Skipping

[Kevin]

I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 Core 2 2.0G Duo Processor, 2 Gig of ram and a
256MB ATI Mobility X1400 video card. I am running Windows Vista. Whenever I
play a Divx movie with WMP it skips. Sometimes the sound plays good but the
picture becomes slows down. After about 30 sec – min, the picture takes off
and catches up to the sound. I have tried other players and I get the same
results. The only one that seems to work is VLC player. I talked to a fella
in a computer shop today and he suggested more ram. Is 2 gig of ram not
enough, or should I have more? I have another computer that is also an
Inspiron 6400 with the exact same hardware but it has XP on it. It does not
have any problems with it. Is this a vista problem or do I need to upgrade it
already?

 

[Charlie Tame]

I have a Dell Inspiron 6400 Core 2 2.0G Duo Processor, 2 Gig of ram and a
256MB ATI Mobility X1400 video card. I am running Windows Vista. Whenever I
play a Divx movie with WMP it skips. Sometimes the sound plays good but the
picture becomes slows down. After about 30 sec – min, the picture takes off
and catches up to the sound. I have tried other players and I get the same
results. The only one that seems to work is VLC player. I talked to a fella
in a computer shop today and he suggested more ram. Is 2 gig of ram not
enough, or should I have more? I have another computer that is also an
Inspiron 6400 with the exact same hardware but it has XP on it. It does not
have any problems with it. Is this a vista problem or do I need to upgrade it
already?

Have you got all the updated drivers for the machine? That could be an
issue as VLC seems to need less resources than others - I don't know why
that is.

Is something else running would be the other question, antivirus
scanning, something else "Scanning", some for of malware or indexing
perhaps, sending receiving email? I am thinking of the periodic skips.

 

[Kevin]

Everything is up to date, nothing else is running. I even went so far as to
format the drive reinstall vista and I still have the same problem. I have
called dell and they dont have an answer for me either.

 

[Charlie Tame]

Hehe, just got an ad from them (Dell) saying "Hurry Up, June 18th is the
last day you can get a new machine with XP on it"

It sounds like you are seeing what I've noticed, some machines just
don't seem to do well with it. People tell me that their Vista machines
run faster than XP, it is likely because their older XP installation has
a few problems because with all new installs on the same hardware that I
have done Vista is always slower. And that makes sense, I mean Vista is
what, 4 or 5 times the size, the code is much bigger, so to handle the
same task the CPU has to handle more data. And in that regard I guess
your 2GB is equivalent to only 512MB for XP.

I think more memory might improve it, you can install 4GB but the 32bit
Vista will not be able to use all of it. 64bit Vista would however. If
you have only 3GB I think the dual channel thing is less efficient. If
you do get more make absolutely sure you get some that matches what you
have. It may be worth trading in your present memory and buying 4GB of
the same type at the same time. Faster memory has become cheaper
recently so you may be able to get 4GB that's faster than what you have.

Also the Vista General group is more active and you could ask there to
see if anyone has a sure fix for that model. I cross posted this so any
answers should go to both. I think you got the right group but the other
has been running longer and has more users.

 

[Kevin]

Thanks Charlie

I will look at the other group you mentioned, I guess I can wait a bit
longer to try to solve this problem as it has allready been over a year. When
I bought this from Dell they said it was a vista computer. Seems to me that
they are not standing behind their product.

 

[The poster formerly known as 'The Poster Formerly]

Hehe, just got an ad from them (Dell) saying "Hurry Up, June 18th is the
last day you can get a new machine with XP on it"

<snippity-snip>

I got the same one. I suspect that they will still offer Vista
installed PCs with the XP downgrade license, so its probably just a
scare tactic in order to sell more Dell machines this week.

--
"Fair use is not merely a nice concept--it is a federal law based on
free speech rights under the First Amendment and is a cornerstone of the
creativity and innovation that is a hallmark of this country. Consumer
rights in the digital age are not frivolous."
- Maura Corbett

DRM and unintended consequences:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=435&tag=nl.e101