So, I do not own a TV and do not wish to purchase one. I watch DVD's on my ancient Dell XPS 430. Sometimes to watch a Video disk, it is like dragin a dead mule through the mud. It freezes, or won't load and it seems impossible to predict when it will happen. At first I thought I could solve this with new DVD drive, but once I got a message that Windows 7 could not read the disk. Out of 5 disks of "Twilight", two were exceedingly frustrating, while the other three played without issue. Last night, the last disk would not load at all, so I just went to bed. This morning it loaded without fuss and played to 1:30 hours, and froze. So, I finally ejected it and rebooted. After a few tries the recalcitrant machine finally played it through to the end. :)
Oddly, this only happens with the disks from one store. Most Video stores around here have disappeared like the dinosaurs. I can not do Netflix because I do not have an internet carrier except for the house wifi.
I have had it with this foolishness full stop. I am willing to buy a new computer (Not Apple, never Apple), buy a TV with a disk player, but not quite ready to unlimber my 38 SPL on it.
What !!! Please?
Comments
VLC PLayer might be the answer to your problem.
I suggest you download the VLC player onto your new computer. It is a free, very versatile program that will let you watched DVDs on Windows Seven.
Also, chances are that it is not your computer, but the anti-piracy measures in the discs. But, VLC player can usually handle such problems.
If this is the model I just found online...
with a quad-core processor and 4 gigs of RAM, and an AMD HD 3600 series GPU, then it's rather surprising that something as simple as DVD playback is giving you such issues. If replacing the DVD drive didn't fix them, then it sounds like your system might be using a lot more of its resources than it should on other things, and a good system cleaning could be just the answer.
How often do you do things like cleaning up your temp/unused files, running virus scans, and defragging your hard drive? All of these can, in their own small ways, contribute to your computer's overall health, and all are fairly simple to execute, even for inexperienced users. Also, right-click on your task-bar at the bottom of your screen, open Task Manager, then click on the performance tab: this will tell you how much of your processor and RAM are being used at any given time. Since you're running Windows 7 32-bit your system should idle at less than 3 percent processor usage on any given core and less than a gig of your RAM used: maybe closer to a gig and a half if you have your web browser open, depending on which one you use. If your system is burning much more than this, then you need to bring in a friend you trust who is good with computers to take a look at things and see about cleaning your system up: a lot of store-bought computers -- especially from manufacturers like Dell, HP, or eMachines -- are chock full of bloatware that will eat your system resources like no tomorrow and hinder your experience far more than they help. Cleaning this kind of thing out is usually a relatively quick and painless process, but if you're not used to working with your software and don't know what you're doing it can be daunting.
Again, if your system matches what I've seen for the model online, then you really shouldn't need a new PC -- just to get yours fixed up a bit.
Melanie E.
Was Vista machine
Oddly, this machine is 64 bit and has Intel Quad core, 2.65 mhz. in it. It never ran well with Vista, so I finally bought 7 and put it on. My brain likes to be busy, so I usually watch the movie on one screen, and do email on the other, while listening to music on another. Maybe I can not do this?
Running 3 screens? That could be part of the issue.
Maybe try limiting it down to one monitor, just for the movie, and that could fix your stuttering issues. The GPUs typically shipped in pre-built units aren't exactly designed for power, and if you're running music plus web on other monitors that would severely affect both your system RAM and your VRAM.
Melanie E.
hardware acceleration
Most post-XP versions of Windows borrow GPU processing cycles to help the CPU. If a computer is having problems with video, disabling hardware acceleration can help.
"we can turn it all around, because it's not too late, it's NEVER too late" -(never too late, Three Days Grace)