23:02:33 GMT

Also having this similar problem but with all types of media files recently! Keen to see replies that could help us out here!

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

leven — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 11:26:11 GMT

Hello both of you

Need some system specifications here please. Hope you both have at least 256 RAM, and if you are playing DVD or working with any sort of media files they are very memory intensive and need to have 512MB RAM. If you are short on RAM for these tasks you could get freezing.
Post back the specs first.
Elaine

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 13:20:38 GMT

CPU is 2.80GHz Pentium 4
RAM is 512MB
HDD 60GB

Is that what you need? Or anything more?

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

leven — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 18:17:21 GMT

Yes, that`s fine.

First thing I would suspect is the video driver

1.Right click My Computer/Properties/Hardware/Device Manager.
Have a look for "Yellow" errors especially at video drivers.

2. Control Panel/Performance & Maint/Admin Tools/Event Viewer/System
Look for "Red" errors. If you find any (and I`m sure you will ) take a note of the Error Number and Source. Post them back.

Elaine

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 18:44:16 GMT

Opened up like you said but how do I find "yellow" and "red" - is there something specific I am looking for. Apologies for seeming so clueless but I really appreciate your help. Thanks! :smileygrin:

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 18:46:51 GMT

OMG - Just gone through the instructions you gave me for Event Viewer! There's 1 o's of red cross icons - I presume these are the "reds" and the triangular ones "yellow"?

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

rwc101 — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 19:38:06 GMT

I got a couple of errors -
event 7; source cdrom
event 51; source cdrom
oh, and event 1003; System error
cant find any probs with video drivers though...
thanks

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 19:43:31 GMT

I havn't a notion on what I am doing or what to do... I seriously have no idea! Help! What am I looking for!

If all else fails Leven then - presuming Leven, Scotland is where you are from - I'm gonna pop by on my way to Crail and get you to fix it!!!

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

leven — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 20:59:05 GMT

OK beambeam.....just calm down. There`s lots of people here to try to help you.

First of all
1. Device Manager. When you opened that you would see a list of devices. Now if there was a "Yellow" error here it would have jumped out at you. It would be very obvious. Was there none there?

This is for you too rwc101

2. We are just interested in the "Red" crosses here.( Never mind the yellow ones.)
Many of them will just be repeats of the same error, so pick one example of each and double click it. Take note of the Error Number and Source and post them back.

rwc101
I`m having a problem tracking these errors down. Here`s a couple of things to try first and see if they help at all, and I will keep looking. I am finding a lot of different explanations of your errors

Easy CD Creator is known to cause this. Do you use it?

Right click My Computer>Properties>Advanced>Performance>Settings>Advanced>Virtual Memory>Change
Select "No Paging File" and OK your way out.
Reboot and go back to the same place. Reset the Paging File to 1.5 times the amount of your RAM. Both Initial and Maximum sizes the same.

Give that a go and see what happens.
What burning software do you both use?

Elaine

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 21:23:41 GMT

Rightio... calming down!

RED ERRORS ::

event 17 and event 29 both source : W32Time

event 8003 source MrxSmb

event 7034 source Service Control Manager

event 10010 source DCOM

event 1 source sr

event 1 source acpiec

event 8032 source Browser

event 7 source cdrom

Hmm... maybe I should be panicking again huh?

Hope this helps, what are these for by the way? May as well learn as I plod along here!

Paging file I remember is currently set to 700odd which is roughly 1.5 X's my RAM But I'll go do it anyway shall I? Let me know...

Also, burning software?

Because my car headunit does not read MP3's I use Sonicstage to make cd's... I havn't made a dvd at all yet so don't know what I would be using - think it's Drag n' Drop CD/DVD which came with the Vaio when I got it.

This is my second Vaio, I had one for a year until it was stolen during a break in - NEVER had any problems with it!

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

leven — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 23:21:36 GMT

beambeam

Are you sitting comfortably? OK then I`ll begin. You two have really kept me busy tonight :smileygrin:

There are quite a few errors there, but from what I can see so far, nothing to panic about. There are a couple I`m not clear on and will have to do some more ferreting around. Don`t know what they will reveal.
Here is your list with some explanations and comments . You seem to be on a network? Or at least some of the errors think you are.

event 17 and event 29 both source : W32Time
Ignore. Just Windows time having a problem connecting.

event 8003 source MrxSmb
Are you losing your Internet connection sometimes? Are you connected through another computer? If so I have a fix for this. Leave it till later.Post it and say it is the "Master Browser" problem and I`ll know what you are talking about. It is not the DVD problem and nothing serious.

event 7034 source Service Control Manager
This event is reported not by the failing service but by the Service Control Manager that simply reports the failure. As a consequence, this event does not provide too much help on identifying the problem.
It can also be reported when a service is terminated by the user via "Task Manager.
I don`t think this is the DVD problem either

event 10010 source DCOM
Another Network related problem

event 1 source sr
System Restore had a problem and stopped monitoring. Check if it is working or if it has stopped making Restore Points.

event 1 source acpiec
The problem was reported on various notebooks and tablet PCs. Get the latest ACPI drivers from the notebook manufacturer. Power Management related.

event 8032 source Browser
As per Microsoft, the backup browser will stop being a backup when it tries and fails to retrieve the list more than 5 times. It will start again after one hour. No action is needed unless you see this message on several different computers. This could indicate problems with the master browser.Not the DVD problem

event 7 source cdrom
The CD/DVD drive may be dirty, especially the lens. There are on the market special CDs with little brushes for cleaning. If this doesn't work, of course after checking with a trusted data CD/DVD, you may consider opening the CD/DVD unit for a complete cleaning and lubricating the mechanisms.
Usually this happens to custom-written CDs as the quality of the CD-burners may not be that good. A scratched CD/DVD may also generate this event. Everything points to this Error being involved, but just a dirty drive? Don`t know. Try getting a cleaning kit and see if it helps.

rwc101 Event 7 is one of yours too.Try the cleaning.

Event Viewer makes a "Red" entry very time every time there is a problem with your system. This helps to identify the problem.

Leave the Page File. The advice was for another error which rwc101 has. If you have already done it don`t worry. It won`t do any harm.

beambeam do you live near Crail?

Well.....I`m away to bed now to recover.
Errr .... anyone else with any insights about this DVD problem. please don`t hesitate to jump in

Elaine

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Mon, 05 Apr 2004 23:32:53 GMT

Yeah, I'm not far from Crail - go through quite a bit for the Crail Thrash - I'm into car's y'see... Most of the year I am in Edinburgh for Uni, I actually come from the N.E Scotland. At my QMUC Halls of Residence I am on the LAN so that would explain the network problems!

I'll be sure to flag up the other problem inthe future... Also, the system restore points had ceased to create for a while a month ago but seem ok now.

Thanks a lot for this, I really appreciate the time you've taken to help me out here.

Someone elsewhere has suggested it may be a hardware problem, he reckons that the Sound/Graphics cards have overheated and have been fried... Surely this is not normal for a considerably still brand new Vaio? Or indeed any computer? Would it be covered by Warranty? It's never been away from the desk!

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

leven — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 00:14:24 GMT

Hmm.......You would not expect the cards to be fried on a relatively new computer, but anything can happen, and often does.
If the machine is less than a year old it will still be in warranty and I would think it should be fixed. The guys here know more about this than I do, so i hope some of them are reading this thread. Hint hint.

Here is a way to check your video card.

START>RUN and type in " dxdiag" without the quotes. Then OK
Look at the Tabs at the top. Dispay, Sound, and I think Music. Select them in turn and you will see options on the page to test them . Test them all and see if they are working.
Just go through the pages and run all the tests.

I`ve heard about the "Crail Thrash". It made the News one night as apparently the locals are complaining about the noise.
That old airfield was where we all went to learn to drive before we reached legal age,

Elaine

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

tellingd — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 05:38:09 GMT

Wow Elaine, that was awesome - I don't suppose you fancy a job in IT support do you :smileygrin:

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

leven — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 09:05:49 GMT

Hey Dave,
Thanks.
I wouldn`t mind a job in IT support. . I am on an XP Forum too, and we actually get people from IT support asking for help there! Some of their questions just leave me gobsmacked! I actually could do better

Well, I know a fair bit about XP now, but not so hot on CD/DVD. When it comes to most hardware I`m a newbie.
I know there are guys here who ARE hot on DVD and was hoping one of them might have seen this problem before. It is hard to pin down other than dirty or perhaps even jiggered. The best scenario is always if someone else has fixed the problem before.
The fact hat two of them have the same problem makes me think it`s not jiggered, but will have to wait and see how they get on.

Can you enlighten us on the warranty question if we can`t fix it?

Elaine.

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

tellingd — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 10:28:29 GMT

As far as the warranty is concerned, IMHO if the user has not tampered with the laptop or used an incorrect power source then the manufacturer is bound to sort the problem (with the 'fried' cards).

However, as you well know, Sony support can sometimes be a contradiction in terms

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

kee-lo_ — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 11:02:25 GMT

Yes congrats on a job well done Elaine.

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

leven — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 11:34:05 GMT

Thanks both of you, but don`t know if it is fixed yet. Doin` my best.
At least all the other errors are not serious,so beambeam can stop panicking

Where are all the DVD experts I`ve seen in this Forum?
Just waiting to hear from them both again

Elaine

Problems with my cdrw/dvd combi!

beambeam — Tue, 06 Apr 2004 12:09:04 GMT

Hi - no change at all so far, havn't had a chance to contact sony or owt today as I am quite busy doing an essay due for 6pm... doesn't matter, have passed the module already so will hand this one in late!

What does jiggered mean?