DVDs run slow

[rcdraco]

On my E-machine, when I go to play DVDs, it goes slow.

A real disappointment, since I've invested a decent amount of money into it.

Just wondering if there's anyway to fix it.

Here are my specs:

CPU: Intel® Celeron® D Processor 352

(3.20GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB L2 cache)
Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home (SP2)

Chipset: ATI Radeon® Xpress 200

Memory: 1.5GB DDR2 (1 ├âÔÇö 512MB, 1 ├âÔÇö 1GB), 533MHz (PC4200)

Hard Drive: 80GB (7200rpm, 2MB cache)

Optical Drive: 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive

Video: ATI X1650 pro 512mb

EDIT: Did more looking into it, it could be because I have a VERY old version of DirectX. [I play Open Source games, most of them use the OpenGL stuff.] Updating my directX to v9c hopefully it will work now.

[PicassoCT]

Do you use softwareencoding or hardware.. hardware meaning your DVD beeing linked directly by cable to your graphic card. Software is the way usually some PCs mess it up using some sort of hardware acceleration or just limting the Players Memory...

[rcdraco]

It goes through the motherboard, to the video card, seems like going directly to the video card would be faster. But the whole thing is slow, the sound and everything is way behind, I think it might be the DVD drive, but, I can't update it....

EDIT: To test whether it is the DVD drive, I'm making an ISO from the DVD, and gonna make a Virtual CD, and hopefully it will run better.

[PicassoCT]

Have you set high - or realtime Priortiy in the Taskmanager for the Test ? If the Error is still up and around, you should try updates

[rcdraco]

I set to high priority, but I'm 100% sure that the DVD drive is slow, which, shouldn't matter, because 1x drive should be fast enough to read the DVD.

Here's something else.

It's not writing to the RAM fast enough, I can get it to the main screen, and it's jumpy, but after it wraps around 5 or 6 times, I closed it, then when I opened it, most of it was loaded, and it ran smoothly. Is there a setting somewhere that is telling the DVD drive to go slow?

[lurker]

Well I've not had much luck with optical drives actually lasting a long time. Have you considered popping in a brand new $30 DVD burner?

[AF]

The optical drives on my PC tend to outlast the PC they where bought for by a longshot.

The only downside is that the Galciv 2 dark avatar dvd wont stay in my laptops dvd drive and comes loose while it spins up.

[rcdraco]

this is the first DVD I ever tried to play.

Laugh at this.

My brother has the same thing, an E-machine w3506

But, on e-machines site, you'll notice something, they don't specify what kind of drive the w3506 gets.

He has a different DVD drive then me. Not surprising, because his air duct to the CPU fan is radically different then mine. mine is solid plastic, a perfect circle, his is flimsy plastic, with a circular design, with a star shaped intake.

Ultimate proof that is it the drive. He is using an old version of windows media player.

[SwiftSpear]

On my E-machine, when I go to play DVDs, it goes slow.

A real disappointment, since I've invested a decent amount of money into it.

Just wondering if there's anyway to fix it.

Here are my specs:

CPU: Intel® Celeron® D Processor 352

(3.20GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512KB L2 cache)
Operating System: Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home (SP2)

Chipset: ATI Radeon® Xpress 200

Memory: 1.5GB DDR2 (1 ├âÔÇö 512MB, 1 ├âÔÇö 1GB), 533MHz (PC4200)

Hard Drive: 80GB (7200rpm, 2MB cache)

Optical Drive: 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive

Video: ATI X1650 pro 512mb

EDIT: Did more looking into it, it could be because I have a VERY old version of DirectX. [I play Open Source games, most of them use the OpenGL stuff.] Updating my directX to v9c hopefully it will work now.

Found the problem!