Choppy DVD Playback / Long Burn Times

Various changes to the Windows Operating System, also for the Intranet

Moderator: sjj1805

Post Reply
User avatar
sjj1805
Site Admin
Posts: 1194
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 12:45 am
operating_system: Windows 10 Pro
motherboard: Hewlett Packard 2AF7
system_drive: C
32bit or 64bit: 64 Bit
processor: 2-90 gigahertz Intel Core i5 4460S
ram: 8 GB
video card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 705
sound card: P40D100-4 NVIDIA High Definition Audio
Hard_Drive_Capacity: 8 TB
Location: Birmingham UK
Contact:

Choppy DVD Playback / Long Burn Times

Post by sjj1805 » Fri Jun 06, 2008 2:22 pm

Apparently this fault is quite common with XP and is caused when a fault disc is inserted in the DVD Writer. The cure is not so obvious.

Hard drives and DVD drives can work in 2 modes
DMA - Direct Memory Access
PIO - Programmed Input Output.

DMA is the fastest mode and so gives the smoothest results. If Windows detects a problem with a device such as a DVD Writer - often caused by a fault disc, it will automatically switch the writer to PIO mode. Suddenly you find that a disc is taking an age to burn something that normally takes a fraction of the time. For instance burning a 4.3 GB DVD at 4x should take about 15 minutes, if it starts taking a hour or more it is a strong likelihood that the device has been placed into PIO mode.

Once the device is in PIO mode it can stick in that mode and not revert back to DMA. The next time you come to play a DVD suddenly the Video is very choppy and seems to be struggling. You are likely to think that your device has dirty heads or is broken.

How to check if you are in DMA mode or PIO mode.
Go to Device Manager and look for IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
Image

Right click and select properties.
Image

Use the drop down lists to select DMA Mode.
If for some reason it refuses to change and remains \"stuck\" in PIO mode then simply delete that channel

Image

Either right click and select uninstall or simply press the [DEL] key on your keyboard. Restart your computer and windows will automatically re-install the channel.

Post Reply