help me help my wife with dvd shrink

[ferret man]

hi everyone its been a while since ive had a problem but, my wife now wants dvd shrink on her computer. so she tried to download it from here. but, her download manager wouldn't let her. no big deal right? so i put my copy on a thumb drive for her, she installed it and it works but its "glithcey" during backup process and when she burns it with image burn ,which i also gave her, the disk skips. so she removed it and we found a website she could download it from. the problem is after downloading dvd shrink and installing it into her program files its still "glitchey" not smooth and in fast forward like it should be. i have had the same problem in the past but a system restore fixed it. that wont work for her because she never had it before. are there hidden files that arn't removed wnen we uninstall dvd shrink or removed the copy that i gave her?:o:o:D sorry about the long post just trying to give as much info as i can

[mahsah]

Does it happen to dvds burned with things other then shrink? If so you might want to try reinstalling drivers or upgrading your burner's firmware.

Also does it play fine on your PC, but poorly on your Standalone? Or poorly on both?

[allanon019]

which OS in shrink on?
Is the DVD's in good shape?
What's her CPU and RAM?
Did this message appear: Cyclic Rendundancy?
What Brand and Type of DVDR media is being used?
Is the DVD drive set to DMA or PIO? (look in device manager)

What DVD titles have you tried? perhaps the encryption on them are too strong for shrink.

Have you scanned the comuter for viruses, trojans, and spyware/malware?

[ferret man]

i have been using shrink for quite a while now. with no problem her computer is identical to mine which is a compaq presario. the exact same dvd does fine in mine no problem. the problem i think is its re copying bad files when she installes the program how do i remove hidden files on the computer for dvd shrink if there are anny? we remove dvd shrink through add/remove programs and reinstall it but the same problem happens. the movie was land before time i dont remember which one. she has no viruses or trojens or any of that she is religous about scaning her computer . and as far as other programs other than shrink she hasent tried any. she is still new to this copying thing. i have shrink, dvd decrypter and dvd fab decrypter. are there other freeware programs that work as good as dvd shrink and compress to fit on a 4.7 gb dvd that she could try? if so what are they? the os is xp, the media is magnavox dvd+r i burned the same disk in my computer 10 minutes later with no problem so its not the disk its her copy of shrink

[allanon019]

Thanks for the extra info, but all I can say is that there's something wrong with the DVD drive (have you checked it to be DMA in device manager?)
You could also try using your own DVD Burner and swap it out.
Also, what Brand DVD drive does she have.
If all this doesn't help, then I'm as clueless as you are(without being there in person, that is).

[fazzaz31]

"...how do i remove hidden files on the computer for dvd shrink if there are anny?"

DVD Shrink is more or less self-contained and doesn't use "hidden files." And off hand, I can't think of a program that costs less than 85$ that will do the job that Shrink does for free.

As allanon019 suggests, check that your drives are running in DMA mode:

To set DMA mode: go to (1) Control Panel, (2) System, (3) Goto the Hardware Tab, (4) Device Manager, (5) IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers, (6) Right Click on Primary IDE Channel --> Properties, (7) Goto the Advanced Settings Tab, Make sure both drop down boxes say 'DMA if Available', Click OK,(8) Right Click on Secondary IDE Channel --> Properties, (9) Goto the Advanced Settings Tab, Make sure both drop down boxes say 'DMA if Available', Click OK, (10) Reboot.

You didn't say how much RAM she has on board, but I know a Compaq Presario is maxed out at 512 MB RAM and the inboard video is crap. Try shutting down unnecessary programs while running the video, and/or install a video card with some oomph.

[setarip_old]

@ferret man

Hi!how do i remove hidden files on the computer for dvd shrink if there are anny?You'll find those files in:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\DVD Shrink

[fazzaz31]

@ferret man

Hi!You'll find those files in:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\DVD Shrink

Setarip is correct; there are old "settings" files in that folder, but they shouldn't affect new Shrink projects. [Correct me if I'm wrong, Setarip, but aren't those files just project 'config' files?]

Also, pardon me for my assumption, ferret man, since I haven't looked at a new Presario since about 2002 I assumed (cough) that the Presario line had been discontinued (I have an old 5000 in the corner that I use as a test bed). I now know that Presarios now come outfitted with dual cores and as much as 4 GB RAM. What machine do you have, exactly?

And have you tried verifying that your wife's machine is actually in DMA mode? ( It may say Ultra DMA. Same difference.)

[setarip_old]

Setarip is correct; there are old "settings" files in that folder, but they shouldn't affect new Shrink projects. Correct me if I'm wrong, Setarip, but aren't those files just project 'config' files?They are summaries of how DVD Shrink has read SPECIFIC DVDs - So that, if you load the same DVD into DVD Shrink at a later date, it will not have to go through the normal disc analysis.

As a consequence, if there was a problem reading a SPECIFC DVD the first time, but the problem has been resolved (cleaning DVD, etc.), you'll get the same flawed result unless the original data file has first been deleted...

[ferret man]

thanks setarip i will try that and to you fazzaz31 i have a compaq presario sr2027x is what it says with not much memory on it but here are the specs lightscribe dvd writer amd anthlon 64 processor 512 mb memory and 120 gb hard drive. like i said not much memory but it works for me. like i said her computer is identical to mine and i dont have verry many problems. if i do i do a system restore to a time when shrink worked properly. thats not an option whith her computer because we tried to install it from my computer to hers with a thumb drive aboue 3 or 4 months ago. system restore doesnt go back that far so we cant go back to a time when shrink wasnt thorght of. and when we remove it and download it, it is exactly the same "corrupt" i think is the word i am looking for. like i said it is glitchy. there is nothing wrong with her dvd drive, it plays fine and she can do music cd's no problem, no virused or anything

[fazzaz31]

Hello again, ferret man.

Well, first of all, Lightscribe is a technology, not a piece of hardware - a feature available on select DVD burners - so we need to know what BRAND burner you have. It may require a firmware update or patch. Nothing to be scared of; I bought a brand new LiteOn last August and it started acting whacky, not recognizing commercial DVDs or even discs that it had itself burned just recently. It needed a firmware update in December, which was a simple download & push button install. So, brand name of burner.

Heck, just go to the manufacturer's website and look around for support/downloads to see if there are any updates you might need.

Did you check that the drives are in DMA mode? That's a necessary check whatever else is going on, as it affects all your drives.

Note bene: Playing video is not the same as playing audio. They use different hardware devices, and video (record or playback) takes a HUGE amount of the system's RAM, which is not the case with audio.

Even an inexpensive video card will make a big big difference in playback on any machine because a video card just does video, while the machine RAM is tasked with fetching the files off the drives, sorting the order of dozens of processes (40+) going on all at the same time inside the box, plus you will get control of the picture quality: color balance, contrast, gamma.

Have you done a registry clean/defrag recently? If not, do so ASAP. Here I recommend a commercial product such as WinASO (http://www.winaso.com/) (Try the free trail version to get started). This should be part of a regular maintainence schedule in any case.

Lastly, you may need to do a Repair to her Windows installation. It's possible, even likely, that the Windows drivers have become corrupt. It's easy with the original installation media, but problematic with your thumb drive technique, and outside the purview of this forum.

Please take the steps I have suggested, and let us know how it works out.

(By the way, my 8 year-old Presario is still chugging along just fine, but now with flavorful Ubuntu. I use it as a server, and it's on 24/7.)