Sticking DVD Playback

[Boris71]

Afternoon, just so you know I'm not being lazy, I tried a search, but it still appears to be broken, so I wonder if anyone here can help.

Last night, I tried playing a DVD on my FS415B Notebook - and generally it was OK, but every so often the picture seemed to freeze very momentarily and then play on as normal.
This occurred every 30 seconds or so - although it did SEEM to improve slightly as the film went on (though, that could have just been my tolerance levels increasing).
I've not played a film on it for a good while now, but don't remember this being an issue before.
I tried playing it using Real DVD Player, Windows Media Player and another player - can't remember what it was! [:">]

It was pretty annoying - can anyone help?

Thank you.

[rich912]

Hi Boris71,

Is it an original pressed DVD that is giving problems or a copy?

If the former then often a defrag of the hard drive will cure the problem. The inbuilt Windows application is a bit basic but will do the job if you run it two or three times, but I would recommend O&O Defrag.

[Blencogo]

If Rich's defrag doesn't cure the problem, then check that your drive has DMA (Direct Memory Access) turned on and working. DMA by-passes your CPU when transferring data and definitely speeds things up preventing regular stutters on DVD playback.

Start -> Right-Click My Computer -> Properties -> Hardware -> Device Manager

Expand IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
Double-click on Primary IDE Channel -> Advanced Settings.
Make sure ALL devices have "DMA if Available" selected and check that the Current Transfer Mode is "Ultra DMA Mode 4/5/6".
If any device is set to PIO mode then this is your problem.
Go Back and highlight Primary IDE Channel and right-click on it.
Select Uninstall and OK. You must uninstall - disabling is not enough.
Reboot your Vaio to reload the drivers and reset DMA.

If you have a secondary IDE Channel in Device Manager - do the same for that.

[Boris71]

Hi Rich912 and Blencogo,

Thank you for your replies.
Rich912, it is an original pressed DVD that caused the problem, but I defragged my hard drive fairly recently (3 or so months ago) - should it need another one so soon?

Blencogo, I've looked at the DMA side of things
My Device 0 Transfer Mode is set to 'DMA if available'.
Its Current Transfer Mode is set to 'Ultra DMA Mode 5'.

My Device 1 Transfer Mode is also set to 'DMA if available'.
But its Current Transfer Mode is set to 'Ultra DMA Mode 2' - is this an issue? I can't actually change the Current Transfer Mode though?!?

Thanks guys.

[Blencogo]

Hi Boris,

No - the DMA is set OK.

It was worth a try!

[Boris71]

Hi Blencogo,

Well, I un-installed and then re-booted anyway and it seems to have done the trick!?! It's certainly a LOT better - don't know if this is just some sort of a coincidence or if the un-installing has had some sort of effect?!?

Thank you anyway.

[rich912]

Hi Boris,

I defragged my hard drive fairly recently (3 or so months ago) - should it need another one so soon?

I defragment my system drive at least once a month. Difficult to say for definite whether this is the problem but worth a try if you are still unhappy with playback.