movie freezes up

[David]

When I try to play a DVD on my Windows 2000 machine it
will freeze up. It will start off playing then it starts
jumping and finally freezes. It will stop all playing, the
sound freezes up (like it is playing the same sound over
and over)and even the mouse and keyboard will freeze. It
will require a removal of power to start it back up. I
have now noticed that this same issue is happening in
Windows Media Player. The machine has loads of processing
power (2 processors) and loads of memory and hard drive
space. Any ideas?

 

[Guest]

This will sound crazy.. But it might have to do with
your version of Direct X..

Before you start laughing, let me explain..

I have discoverd that certain multimedia applications
utilize direct x to present the actual video content of a
dvd..

A direct x problem will result in issues like a movie
stopping and not going beyond a particular point
smoothely (like skipping forward although your DVD is
mint), and issues where your screen will go black, but
audio is still present.

I discovered this issue on my Sony Vaio PGRX-555 laptop
which used an ati video card.

I updated my video drivers, I updated my DVD software
(windvd, and something else the laptop came with) and
updated my version of windows media player..

No luck with any attempted resolution..

So I decided to install a video game and see how it ran,
well.. During the installation, the game prompted to
install a version of direct x newer than what I currently
ran..

So I went ahead and installed it..

Low and behold..

The issue was resolved.. Now I know that Tom Clancy's
Ravenshield did not resolve my DVD player, however, I
believe it was Microsoft's updated Direct X software
which was included in the game's installation..

I could be way out in left field with this, but hey..
Noone else even responded..
Luke Conaway
Microsoft Certified Professional

 

[David]

Thanks. I will try it. What version of Direct X did you
load?