windv can it work in safe mode dropped frames issue

[jezzer]

well here is the final word maybe,if i go into device manager and set the harddrive to pio mode then use windv i get no dropped frames,when its on my pc i play it and its all choopy,but if i go back into device manager and change it back to dma it plays fine not one bit choppy

[FulciLives]

well here is the final word maybe,if i go into device manager and set the harddrive to pio mode then use windv i get no dropped frames,when its on my pc i play it and its all choopy,but if i go back into device manager and change it back to dma it plays fine not one bit choppy

The HDD should stay in DMA mode and the fact that it keeps dropping back to PIO mode indicates that you have an "issue" that needs to be resolved.

gadgetguy has already given some great advice as to what to check ... I really cannot offer anymore other than to say you must have an "issue" that needs to be resolved and to follow what gadgetguy has said about it.

When the HDD is in PIO mode it runs much slower and it very well may not run fast enough to handle a DV-AVI capture/transfer without dropped frames.

So don't think you got the problem "licked" with your work-around.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[jezzer]

well im stumped as ive done everything gadgetguy as said to do,im running a memory tester just to see what happens there

[gadgetguy]

You are getting drive errors. This can be caused by a bad IDE interface, bad/broken drivers, bad cable, bad drive interface, failing drive, RF interference, faulty power supply, and probably a few other things I can't think of right now.
Try uninstalling the IDE interface and rebooting to force windows to reinstall it.
Beyond that, unless you have another computer that you can test with, it's going to be difficult to narrow it down. If possible, take your drive to a friends PC and install it as a secondary drive. Do some testing with it and see if it drops out of DMA mode.
If it operates correctly there, then replace your friends cable with yours and test some more.
If it still operates correctly then if possible, borrow a friends power supply to test with in your computer.

[jezzer]

ill have to see what i can do,i ran a ram test for 3hours so thats fine

i ran Data lifeguard from western digital website did the tests and passed

data lifguard does this

QUICK TEST - performs SMART drive quick self-test to gather and verify the Data Lifeguard information contained on the drive.
EXTENDED TEST - performs a Full Media Scan to detect bad sectors. Test may take several hours to complete depending on the size of the drive.
WRITE ZEROS - writes zeros to the drive with options of Full Erase and Quick Erase. File system and data will be lost.

i tried another ide cable which is new that didn't fix the problem

[Nelson37]

That sticky I keep mentioning goes into some depth about DMA mode. It also mentions the possibility that it could change. Several people suggested you check this.

The tests you are running will find gross errors, but will often miss minor ones. Nearly worthless, particularly with an intermittent problem.

Do several reboots and check the mode. Check power on (warm boot) as well as power off (cold boot). Get a new data cable, change the power connector. Change to the secondary IDE connector, you should be able to boot this way.

Deleting the IDE controllers and letting windows re-install them is also good.

It could be the drive itself, the controller, windows files, power supplied, loose power connector, bad ide cable. Nailing it down will require multiple, single-step operations with careful observation of the change (or lack thereof) in the mode.

When you observe the mode change, repeat your last sequence of operations and see if the mode change re-occurs. This is why you do ONE thing at time. Try just letting it sit and check the mode every few minutes. One repeat is not good enough. 4 or five with consistent results is what you want, assuming you want to ISOLATE and IDENTIFY the problem. It is changing for no known reason now, if you do something one time and it changes, you have no way of knowing if what you did is the cause or if it is the still-unknown reason.

Spend some time LISTENING to the drive. See (hear) if it spins up continously.

[jezzer]

what does write caching on the disk do?

if i disable it it works perfect for the whole 15minutes it stays in dma mode

i tried it again and i only got one dropped frame and that was at the start

tried it another time and got 0drop frame

did a reboot tried it again 0dropped frames

[gadgetguy]

I'm not sure what the advantage/disadvantage of write caching is so I don't know what effect leaving it disabled will have. I presume it's designed to make the disk work faster, or maybe more reliable, but I'm not really sure how it works so I don't know. I wouldn't worry about losing a single frame at the very start if it only happens once in a while.

Edit: Here's an interesting little blurb on Write Caching. Click here
There may be a problem with the drivers for your drive. If you didn't manually install any (and are just using Windows default drivers) try locating drivers from the manufacturer to see if it makes any difference.

[jezzer]

for now i can disable it when im using windv then enable after, ill have to keep doing that untill i find what the real problem is

i cant see what else it could be my system seems stable i was seeing what would make drop frames so i did some multi tasking surfing the net etc but not 1 dropped frame, time to rebuild another system lol

i did have a look for drivers when unticking caching worked but it seems there is no drivers

[dadrab]

I finally read through all of this thread and there's one thing seems to be banging me in the face - and you are having trouble grasping it.

You've got a problem hard drive, brother. No reflection on you. It appears you've done a lot of things right. Shit just happens.

I realize that facing the fact of a bad piece of hardware is neither tasteful nor cheerful, but it's time...

I don't earn all the money in the world and I know how hard dollars are to come by - especially with a family -, but God knows my time is worth something. You've been screwing around with this for days when a new HDD is less than $100 and I've got money that says it'll fix your problem.

You've had some of the best, most experienced minds on this board helping you at length. Mine ain't one of them. But, they've all said the same thing in a roundabout fashion.

For whatever reason, your HDD is sticking you the stiffy. A constant reversion to PIO mode indicates something larger than ticking or unticking cache writing. I believe I read where you uninstalled the drive and restarted and let Windows detect it and reinstall. That should take care of the reversion issue unless the drive has an inherent write problem that keeps kicking an error. Just replace the damn thing and enjoy the time you spend with your system for a change.

[jezzer]

yep will do whats best should the new one be just for video editing etc or should i use the new one for my os (windows xp) or does it not matter

hope this makes sence as i cant really see much as i had a opp on my eye the other day, so im touch typing and a bit out of pratice

[Nelson37]

Write caching uses buffer memory to store the data to be written before it is actually transfered to the hard drive. Gives an artificially boosted performance WHEN the data is coming in short bursts which exceed the throughput rating of the drive. In the case of video capture, there are no "breaks" in the data transmission so there is really little effect.

There is something important in your current testing method that needs pointing out. The dropped frames is the problem you wish to solve, but it is not dependable evidence of an effective change to the system. You may drop a few frames while in DMA mode, you could have a capture work perfectly while in PIO mode. The CHANGE IN MODE is the direct evidence of the underlying problem. The mode should never, or at least very rarely, change.

It is not at all unusual to disable write caching to ensure normal operation, and there is no great loss in doing so. That is why there is an easily accessible switch to turn it off.

Have you ever witnessed the drive change from PIO to DMA, not meaning that the setting changed while you were watching it but that this change ocurred with no input from you, including a reboot. This is VERY IMPORTANT.

If it just changes from DMA to PIO that would suggest some basic incompatibility, apparently with the write caching as you have discovered. Disabling Write Caching could be a permanent and workable solution. BUT, IF it changes in the other direction, that would tend to indicate a circuit that is operating intermittently, which is always bad news.

[jezzer]

thanks for that little info now i have more understanding,the only time it goes into pio is when i do capture dv-avi any other format it stays in dma,so thats a good thing

[guns1inger]

No, it's not. Windows drops a drive back to PIO mode for self protection. It is detecting a stream of errors when writing to the disc, and is dropping back to try to reduce them. What is does mean is that there is a fair chance you are going to lose the drive when you least expect it, or what it to happen. Replace it as soon as you can.

[jezzer]

i hear you about my harddrive but i dont have any other problems with my harddrive,i will not be happy if it does go as its only over 1year old,i think i will stay with Western Digital as they are well known as a good hard drive

[guns1inger]

I had 2 IBM drives go with in 3 months. Both were well under a year old. Sometimes there is a bad batch. That is what warranties are for.

If you choose to hold onto it, don't put anything important or irreplacable on it, and backup frequently.

[jezzer]

could it be by any chance a ram issue only reason i was burning a dvd normally i can multitask (surfing the net) but every time i did this it failed

also every now and then my mouse freezes for a minute or two when im typing

im sure this has happened since i took out my hard drive and my ram to give everything a proper clean

i have no way to test my ram or hard drive accept running bench tests stress tests

[guns1inger]

Depending on the nature of the hard drive problem, you could see symptoms like this. If you only have one hard drive then it is used for everything. This means sharing it when burning and browsing at the same time, as everything goes through your cache, which is on your HD. This means that you have the heads jumping between your browsing and your burning. If the drive, or the cable, or the interface are dodgy, you could well get failed burns and other problems.

It really sounds like your system needs a bit of work.

[Nelson37]

Is there by any chance smoke or actual flame coming from the PC, or anything else you have neglected to mention?

Stop touching it and get a pro.