11 replies to this topic

[vid2man97]

OK all...I'm sorry to be dragging up an old issue as a new topic, but I thought it would be best to start with a clean thread instead of reopening one with dozens of replies.

I have been using Videowave 7 for many many months now with very little to complain about.  Then, last spring I ended up in dire straights and came here for advice.  I have tried everything from renaming the media manager file to removing the program...running a registry cleaner...then reinstalling.  Something has changed on my beast that does not agree with videowave anymore.

Now, I used to use DVDbuilder/storyboard(?) and was recommended to use videowave/dvd builder.  That has helped to keep the hang incidents down but I can never be sure when it'll happen again.  Sometimes after adding a few slides, sometimes longer.  Then, it seems at times that the programs 'settles' down and I complete my work in peace.  

I see two options.  One is to reinstall the entire harddrive.  I am unwilling to do that.  The program is important to me but it's a lot of time and aggravation (albiet it would be all at once instead of every time I open the program...hmmm)  Just seems like overkill..and it is.

Two...just live with it.  

Can anyone offer me a three?  The only thing I have never done with the uninstall/registry clean/install routine, is to run roxizap.  Would it be worth the effort, is there a chance it would make a difference?

thanks in advance

In case it matters,
3Ghz Prescott HT chip
P4P800SE board
2 gigs DDR ram
Radeon 9600 128meg video
SoundMax IDAudio
LG cd/dvd reader
Pioneer cd/dvd writer
Win XP SP2

Edited by vid2man97, 26 July 2006 - 05:45 PM.

[golinux]

vid2man97, on Jul 26 2006, 08:43 PM, said:

Can anyone offer me a three?

Not long ago, I noticed that dumprep was using a lot of resources when I was hanging in Videowave.  I did a little research and learned that indeed it can hog resources and wouldn't hurt to disable.   So I disabled dumprep 0 -k in msconfig.  Since then, it seems the VW is not hanging as often - hope that doesn't jinx things!  So give it a try and report back.

[REDWAGON]

Just a little reminder regarding using Roxizap.exe. There may be some files that it will remove along with the Roxio programs, so be sure that you check everything before and after and make a BU of your entire registry before running it.

During what process have you noticed the hangups in videowave ? (In storyboard, timeline view, adding video, adding photos, etc ?). The only problem I ever noticed was back when I was running EMC 7.1 and a couple of times it would just close the program (running Videowave and adding photos in the storyboard view) and revert back to the Home page screen. I have never had that happen in 7.5 or 8 however.

Frank....

[vid2man97]

Thanks Sisterscape, but it doesn't seem to make much difference for me.  I'm glad it works for you, and I'd feel guilty if it's jinxed you to mention it.  I also make sure to disable AV and AS software...anything background running that's not needed.

Frank...thanks for the reminder about roxizap...I'm sure that's why I always considered it the option of last resort.  

Also, I'm sorry that I should also have mentioned when and how I have problems.
It's almost always in storyboard view.  It can hang up while adding a photo, adding a transition, changing the duration of a transition; I've had it hang trimming a video clip.  It can get unnerving some days not knowing when the hang will strike.

Hanging involves me closing down the storyboard view (at least it's not so badly hung I can't do that), it asks me to save (I do), close videowave in taskmanager, then open it up again and continue.  It's inconvenient but do-able.  Something has changed on the computer that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to work around and is interfering with this program.  Are there other versions that are more stable?  Would I likely still have a problem with them, caused by this mysterious gremlin I seem to have?

thanks all

[sknis]

Maybe suggestion 5.  When you are doing any video work, disconnect from the internet and shut down all programs that you don't need to be running.  I know you said you did that but did it include both your anti-virus and you malware programs?  Also keep your hard drive defragged and make sure you have a lot of free space.

vid2man97, on Jul 27 2006, 05:09 AM, said:

Thanks Sisterscape, but it doesn't seem to make much difference for me. I'm glad it works for you, and I'd feel guilty if it's jinxed you to mention it. I also make sure to disable AV and AS software...anything background running that's not needed.
Frank...thanks for the reminder about roxizap...I'm sure that's why I always considered it the option of last resort.
Also, I'm sorry that I should also have mentioned when and how I have problems.
It's almost always in storyboard view. It can hang up while adding a photo, adding a transition, changing the duration of a transition; I've had it hang trimming a video clip. It can get unnerving some days not knowing when the hang will strike.
Hanging involves me closing down the storyboard view (at least it's not so badly hung I can't do that), it asks me to save (I do), close videowave in taskmanager, then open it up again and continue. It's inconvenient but do-able. Something has changed on the computer that I'm not sure I'll ever be able to work around and is interfering with this program. Are there other versions that are more stable? Would I likely still have a problem with them, caused by this mysterious gremlin I seem to have?
thanks all

[vid2man97]

I appreciate the feedback.
I always work disconnected from the internet when it involves heavy duty imaging or video work.
And uneeded programs shut down always include antivirus and malware programs.
My O/S and program SATA drive still has 50 free defragged gigs.
I have two file SATA drives and are defragged with 150 free gigs between them.

There is one clue that I have found.
Even with a complete (so I thought) uninstall, reg-clean and reinstall, I have found it's not 100% clean.
In my application/dvd builder folder, an old dmsd file magically reappears.  That leads me to wonder what else still floats around after the uninstall, that can interfere with the reinstall.  Must be some sort of temp file somewhere.  Hmmm....can't see it making a difference but I've got nothing else to do.  Everyone in this forum has come up with so many suggestions for me and others with this problem that I feel like I'm milking a dead cow.   I'm still scared to try roxizap...losing info that I shouldn't has never held an apeal to me.

It just goes with what I always say...never install something on your harddrive unless you're sure you want it (or some bit or byte of it) there forever.  

thanks again

[ml]

First, don't worry about the .dmsd file.   That's an old DVD Builder production.   The uninstall and reinstall doesn't remove old productions, but if you don't need it anymore, you can delete it using Windows Explorer.

Then, I don't think Roxiozap and reinstalling is going to help.

I'm more inclined to think that it's a setting on your computer.   Have you gone into the Control Panel\ System Properties\ Advanced \ Performance settings and selected 'Adjust for best performance'?   I had frequent problems with VW until I did that.

While you're there, under the Advanced tab, set your Virtual memory minimum to your RAM and the max to 2 times your RAM.

You also might want to turn off Write Caching on your hard disk and make certain that DMA is enabled.  If you're running XP, DMA is usually enabled.

The other thing you might need to do is to go to Start\ Run and type msconfig.   Go to the Startup tab and see what is being loaded when you start up the computer.   You might have a feature of a program starting that you know nothing about and doesn't show up on your desktop.

As you probably know, saving frequently is also recommended.   My experience has been that the more editing changes you make between saves, the more likely the program will hang or shut down.

Try those changes and see if that helps.

Edited by mlpasley, 27 July 2006 - 07:33 AM.

[vid2man97]

I am presently set for "let windows decide"..so I'll change that to "best performance", and see what happens.

I have 2 gigs of ram, and am presently set to use min-2048 and max-4096.  Oddly, windows recommends that I set the min to 3069.  hmmm

DMA is ok.

I have a lot of stuff on startup (like most people I guess).  There's nothing there that's odd or suspicious, or that doesn't belong.  Drat.  I like easy answers.  I find that problems are generally solved with the easy ones.  Well, maybe just changing the performance witll work for me.  And save and save....Hey...maybe that's why, as I mentioned before, that "videowave seems to settle down after a while and act a little nicer" (for me).  I'll definitely keep that one in mind.

I have a photo shoot today...but will definitely do some videowave work tonight or first thing in the morning.  I wish I could give it a go now but I should have been out the door two minutes ago.

Thanks for the help all and I'll keep you posted.

[golinux]

One other thought . . . most of the time when EMC crashes, it's because I am trying to move too fast and it can't keep up.  I have learned to hold myself back after a proceedure.  I want to make sure it doesn't get confused because it has too much to process.      But you probably already know this . . .

[vid2man97]

sisterscape, on Jul 27 2006, 11:51 AM, said:

One other thought . . . most of the time when EMC crashes, it's because I am trying to move too fast and it can't keep up.  I have learned to hold myself back after a proceedure.  I want to make sure it doesn't get confused because it has too much to process.      But you probably already know this . . .

Yes I have noticed this too from time to time.  I guess our brains are quicker than videowave and we have to slow down to it's speed lol.  

And ml...I set my performance to 'best' but alas, it didn't seem to make much difference.  I seem to be destined to save a project immediately, and the save often in an attempt to keep things settled down.

I haven't tried setting my min virtual memory higher yet.  I can't see how that would matter.  I didn't want to change too many things at once and end up not know exactly which one made the difference in performance.

thanks again all...

[ml]

I'm with you on trying one thing at a time to see what works.

Setting the minimum virtual memory to a minimum of your RAM and maximum of twice your RAM  AND disabling Write Cache is recommended by more than one video editing program.

Have you ever looked at the information on the Help\ About\ System information - Memory totals as you edit?

Saving frequently is probably the easiest and most effective way of avoiding shutdowns.  I always alternate between my main production and a second backup production in case the original production file becomes corrupt.  ( an unusual occurance, but an extremely frustrating experience.)

[vid2man97]

mlpasley, on Jul 28 2006, 08:17 AM, said:

I'm with you on trying one thing at a time to see what works.

Setting the minimum virtual memory to a minimum of your RAM and maximum of twice your RAM  AND disabling Write Cache is recommended by more than one video editing program.

.....I've heard talk that it can be helpful to split it between multiple drives.  In your opinion, would it help at all if I were to either increase the minimum to maybe 1.5 times the RAM and/or add a virtual memory section to another drive?  Disabling write cache....don't want to sound dense but what is it?, where is it?, and what is the upside/downside of disabling it?

Have you ever looked at the information on the Help\ About\ System information - Memory totals as you edit?
.....I have now that you've brought it to my attention.  I find it quite odd to see Videowave tell me that I have 600megs of available physical memory while the task manager tells me I have far more than double that not being used (at the time).  Ahhhh...the mysteries of computer resource allocation....

Edited by vid2man97, 28 July 2006 - 04:11 PM.