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  1. Hi, first post here. when I try to play video in any player, it skips and stutters, more so when other system resources are being used. I have only been experiencing this problem for about 2-3 weeks and it also happens when trying to stream video from the internet, such as Netflicks or Hulu. prior to 2-3 weeks ago,, playback was fairly smooth, it may be a problem with too many codecs installed/reinstalled. The specific videos I see this happening with are (so far) avi's
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  2. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    Could you post the data from MediaInfo from one of the problem files? BTW, 'AVI' is just a container name, it can contain a dozen or more different codecs, video and audio. Hence the request for the file info.

    Have you checked your Task Manager CPU/RAM usage during playback? If the CPU usage is above about 50%, you have a problem. Some highly compressed formats like MKV need a lot of CPU and graphics power to play smoothly.

    If the problem also happens with Netflix, then that sounds like more of a general computer problem. Either your computer is running slow, or there is something running in the background stealing CPU cycles. Some anti virus programs can do that. I would also run some scans for trojans and other malware as that may be the real problem.

    Posting your computer details would also help. A simple program like CPU-Z will give you most of the needed info: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

    I'm also wondering if you recently installed a program about the same time as the problems started. Sometimes a system restore to an earlier date can help.

    And welcome to our forums.
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  3. posted more complete comp info. the file from MEdiaInfo is appended. I am using norton security suite, but have been for a while. I am not doing all that much different from what i have done in the past, so I guess I may have some sort of malware stealing resources.... But I have f'ed around a little with the codecs on this comp recently, so I was thinking that I may have screwed up how that all works, ie created conflicts because of too many installs of codecs... is that possible? I have heard though that if there is a codec problem, running VLC should give an indication as it doesn't use codecs (?) and so should run vids fine where others don't. VLC is having the same problem, so likliehood is, as you say, a general computer resource problemn? I will run some malware scans, I use Malware Bytes and Super-Antispyware, got anything you like better?
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  4. ps- thanx for the welcome
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  5. 1gb of ram is too little ...2gb min// 70gb HDD is too little up it to 320gb . // xp is old hat up it to W7.

    Defrag your hard disk. remove unnecessary/extraneous files. defrag your hard disk again. As these files are highly fragmented due to their source. Keep 20% on HDD spare for paging etc
    VLC has the codecs built in, doesn't need any outside help.
    Get a decent gfx card? get a wd tv mini, real cheap, ideal for this sort of SD grunt work.
    keep media files on a separate hard disk from the OS, helps to speed things awfully well.

    Comet 1000gb External disk £55
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  6. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    That MediaInfo link just shows a SD Xvid video which should play back with minimal resources. It looks more like a OS or hardware problem.

    While your RAM amount is fairly low, I don't think it's part of the problem. I would check your hard drive, as mentioned, and make sure it's defragged and not overly full.

    Norton isn't that great of antivirus, IMO. You might try running Malware Bytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/

    But check your CPU % of use during playback. That would be a sure clue that something is running that shouldn't be.
    Last edited by redwudz; 24th Jul 2010 at 03:19.
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  7. yeah, while rabiddog's post was well-intentioned and undeniably true, I have been playing video on this comp for years without this problem until a few weeks ago. i did defrag and am running about 50% disk space, ran Super-Antispyware and MAB, not much came up except for tracking cookies. So I disconnected my internet to make sure there were no net-related buggaboos sucking resources (and that Norton was not sucking resources) and ran the videos and the videos still stuttered and popped, with occasional 100% CPU usage. That is why I even posted on this board, because I feel like the problem must have to do with codec issues, as I have downloaded/messed with my codecs recently. Unfortunately I am less expert at understanding/diagnosing codec issues than at anything else on the comp. I have read that faulty codec setup can cause this problem, but I don't know how to diagnose/correct these issues. You're above post about CPU usage seems to be on the money, it is erratic and shoots up when I play the videos. Not sure if it was even anything you could give recommendations about without being physically present at the comp.

    one thing that bugs me is that my "system idle process" image name in task manager is always jumping to 99%, not even sure what that entails. Also, I have noticed that csrss.exe is on my system and have seen that this is a trojan, not sure how to get rid of it, researching.
    Last edited by ericgregory; 24th Jul 2010 at 14:00.
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  8. okay, understand now a little more about system idle process as being 100%-all active processes, ie it should be high if no other processes are active. did a search for csrss.exe (now understood to be an integral part of the windows op sys, but often used by keyloggers and other hackers because it ia an undeletable file in windows, should only show up in C:\WINDOWS\system32). Besides
    C:\WINDOWS\system32, the name also showed up in two other directories:

    C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386\csrss.exe (6 kb)

    C:\WINDOWS\$NtServicePackUninstall$\csrss.exe (6kb)

    not sure if these are supposed to be there or not. most of what i have seen says that it should only be installed in system32, and these don't necessarily appear to be installations, do they?

    anyways, I am pretty sure i don't have viruses, unless these instances of csrss.exe are actually viral. I know my comp is underpowered for great vid performance, but it has operated about 300% better in the past... so I guess a question: is there a way to completely wipe all of my codecs out, uninstall all video players, reinstall them and essentially start at default for video playing? I have read elsewhere that it is possible to f-up your codec operating schema to an extent where only an operating system re-install can get you back to square 1. true or not true? By the way thanks if you actually read up to this point, you have godlike ramble-resistance!
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  9. Mod Neophyte Super Moderator redwudz's Avatar
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    Sometimes it's the easiest to do a wipe and a clean install of the OS, but not usually necessary.

    But I don't think this is a codec issue. Especially if VLC and streaming video like Netflix is affected. They both use their own codecs and should not be affected by system or installed codecs.

    If you can rule out a software/malware problem, then it may be hardware related. You can check your RAM with something like Memtest86: http://www.memtest86.com/

    Next may be a video card problem. I would make sure you have the latest drivers for your card, and if possible, try a substitute card.

    I would also try the aforementioned CPU-Z to see if your CPU is operating at the correct speed and the RAM is also operating correctly.

    Most of those problems would also cause problems with all your programs, though the video card could still be suspect just for video.
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  10. dude,
    i am sure you hear this way too much already, buthere it is anyways: YOU ROCK!!!!! (as does every1 elae who responded) Thanks all for the advice, forgot bout memtest and haven't checked for up to date drivers for a while.

    rabiddog: I just started selling solar, which can take between 3-12 months from initial customer contact to completion of sale (and getting paid). you can bet one of my first purchases is going to be a new laptop!!
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  11. I suspected the source (i.e. Torrents) as they are normally very heavily fragmented files. You might also check your harddrives are still operating in pio mode6 . A faster bigger hard drive would do wonders for your system anyway.
    You are fixated on codecs.. look further afield for your problem. Have you actually defragged your disk since downloading this file?
    Is all video playback affected? is it only mpeg4 files?
    VLC is self contained and makes no reference to other coeds on your system.
    Possibly your aged hardware is breathing its last...its begging for its Bus Pass and Pension Book or at least a copy of FreeNAs.
    Over Here, Sunshine is free,

    Just because its part of windows, what makes you think its not a virus?? <JK>
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  12. "Just because its part of windows, what makes you think its not a virus?? " -Rabiddog

    Goddamitdude! Rabiddog, I think that is one of the most "hilarious because its true" phrases. How much for a bumper sticker? Do you have the t-shirt? Unfortuntely, its a little long for a tattoo... And it would definitely qualify as one of those "Oh yeah, yep, I was way high on some killer weed when I got that tattoo" tattoo. That shit is funny though, the kind of funny you only appreciate if you have got a giant flashing neon "NERD" sign above your head.

    You know, it is very possible that I am suffering from a common delusion that something that worked fine yesterday inherently possesses some quality that demands that it function just as well tomorrow. So heres another trippy freaking thing, I am playing music with WMP and it is stuttering, so that means it is not a video codec causing the problem, course ot could be an audio codec... Nope, no fixation here!

    I did start defragging after your mention of it before, but it was only 44% done. Defrag said there was no need to defrag, but I am thinking that all of my torrent-sourced files may sum up to a relatively small portion of my drive compared to the rest and so the defrag program says, your disk does not need to be defragged, when in reality my torrent-sourced files are pretty hashed up to varying degrees and requires that the hard-drive has to more often access contiguous information in disparate locations. To make it worse, the videos I was playing were part of an in-process download and so were probably even more stretched out. Ah, I can diagnose this, by just defragging my torrent download folder, or even specifically one file?

    Tell you truly, fragmented files would be a happy occurence over "its time to take Ol' Yeller out back and put him out of his misery".
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  13. Eric, I don't mean to threadjack but you might want to hear what I have to say. I found your post searching for the same problem. I experience the same as you, video stutterng in various media players. It's not so bad (or may barely exist in WMP). This is on a fresh install of Win XP.

    What you might find interesting is that I boot into two different XP installs on the same PC depending on which drive I have hooked up. On one install of XP, there is never any stuttering in any media player. On the other install on a different hard drive, the stuttering is severe in third-party media players (VLC, GOM, KMP).

    So this is not a hardware issue for me. The hard drive where the stuttering occurs is brand new and benches at 129MB/sec average read speed in HDTach. I copied the video to a very fast data stick (Patriot) and the stuttering was still severe. So it's not the hard drive.

    I have tried everything from different anti-viruses, different drivers, different service pack levels, no anti-virus, no apps running in tray at all, etc., etc., etc. but nothing has helped. I even disabled my X-Fi Sound Card to see if it might be a Creative driver problem. The video played without sound but still stuttered horribly.

    I can only conclude that this is not a hardware problem, a driver problem or a third-party app problem. It is most likely an operating system problem that I can not fix. After I finish editing my latest video, I will simply wipe this install out. I have been fighting this problem for months and have, in effect, given up.

    Good luck - hope you find a solution!
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