Am i right in thinking this?

[Guest]

Ok. I'll start in saying that i have posted several posts on this board who
try and be helpful at first but end in the same result.....my computer not
being fixed.

After looking at these posts and the sheer volume of problems that come in,
I have come to one conclusion.....computers are made with a built in 'random
problem generator' after the warranty runs out.

Think of it this way - two programmers (one honest and one not-s-honest)
create exactly the same program but the less honest of the two puts in a
backdoor code so a problem occurs in the program. Result? The programmer
gets called back to solve the problem and thus creating a need to call
him/her back. More money for the less-honest, no after-sales service required
from the honest one.

So I buy a computer and after a year it comes up with a problem which no-one
can decipher and doesn't appear to have a solution. Oh wait, i know a
solution. Take it back and be told it'll be expensive to fix.

Is it some kind of insider knowledge where manufacturers are all laughing
behind our backs while their computers run fine?

We live in a world where people where the only way to ensure service is to
provide a bad one?

I am seriously peed off and thinking of taking an axe to mine and moving to
tibet where there are no computers in the monastrys

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Let's start again, what is the exact problem you have?

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

Ok. I'll start in saying that i have posted several posts on this board
who
try and be helpful at first but end in the same result.....my computer not
being fixed.

After looking at these posts and the sheer volume of problems that come
in,
I have come to one conclusion.....computers are made with a built in
'random
problem generator' after the warranty runs out.

Think of it this way - two programmers (one honest and one not-s-honest)
create exactly the same program but the less honest of the two puts in a
backdoor code so a problem occurs in the program. Result? The programmer
gets called back to solve the problem and thus creating a need to call
him/her back. More money for the less-honest, no after-sales service
required
from the honest one.

So I buy a computer and after a year it comes up with a problem which
no-one
can decipher and doesn't appear to have a solution. Oh wait, i know a
solution. Take it back and be told it'll be expensive to fix.

Is it some kind of insider knowledge where manufacturers are all laughing
behind our backs while their computers run fine?

We live in a world where people where the only way to ensure service is to
provide a bad one?

I am seriously peed off and thinking of taking an axe to mine and moving
to
tibet where there are no computers in the monastrys

--
OS: Windows XP MCE 2004 SP2
Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz
RAM: 1024 DDR
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon X700

Perhaps it is time to consider an increase in your medication....the "evil
thoughts" are beginning to return.

Bobby

 

[Guest]

ok, from the beginning:

My computer was working fine a month ago when I would watch downloaded
videos in Divx player/WMP10/PowerDVD and even with the stock graphics card
(Radeon 9200) the picture was crystal clear.

Now, when i watch programs they look grainy and there is clear pixellation
on the outlines of objects. This does not affect pictures, only video and
occurs on all video viewers.

Also, When i try and start my Media Centre it looks it appears large in
contrast to the 1280/1024 my desktop is currently set at and starts by
telling me "Your video card or drivers are not compatible with Media Centre".

How can this be if they were supplied with the computer and worked before?

I tried updating the driver for the graphics card and also the TV tuner
card. What else can i do?

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Are you sure you are downloading the Media Center 2005 specific drivers from
ATI's website and not the non-MCE ones?

 

[Guest]

I am downloading Catalyst 5.13 Windows Media Centre Edition drivers from the
ATI website. I will try and take a screenshot to show you how bad it is.

You may not see it as bad as it is because it is zoomed out a bit, but
peoples shoulders are square.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/Imforyou/shot2.jpg


Try saving it, zooming in once and thats how i am watching it.

Is there any chance the Bios may need updating?

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Ew that's fairly nasty.... !

What monitor are you running on and what is your resolution set at... and
the monitor refresh rate?

 

[Guest]

Are you talking about Hurley or the picture in general? Lol.

My monitor is a Packard Bell but according to Everest it is a 17" NEC FT700.
My resolution is 1280 by 1024 and the refresh rate is 60 Hz.

 

[Guest]

I've noticed something else too, the colour red in all videos seems to be
more pixellated than any other colour.

Strange.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Red can be the most difficult color to display.... on an HDTV you often get
'strobing' with red. It seems more obvious than any other solid color.

Did you try another monitor? Borrow one from a friend from an hour or so
just to check. 60Hz is fine for an LCD but VERY low for a CRT. I'd
actually change it to 75 if it's an LCD and something more like 85 or higher
for a CRT.

 

[Guest]

OK - tried swapping monitors but the problem remains the same.

Heres a thing though, i used to watch all my videos on my DivX player. Now,
when trying to watch any video is come up with an error message:

'Unable to render video:

The DivX player is unable to initialize the video software required to play
this file. There is likely a problem with your DirectX installation. Please
reinstall DirectX and try again.'

I have DirectX 9.0c installed.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

There was a recent update for DirectX that didn't come down via the Updates
.....

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...FA-0E3C-4837-AFC0-6C67DCAA54BF&displaylang=en

 

[Guest]

HALLELUJAH!

I did some tinkering, reinstalled DirectX 9 and messed about with stuff and
the end result - the video has now corrected itself and Media Centre runs
normally without the error message and the tv is working!

I am scared that downloading that update you provided may undo something i
did, is it worth downloading it?

Thanks very much for your help with this