DVD Shrink / ReAuthor Problem

[edsmith77]

My first post seemed to have gotten lost in the switch-over, so here it goes again.

I have been a faithful follower and user of DVD Shrink from the V2.x days and am eternally grateful to the author, whomever that person is fpr a great program.

My current version was working flawlessly up until just recently. I do believe this is not a Shrink problem and more possibly a system anomaly but I just do not know where to start looking and am asking for some expert insight.

PROBLEM:
I am using version 3.2 (but this problem also is consistent with all 3.1.x versions. However, 3.0 beta 5 does not experience this problem.
When backing up my disk, I start Shrink, open up in Disk Mode, Shrink does it thing and then presents me with basic screen showing the make up of the disk.
I then (normally) choose the ReAuthor button and drag over just the main movie and hit backup. What a few minutes and voila everything is just fine.
However, NOW, when I hit the ReAuthor button the file name space just under the menu (where the file name is displayed) just goes spastic. It shows the file name, then goes blank, then reshows the file name and so on at about 60 Hz. The sad part is that the program is now hung. And the only method I have found to unstick the program is the ctrl-alt-del stop application (I am using W2K).
This problem also exists if I rip the disk to files and the open up in file mode, then ReAuthor. Same problem. I have also tried different disks. I even tried one that I had already successfully backed up. All with the same problem above.
Note: Shrink 3.0 beta 5 does not have this problem at all on any of the same disks/files that the newer versions are having.
That fact sorta lends me to thinking that it is not a Shrink problem but rather a system anomaly.
The only changes that have been are the deletion of my old sheet fed scanner (parallel port type) and replaced with a USB scanner with document feeder and the addition of ATI MMC 7.7 for VHS conversions.

I just am totally baffled by this problem and am currently clutching at straws for places to start debugging.
I have already removed MMC 7.7, without any change to my problem.

Any ideas on where to start looking?

Thanks,
Ed

[vioxx]

One of the most unpopular option is reformat HDD and reinstall all essential programs only.

It is very unlikely a program 'worn-out'.

[guns1inger]

I haven't seen this behaviour in 3.16 onwards (to recent to have used earlier versions)

[gregpolo]

I happen to agree with vioxx, your disk drive is probably hosed. You could try running a chkdsk /f and reboot. That will throw the dirty bit on the volume and will run a chkdsk on your system. If there are a lot of inconsistincies in your file system (NTFS or FAT), this will take a while. After the reboot de-install, the re-install Shrink. IF that don't work, do what vioxx said, Fdisk, format, install OS, install every SP and hotfix on Windows Update, install only programs that you actually use.

Good Luck!

Greg

[ddlooping]

Hi all.

edsmith77, have you tried uninstalling ATI MMC?

[Halm]

edsmith77,

I can't believe that the first post in answer to your problem suggested that you reformat your HD...and then people agreed with that!

Is Shrink the only program that seems to be a problem?

If it is...have you tried uninstalling Shrink and re-installing? You might also want to do a Regedit (if you're familiar with the Regedit utility) to remove all references to Shrink before you re-install.

Ome on people...reformatting a HD is the last resort...not the first thing to do for a single program problem.

[edsmith77]

ddlooping:
Thanks. Yes I did do an uninstall of MMC and without success. I thought that there might be some weird conflict with codecs but still the same problem.
What is most baffling is that 3.0Beta 5 works. I wish I knew what was different between 3.0Beta 5 and the newer versions.

Halm:
Yup, I agree with you and that is why I have yet to format the HDD. I have uninstalled each version of Shrink that I have used. Starting with 3.2 and working backward to 3.0Beta 5. Even after each install and uninstall no joy except with 3.0 Beta 5. I have some clues but they just do not make sense, yet. But of course once the cause surfaces then all of the clues will make perfect sense.

I have not tried the RedEdit route yet. I am just not very comfortable with that app at all. I am fearful that once I start playing with that one, I will end up in the HDD reformat mode.
What key words would one look for in the registry? Shrink? Seems to obvious but......

Thanks,
If you have any other ideas short of HDD reformat I am all ears.

Thanks to all,
Ed

[ddlooping]

Ed, it is a very a long shot, but have you tried changing the video renderer in the "Edit >> Preferences >> Preview" menu?

[Sifaga]

This happened to me last week and i re installed dvdshrink and the problem went away

you could try doing a regedit after the uninstall of dvdshrink and cleaning out entries of dvdshrink in the registery before you install dvdshrink

[gregpolo]

Halm,

I did not state the reformatting the HDD was Ed's first option. Rather his last, I did suggest performing an CHKDSK /F on the suspect volume. That way if there are any suspect sectors on the disk the OS will mark them as bad. I then suggested deinstalling the app then reinstalling. If that failed then Formatting the HHD.

Regedit is worth a shot, though I really don't have much confidence in that due to the fact that he had rewritten the registry by uninstalling and reinstalling. It is quite possible that his registry is hosed. Again formatting the HDD is the only soultion for a corrupted registry. The easy way to tell there is if CHKDSK finds errors in USER.DAT. Then he is looking to format for sure.

[Halm]

Halm,

I did not state the reformatting the HDD was Ed's first option. Rather his last, I did suggest performing an CHKDSK /F on the suspect volume. That way if there are any suspect sectors on the disk the OS will mark them as bad. I then suggested deinstalling the app then reinstalling. If that failed then Formatting the HHD.

Regedit is worth a shot, though I really don't have much confidence in that due to the fact that he had rewritten the registry by uninstalling and reinstalling. It is quite possible that his registry is hosed. Again formatting the HDD is the only soultion for a corrupted registry. The easy way to tell there is if CHKDSK finds errors in USER.DAT. Then he is looking to format for sure.

Excuse me, but I DID NOT say that you suggested he reformat the HD...I SAID, if you bothered to read it, that the FIRST POST in response to his question was a suggestion to reformat...and you agreed with the poster.

And while it is possible the registry is hosed, your statement that reinstalling the program will overwrite the registry values is just plain WRONG. Ever wonder why reinstalling a program that requires a seriel number will sometimes just reinstall and not ask for the number again? Because not all uninstallers remove EVERYTHING from the registry. Often times, if a value is one that was entered as part of subsequent user set-up (after install), then the re-install will not overwrite the entry.

[gregpolo]

Before we tear each other to pieces Halm. Are we in agreement as to my last reccomendation to Ed. I have no desire to discuss the intracies of the various methodoligies used with WYSE installer, etc. This isn't the place for that.

[MackemX]

@anyone who is interested
reformatting the HD shouldn't have even entered the discussion yet if at all . If I'd reformatted every time I had a serious problem I'd be doing it every other week instead of never reinstalling in over 2 years. Peace all and let's put this on the shelf for now

@edsmith77, anyway moving on, regedit is quite handy for fixing issues so it's one thing I would be looking at right now. It's fixed a few issues for me and DVDShrink is not exactly one of these programs that spreads itself throughtout the registry making it impossible to remove

reinstall DVDShrink and then unistall it. This will leave whatever is left from uninstall in the registry for you to blitz

open regedit and save your registry for safekeeping. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\DVD Shrink\ and see if the DVDShrink 3.2 folder is there. If it is, export it before deleting it

also do a search for DVD Shrink (Caps & also tick Match Whole String Only) and you may find it again in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\really long number in here\Software\DVD Shrink\ (XP may be different to 2000)

basically look for DVDShrink 3.2 references and remove them , save the registry as a new file when you have cleaned it. Finally reinstall DVDShrink again, cross your fingers and see what happens

[edsmith77]

UPDATE.
First, thanks for all of the help. I ended up removing program by program, cleaning out the registry and reinstalling Shrink until there were no more programs to remove (save the OS ones). And still no joy in Muddville. I was at least persistent even if not successful

At this point, I just gave up and reinstalled the OS from scratch.
Well all is back working again as it was intended. Even with Shrink and MMC in good agreement and cooperating.

I even spent some time chasing down potential virii. But as I expected, my system was clean.

This was one for the books. Still no idea what caused it and even less on how to fix it, save for the advice from the first two posters. I could have saved me some time by just starting there but being the butt headed soul that I am. I just had to try and find the offending culprit.

Thanks to all.

Ed