video problems

[Charlie]

I have been having video problems the last few weeks. I will log into a chat room and have video for a few minutes. It will stay on for a few minutes and then go dark.

I use FireFox. I was told to use IE. I tried IE and it hangs up. My cable modem went kaput. I got a new one. That didn't solve my problem. I removed and re-installed Java. That helped for one night. Then my problems came back.

I can't get IE7 because I have Win2K. I have the correct media player and media wrap for FireFox. Sound comes out ok, but there is no Video. The video screen is there, just not a pretty woman.

Anyone have any ideas what to do try next, short of buying a new computer? Mine is an AMD 1.3, 512K memory and 128 mg Video card.

Charlie

[taliesin]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Anyone have any ideas what to do try next, short of buying a new computer? Mine is an AMD 1.3, 512K memory and 128 mg Video card.

Assuming you meant 512MB memory, not 512KB, then your machine spec is better than mine, and good enough to receive the video.

Have you tested your video set up in Firefox to ensure that everything is still ok? If you can play the video in this page, then it shows the MediaWrap is installed correctly.

http://members.aol.com/jrzycrim01/mo...wmpaxtest.html

Assuming you already have the latest version of Java from http://www.Java.com, you may need to clear the java cache. To do this:

1. Right Click on the Java icon - the coffee cup near the clock.
2. Open Control Panel. (If you don't have the Java icon, go to Start - Settings - Control Panel and double click the Java icon).
3. Once the Java Control Panel is open, select the General tab and click Settings. This will open the Temporary Files Settings window.
4. Click Delete Files. Tick all boxes, then click OK for each window.

Are you running any other programs that may be sucking up bandwidth, e.g. chat programs like Skype or MSN? If so, exit from these and try it without them.

Let me know how you get on.

taliesin.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by taliesin

Assuming you meant 512MB memory, not 512KB, then your machine spec is better than mine, and good enough to receive the video.

LOL, Yes, it is 512 MB.

Originally Posted by taliesin

Have you tested your video set up in Firefox to ensure that everything is still ok? If you can play the video in this page, then it shows the MediaWrap is installed correctly.

http://members.aol.com/jrzycrim01/mo...wmpaxtest.html

Assuming you already have the latest version of Java from http://www.Java.com, you may need to clear the java cache. To do this:

1. Right Click on the Java icon - the coffee cup near the clock.
2. Open Control Panel. (If you don't have the Java icon, go to Start - Settings - Control Panel and double click the Java icon).
3. Once the Java Control Panel is open, select the General tab and click Settings. This will open the Temporary Files Settings window.
4. Click Delete Files. Tick all boxes, then click OK for each window.

Are you running any other programs that may be sucking up bandwidth, e.g. chat programs like Skype or MSN? If so, exit from these and try it without them.

I tried the firefox link and it worked well. I re-installed my Java and it worked for 1 evening. I will try and empty the cache and try again. WTF can't software developers write their code to delete the cache before starting up or when shutting down is beyond me. They already write it so bloated that it takes forever to load anyway, what's another minute to delete stuff that will not be used again.

I don't have anything else running most of the time.

Originally Posted by taliesin

Let me know how you get on.

Will do. Thanks

It probably is time for a reformat and reinstall everything. Something I really wanted to avoid.

Charlie

[taliesin]

Originally Posted by Charlie

WTF can't software developers write their code to delete the cache before starting up or when shutting down is beyond me. They already write it so bloated that it takes forever to load anyway, what's another minute to delete stuff that will not be used again.

Be careful what you say about software developers... cos I'm one of them.

And the whole point of the cache is to safe stuff locally that you *may* want to download again, but won't have to because you already have it! If you want to minimise the effect of the cache, reduce the size of it to something small. This can be done in the Java Control Panel, although the smallest you can set it to is 1MB. For reference, mine is set to 20MB.

taliesin.

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by taliesin

Be careful what you say about software developers... cos I'm one of them.

And the whole point of the cache is to safe stuff locally that you *may* want to download again, but won't have to because you already have it! If you want to minimise the effect of the cache, reduce the size of it to something small. This can be done in the Java Control Panel, although the smallest you can set it to is 1MB. For reference, mine is set to 20MB.

taliesin.

Please don't take it personally. I know you only do what the boss tells you to do. Much of my frustration with software is my own lack of knowledge of knowing what is essential and what is not. When I start up my computer and if I open Task Manager, I see many processes running, but many I don't know what program they come from. There there and supposedly needed. I don't believe it on all of them and I can't determine sometimes if it is needed or not.

I don't like to try the "delete it and see what happens" type of trouble shooting. I want some indication that what I am doing is what want to happen!!!

I used to have Norton as my firewall/anti virus s/w. That caused some conflicts with comcast(my ISP). I did an uninstall of Norton and my conflicts were resolved. Now I see in processes some stuff that I believe are from the Norton S/W, but I can't determine for sure. If I uninstall a program I want ALL traces of it removed. Even for the registry files. I know that does not happen.

My latest problem with lack of video I am certain I know the issue. But I can't fix it.

I'm ranting, sorry, I will stop.

Charlie

[taliesin]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Please don't take it personally. ... Much of my frustration with software is my own lack of knowledge of knowing what is essential and what is not. When I start up my computer and if I open Task Manager, I see many processes running, but many I don't know what program they come from. There there and supposedly needed. I don't believe it on all of them and I can't determine sometimes if it is needed or not.

LOL I wasn't going to take it personally. Software is so complex these days that if you knew everything about what was on your machine you'd be a leading industry expert! But I share your sentiments about when you uninstall something and it doesn't remove all traces - that's one of my pet hates too.

Originally Posted by Charlie

My latest problem with lack of video I am certain I know the issue. But I can't fix it.

If you have suspicions you know what it is, share them. Someone may know how to fix it, or it may lead onto the real cause.

taliesin.

[MrFootFetish]

Originally Posted by Charlie

Much of my frustration with software is my own lack of knowledge of knowing what is essential and what is not. When I start up my computer and if I open Task Manager, I see many processes running, but many I don't know what program they come from. There there and supposedly needed. I don't believe it on all of them and I can't determine sometimes if it is needed or not.
Charlie

Charlie, try the following URL:
http://exelib.com/exe/1

I have the same frustration you do with processes running in Task Manager. And this site tells you what it is and if it's potentially harmful, helpful, or unnecessary. I am not sure if EVERY process is in this library... but it certainly has a TON of them!
Hope it helps...

:::.POOF:::

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by MrFootFetish

Charlie, try the following URL:
http://exelib.com/exe/1

I have the same frustration you do with processes running in Task Manager. And this site tells you what it is and if it's potentially harmful, helpful, or unnecessary. I am not sure if EVERY process is in this library... but it certainly has a TON of them!
Hope it helps...

Thanks for the link. I will check it out. I found some other Utilities that do a similiar analysis. At this point, it can't hurt much.

Charlie

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by taliesin

LOL I wasn't going to take it personally. Software is so complex these days that if you knew everything about what was on your machine you'd be a leading industry expert! But I share your sentiments about when you uninstall something and it doesn't remove all traces - that's one of my pet hates too.


If you have suspicions you know what it is, share them. Someone may know how to fix it, or it may lead onto the real cause.

taliesin.

I think it is some conflict in Java. And even if I had permission to make changes in Java, I certainly don't have the knowledge.

Thanks for your help.

Charlie

[Kedra]

Hey Charlie,

I'm sorry to hear about the issues that have been plaguing you lately.

Here is the site I use to check over what processes are running. It is not a complete list, but it has served me well in the past.

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

Huge hugs!
Kedra

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by Kedra

Hey Charlie,

I'm sorry to hear about the issues that have been plaguing you lately.

I now use Netscape. So my problems are suspended temporially !!!

Originally Posted by Kedra

Here is the site I use to check over what processes are running. It is not a complete list, but it has served me well in the past.

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

Thanks for the link. I used Process Explorer. I was shocked to not find much in there that didn't belong there. But it is a neat program and does a good job of indentifying who owns what processes. To download this program it is on the MS site
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sys...sexplorer.mspx


I got your link bookmarked for future troubles!!! Thanks

Charlie

[Charlie]

Originally Posted by MrFootFetish

Charlie, try the following URL:
http://exelib.com/exe/1

Footy,
Checkout Process Explorer for identifying who owns processes.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sys...sexplorer.mspx

It allows you to terminate processes you don't think need to be there. I was shocked to find a Utility from MS that is actually kinda neat

I have not gotten FireFox working yet, but Netscape seems to be working well.

Charlie