ATI loosing frames <1%

[gf]

Greetings
I was loosing frames an my ATI All In Wonder Radeon for the longest time. I even built another computer then the same thing. I finally fixed it with help from this site. What fixed mine was the removal then the reinstallation of the Via/AMD drivers, I have a Epox EP-8K7A+ board.

http://www.pcphotovideo.com/ati&via.htm

The problem: As soon as you start a capture .. the ATI time window says you dropped
"< 1 percent frames". Or it will start dropping frames at random. Or you have increasingly out of sync sound.

Yes, I had that same problem from the onset. (for the first time in my ATI life) Here's one (of many) fixes that might help you. I'm talking about any of the ATI cards running MMC 7.1. I'm in Windows 2K but this may help you with other systems as well.

I could re-produce and fix this problem at will.

What I "think" is happening is that most people install the ATI MMC after they have their system installed. Makes perfect sense. BUT, what seems to be happening is that the ATI install is over-writing some Windows critical element. I believe it might have something to do with the GART and/or the 4 in 1 VIA driver set. When I installed the ATI MMC as the last step (on a fresh empty system) I had nothing but grief. BUT, on a whim one night, I re-loaded the latest VIA 4 in 1 drivers AND Windows SP 2. This I believe was putting back some important system file(s) that affects the ATI Capture and other system specific areas such as hard drive I/O.
I installed all my system the normal way. Installed the latest VIA 4 in 1, along with DirectX 8 and it's digital video add on. I only had Win2K SP 1 installed. Then I installed the ATI MMC 7.1

AFTER installing the ATI MMC, I then re-installed the VIA drivers AND finally installed Win2K SP 2. Some stability problems were eliminated after re-installing the VIA set, but I still had dropped frames. However once I installed the final (Win2K Service Pack TWO) no more trouble.

[MJPollard]

I was loosing frames an my ATI All In Wonder Radeon for the longest time.

Boy, do I know what you mean. I hate having loose frames! I gotta haul out the toolbox, grab a wrench, tighten them up again... it's such a pain!

[gf]

Some times I hate to post solutions that I found, there is always a wise guy that makes you feel like a ass!

I should of said:

I was dropping frames with my ATI card, and the solutions that I received did not solve my problems!

THERE BETTER

[Sulik]

If it says "<1%", you might only be dropping frames at the beginning.
It is better to use the option to display frames instead of % (right click on the text and select "show total frames").

[lordsmurf]

If it says "<1%", you might only be dropping frames at the beginning. It is better to use the option to display frames instead of % (right click on the text and select "show total frames").

I notice that this only happens on MMC 7.x, not 8.x.

[MJPollard]

Some times I hate to post solutions that I found, there is always a wise guy that makes you feel like a ass!

I should of said:

I was dropping frames with my ATI card, and the solutions that I received did not solve my problems!

THERE BETTER

I really don't care one way or the other. You, on the other hand, need to work on your sense of humor, if you have one. A person that can't laugh at himself is a person that's headed for a life of misery and an early grave. Lighten up; you'll live longer, and be happier for it.

[spiderman2k1]

Windows 2000 and XP are very good for capturing

[gf]

Hi Sulik,
I will change it number of frames tomorrow, I was getting intermittent frame loss all over, sometimes aftera couple of seconds, some 5, 10, or more min. into the capture.

And to MJPollard, sorry about the nasty dig that I gave you back.

lordsmurf,
How is version 8.xx, does it work better now? I heard a lot of bad comments about 8.xx when it first came out and was wondering if it got better.

[lordsmurf]

lordsmurf,How is version 8.xx, does it work better now? I heard a lot of bad comments about 8.xx when it first came out and was wondering if it got better.

A lot of the drivers at the time crashed 8.1. But that was mostly fixed. However the 8.5 was still causing similar issues in June when I last updated myself. That's why I have 8.1 in use, and not 8.5. It appears ATI releases software before all cards have new drivers to support them. So what I see in effect seen is drivers are always behind MMC. I'd suggest 8.1 for most users if 8.5 crashes on install or refuses to boot the tv. If the whole 8.x thing refuses to work, which is the case on some drivers on some OS's, then use 7.7, which was the most stable of them all. But remember, 8.x has features 7.x does not. So try for 8.x if possible.