Have a New Hollywood Decoder plus card

[sunofwolf]

and new pioneer DVD 10x cant seem to get Decoder to work Loaded drivers and software when I put movie in it plays movie for two sec. and freezes what do i do to fix this? Power DVD works and plays movies, When I try decoder it just freezes up.All connections are okay sound works.picture works just wont play with decoder.?

[runnin_guy]

Are you using the newest drivers? When I installed driver version 1.8, my Sony DVD would lock up after a couple of seconds. I had to find the old version that originally came with my card.

I was just checking for the latest drivers, www.sigmadesigns.com (http://www.sigmadesigns.com) and they are up to 1.8.1. If you are running the newest drivers, I can send you an older version if you need it, just email me for them.

[Rich H]

Hi,

I sympathise with you, RealMagic cards are the biggest headaches in the entirety of computing!!

I had trouble with the Pioneer 10x also, when I reverted back to my Creative drive it worked OK, but I think I had a faulty drive to begin with. Anyway I've had years of problems with installing Real Magic cards for other people, so here's a checklist for you!!

SOFTWARE:

1) Do you have Norton Protect enabled on your recycle bin? If so remove it and try again.

2) Do you have a CD-writer? If so (I've found) WinOnCD and Easy CD creator software can play havoc with the Real Magic. Try uninstalling these, though it has to be said that these programs do not always uninstall properly.

3) Update your ASPI drivers. Get the latest release of ASPI32.EXE at www.adaptec.com (http://www.adaptec.com) - again be wary if you are using CD-R software.

4) Use generic DVD-ROM drivers. You can get the panasonic DVD drivers from the link in the Real Magic FAQ at www.realmagic.com. (http://www.realmagic.com.)

5) Get the latest drivers 1.8.1 - these are supposed to be the most stable ever released. If you are using a third party decoder card with Real Magic chipset (i.e. Creative, TrueBlue) then you may have to install one of the earlier drivers first before intalling the 1.8.1 versions.

HARDWARE:

1) Try changing the memory settings in Control Panel > System. Uncheck the detect automatic settings box and change the memory settings to another area without conflict. Most people set theirs to D1000000.

2) Try I different PCI slot. The problem you may be having is with IRQ sharing (especially if you have a SB Live! installed). Try different slots, or remove other cards you have in already.

Finally, if all else fails format the hard drive (!). I know it's a major hassle, but whenever I've built computers for other people with Real Magic cards in them this has always worked 100% of the time. This is how I cured my last decoder problem and now it works fine.