Multimedia Video Controller

[D&JG]

H all

We have an 18 month old Dell Inspiron 530 with NVIDIA Geforce 8300GS
graphics. About a month ago, Windows XP died and had to be re-installed.
Since then, I have been unable to get the multimedia video controller to
work.

Tried everything on the Dell support site - downloading every appropriate
driver. When the yellow-questioned item is uninstalled and XP rebooted, the
controller is searched for but never found. This includes the XP internet
search and the search through the 'Drivers and Utilities' disk that came
with the computer from Dell. Tried the Intel and NVIDIA websites, too,
without success.

Dell proudly informs that PC-Recovery can reset to installed-drivers state
by using <Ctrl><F11> during boot-up but this is not on our unit!

Has anyone else had this problem and found a solution? The main reason we
replaced out old computer was to transfer all of our ageing VHS tapes of our
kids growing up to DVD before the tapes finally die. Until a month ago, we
used Cyberlink with success. Now, Cyberlink can't find or capture the video
coming in the back (device not found). Even recordings already on file
can't be transferred to DVD. They can be read but not written.

As a 'last straw', we bought a USB video-capture unit in case something
inside was stopping video capture. This works OK - i.e. we can now capture
video - but still can't find anything that can send it to a DVD.

Any ideas, anyone?

TIA, Don

 

[Paul]

H all

We have an 18 month old Dell Inspiron 530 with NVIDIA Geforce 8300GS
graphics. About a month ago, Windows XP died and had to be re-installed.
Since then, I have been unable to get the multimedia video controller to
work.

Tried everything on the Dell support site - downloading every appropriate
driver. When the yellow-questioned item is uninstalled and XP rebooted, the
controller is searched for but never found. This includes the XP internet
search and the search through the 'Drivers and Utilities' disk that came
with the computer from Dell. Tried the Intel and NVIDIA websites, too,
without success.

Dell proudly informs that PC-Recovery can reset to installed-drivers state
by using <Ctrl><F11> during boot-up but this is not on our unit!

Has anyone else had this problem and found a solution? The main reason we
replaced out old computer was to transfer all of our ageing VHS tapes of our
kids growing up to DVD before the tapes finally die. Until a month ago, we
used Cyberlink with success. Now, Cyberlink can't find or capture the video
coming in the back (device not found). Even recordings already on file
can't be transferred to DVD. They can be read but not written.

As a 'last straw', we bought a USB video-capture unit in case something
inside was stopping video capture. This works OK - i.e. we can now capture
video - but still can't find anything that can send it to a DVD.

Any ideas, anyone?

TIA, Don

"About a month ago, Windows XP died and had to be re-installed."

It all depends on where the WinXP came from, as to what the right
way would have been to put it back. If the computer was a Vista
machine, and you put WinXP on it yourself, then you'd want a good
record of the procedure written on a piece of paper to remind
you. (I keep all the drivers I've installed, in a separate folder,
for times like this.)

If WinXP was on the recovery partition of the hard drive, it might
have been a simple matter of pressing a certain function key, which
would blow away the C: partition, and return C: to factory state.
(You lose your user data that way.) That would be an example, of
Dell providing the OS and the drivers and the application programs,
so at least the Dell component parts would be put back. A hidden
recovery partition on the hard drive, is where that stuff is
stored, to be unleashed when the right function key is pressed
at computer startup. (Details should be in the manual.)

When I look at the Dell page, I see hints of a couple things.
There is the 8300GS video card. But the mini-DIN connector on
there, probably doesn't do video capture. I found a picture
of an 8300GS for sale used, and it certainly didn't look like
it had a capture option. (Sometimes, it takes a separate
chip sitting beside the GPU, for that to work. I don't see
a separate chip.)

(Example of a Dell 8300GS, video card with VGA/DVI/S-video)
http://www.txcesssurplus.com/catalog/9081-Board.jpg

I did find mention of the ATI Theatre 650 TV/capture card, as an
option for the Insprion 530. If you download a driver for the 650 and
install it, then that may restore your capture capability. The
Dell page here, shows the faceplate of this separate piece of
hardware (which needs its own driver). Maybe the presence of
a fully working 650, complete with driver, is needed for the
Cyberlink (i.e. the Cyberlink is hardware-locked to the capture
card).

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/acc/P128225/setup.htm

I'm surprised files on disk, cannot be sent to the DVD. To write
to a DVD with WinXP, you need a third party program. WinXP does
not have its own DVD writing capability. If the files already
existed, then it should be a simple matter of a DVD writer function
to kick in and write to the DVD.

For example, on my computer, I have a DVD-RW, and I use Nero to
make data DVDs. So Nero is the piece of software that writes
DVDs in my case.

If I had an Upperfilter/Lowerfilter problem, that might break
the DVD writing function. But I don't get that feeling from
your symptom description.

Does the Cyberlink package have the ability to write DVDs
directly ? Or does it output an ISO9660 file, and rely
on another program to do the writing ?

In any case, take another look at the back of your computer,
to see if you have an 8300GS (video output card) as well
as an ATI 650 (video input card). They each have their own
driver.

Paul

 

[D&JG]

"About a month ago, Windows XP died and had to be re-installed."

It all depends on where the WinXP came from, as to what the right
way would have been to put it back. If the computer was a Vista
machine, and you put WinXP on it yourself, then you'd want a good
record of the procedure written on a piece of paper to remind
you. (I keep all the drivers I've installed, in a separate folder,
for times like this.)

If WinXP was on the recovery partition of the hard drive, it might
have been a simple matter of pressing a certain function key, which
would blow away the C: partition, and return C: to factory state.
(You lose your user data that way.) That would be an example, of
Dell providing the OS and the drivers and the application programs,
so at least the Dell component parts would be put back. A hidden
recovery partition on the hard drive, is where that stuff is
stored, to be unleashed when the right function key is pressed
at computer startup. (Details should be in the manual.)

When I look at the Dell page, I see hints of a couple things.
There is the 8300GS video card. But the mini-DIN connector on
there, probably doesn't do video capture. I found a picture
of an 8300GS for sale used, and it certainly didn't look like
it had a capture option. (Sometimes, it takes a separate
chip sitting beside the GPU, for that to work. I don't see
a separate chip.)

(Example of a Dell 8300GS, video card with VGA/DVI/S-video)
http://www.txcesssurplus.com/catalog/9081-Board.jpg

I did find mention of the ATI Theatre 650 TV/capture card, as an
option for the Insprion 530. If you download a driver for the 650 and
install it, then that may restore your capture capability. The
Dell page here, shows the faceplate of this separate piece of
hardware (which needs its own driver). Maybe the presence of
a fully working 650, complete with driver, is needed for the
Cyberlink (i.e. the Cyberlink is hardware-locked to the capture
card).

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/acc/P128225/setup.htm

I'm surprised files on disk, cannot be sent to the DVD. To write
to a DVD with WinXP, you need a third party program. WinXP does
not have its own DVD writing capability. If the files already
existed, then it should be a simple matter of a DVD writer function
to kick in and write to the DVD.

For example, on my computer, I have a DVD-RW, and I use Nero to
make data DVDs. So Nero is the piece of software that writes
DVDs in my case.

If I had an Upperfilter/Lowerfilter problem, that might break
the DVD writing function. But I don't get that feeling from
your symptom description.

Does the Cyberlink package have the ability to write DVDs
directly ? Or does it output an ISO9660 file, and rely
on another program to do the writing ?

In any case, take another look at the back of your computer,
to see if you have an 8300GS (video output card) as well
as an ATI 650 (video input card). They each have their own
driver.

Paul

Thanks, Paul, for the speedy response. I'll look into what you have said
and let you know what I find..

Don

 

[D&JG]

You were absolutely correct! Big smiles all round... Took a look at the
back and there was a video card visible in the bottom slot. When we
originally ordered the unit, we told Dell what we were mainly using the
computer for - i.e. transferring videos to DVD. When it came with video
capabilities, we assumed that all Dell Inspirons had this facility and the
'multimedia video controller' would have been on one of the disks supplied
with the unit. What a waste of time this assumption caused in searching for
the driver.

Opened the computer and found that a 'V-Gear' video card was what had been
installed. Found the drivers for it immediately and all is well again :O)

Thanks, Paul, for the eyes up! Why did we overlook something so obvious
????

Still a mystery remains... Not that we care... Who installed the card? No
mention of it from Dell....

Don

 

[Paul]

You were absolutely correct! Big smiles all round... Took a look at the
back and there was a video card visible in the bottom slot. When we
originally ordered the unit, we told Dell what we were mainly using the
computer for - i.e. transferring videos to DVD. When it came with video
capabilities, we assumed that all Dell Inspirons had this facility and the
'multimedia video controller' would have been on one of the disks supplied
with the unit. What a waste of time this assumption caused in searching for
the driver.

Opened the computer and found that a 'V-Gear' video card was what had been
installed. Found the drivers for it immediately and all is well again :O)

Thanks, Paul, for the eyes up! Why did we overlook something so obvious
????

Still a mystery remains... Not that we care... Who installed the card? No
mention of it from Dell....

Don

Glad you got it sorted.

I just wish Dell would do something about their driver pages, like
use tabs, put all the printer drivers under one tab and so on. I
hate having to page through 20 pages of drivers, to try to understand
what build options exist on their computers. You see the strangest
stuff, in the driver list.

Paul