[premis]

I am having an odd problem with my system. When I play music or video on the system, regardless of the program I'm using (Media Center, Media Player, iTunes) the music and/or video seems to stutter every couple minutes. It's like the music and/or video slows down for a couple seconds then goes back to normal, it will do this every few minutes. The only programs I ever have running are Media Center and iTunes. Computer is as follows

Compaq Presario SR1222NX in a HTPC Case
(5) 1 TB HDD
4gb RAM
Intel Pentium 4 CPU, 2.93 GHZ
Xplosion sound card
video card
haupagge TV Tuner

Does anyone know a fix to this? It is really bugging me!

Thanks!

[Advertisements]

Whew... this is a tough one, as a lot of things can cause it. These suggestions might seem obvious, but if you haven't tried one of them, give it a shot for sure.

A few places to start:

1. Update your chipset driver.

2. Update your sound and video card drivers.

3. Disable any real-time scanning AV/security products momentarily and retest your multimedia without the background scanning running.

4. Check your CPU usage via Task Manager by sorting by the CPU column. Look for repeat offenders of high CPU usage and investigate the reasoning behind it.

5. Disconnect from your network and test multimedia playback; some integrated network adapters can interfere with Vista multimedia playback if I recall correctly.

Hope this helps.

~os

[othersteve]

Whew... this is a tough one, as a lot of things can cause it. These suggestions might seem obvious, but if you haven't tried one of them, give it a shot for sure.

A few places to start:

1. Update your chipset driver.

2. Update your sound and video card drivers.

3. Disable any real-time scanning AV/security products momentarily and retest your multimedia without the background scanning running.

4. Check your CPU usage via Task Manager by sorting by the CPU column. Look for repeat offenders of high CPU usage and investigate the reasoning behind it.

5. Disconnect from your network and test multimedia playback; some integrated network adapters can interfere with Vista multimedia playback if I recall correctly.

Hope this helps.

~os

[premis]

Thanks for the fast reply! It looks like my network is causing the problem, when I disconnect everything works great. disconnecting each time is going to be a pain in the but, is there anyway to fix this?

BTW, I'm using a Linksys Wireless N card networked with two computers through a D-Link router.

Edited by premis, 18 November 2009 - 09:51 PM.

[othersteve]

Edit: Whoa--hang on. You're already using a PCI adapter?

Turns out, Linksys Wireless-N network adapters are known to cause this problem. No solution has been developed as of yet from what I've seen. I think it occurs with both PCI and USB Wireless-N adapters.

What would I do? I'd either go wired (if possible), or if not, if wireless-N isn't a necessity for you yet, try investing in a cheap USB wireless-G/A adapter and see if that doesn't solve the problem for you. Be sure to disable the wireless PCI card if you decide to go this route to prevent the skipping.

Please let me know if this helps!

~os

Edited by othersteve, 18 November 2009 - 10:04 PM.

[premis]

I'm not using a PCI card, it's a USB. I have a Wireless G USB Also, I'll try it and report back.

[othersteve]

Oh, gotcha. Either way, the same applies. I'd give something else a shot; probably still first a USB wireless-G adapter. If you can get a cheap one locally that's functional enough, that might be your best bet so that you can return it without too much of a hassle. If different (non-N) USB adapter doesn't correct the issue, then I'd think about trying a PCI wireless-G/A next.

Sounds like a fun issue... sorry for the luck. At least we've gotten to the bottom of it.

~os

[premis]

Oh, gotcha. Either way, the same applies. I'd give something else a shot; probably still first a USB wireless-G adapter. If you can get a cheap one locally that's functional enough, that might be your best bet so that you can return it without too much of a hassle. If different (non-N) USB adapter doesn't correct the issue, then I'd think about trying a PCI wireless-G/A next.

Sounds like a fun issue... sorry for the luck. At least we've gotten to the bottom of it.

~os

Well, I installed the Wireless G USB adaptor on the Vista machine and it works. I would've never thought to do that. Thank you so much, you have no idea how much I appreciate your help!!!!

[othersteve]

premis,

You are more than welcome.

~os

[mikeweezer]

Had a similar problem in Windows 7. Took your advice and updated my chipset driver from Dell's website. Worked like a charm - Thanks!