Windows 7 Media Center Stuttering/Freezing after skipping forward

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Nety

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#353543 19-Jul-2010 18:47

I cannot find a Dell Inspiron 350. Can you confirm what model it is?

Media centre PC - Case Silverstone LC16M with 2 X 80mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF, MOBO Gigabyte MA785GT-UD3H, CPU AMD X2 240 under volted, RAM 4 Gig DDR3 1033, HDD 120Gig System/512Gig data, Tuners 2 X Hauppauge HVR-3000, 1 X HVR-2200, Video Palit GT 220, Sound Realtek 886A HD (onboard), Optical LiteOn DH-401S Blue-ray using TotalMedia Theatre Power Corsair VX Series, 450W ATX PSU OS Windows 7 x64

RebelCommando

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#353549 19-Jul-2010 18:58

It's an older model now I guess so it probably doesn't turn up on the Dell store any more.

This link has some info on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Inspiron#Inspiron_530

Not sure how to do it but is it possible to send a private message so I can send the URL for my 530 based on the service tag? I kinda don't want to post details for the whole world to see.

RustyGonad

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#353588 19-Jul-2010 20:14

Just something else for you to try - may not work but its worth a go...

Goto Control Panel --> Device Manager.

Find your IDE/SATA controller and delete/uninstall it.

Don't worry it shouldn't kill anything, but it will force Windows to renanalyse and reinstall the disk controller.

I've seen a couple of installs with both Windows 7 and Vista, where the correct mode doesn't get set at install time. This effectively forces the disk controller (and hard disk) into 16bit "slow mode" ie it doesn't set the correct disk mode.

It sounds a bit like what you are seeing...

RebelCommando

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#353624 19-Jul-2010 21:17

I'm not exactly sure what to delete.

In the device manager there is:
* "Disk Drives" - node which has the 3 hard drives underneath it

* "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" - node has 6 nodes underneath it
   * ATA Channel 0
   * ATA Channel 0
   * ATA Channel 1
   * ATA Channel 1
   * Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
   * Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller

* "Storage controllers" - which underneath it is
   * "AE5K0EA4 Controller"

Is there no way to check what mode the SATA controller is running in?

Thanks

RustyGonad

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#353751 20-Jul-2010 08:55

If you uninstall these two:

* Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
* Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller

That should take care of the rest as well (the ATA Channels are "attached" to the Controllers). Once you've uninstalled them, reboot, and see if it makes a difference.

In my experience, if the controllers don't get installed correctly, there's no visible clue, but disk access can be notoriously slow in some situations ie anything where you get multiple apps accessing the disk.

All the above does is force Windows to re-evaluate, and reinstall the disk controller drivers, which should in effect guarantee you get the right ones.

Like I said, there may not be anything in it, but it's a pretty simple check. If it is that you should notice the improvement instantly.

Nety

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#353800 20-Jul-2010 10:41

Ah wondered if it was the 530 rather then the 350. Will have a look and post back.

RebelCommando

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#353815 20-Jul-2010 11:09

Yes you are right - is's a 530 rather 350. Stupid me - I accidently reversed the digits.

I have quite poor eyesight and so when I am typing and make a mistake I quite often don't pick it up.

Sorry about the confusion.

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Morris214

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#353891 20-Jul-2010 13:20

You commented in you initial post that you are running microsofts latest drivers for your video card. Make sure you are using Nvidia's latest drivers, not Microsofts ones.

Nety

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#353913 20-Jul-2010 14:03

OK looks like the 530 uses a Intel SATA controller. First off go to the Intel Driver Update Utility and see if it suggests newer drivers in particular for the SATA controller which might be labeled as the Intel Matrix Storage manager or it may just tell you to install later chipset drivers. Either way make sure you install any drivers it suggests.

http://www.intel.com/support/detect.htm?iid=dc_spotlight_home1

RebelCommando

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#354285 21-Jul-2010 00:15

I installed the latest drivers from nVidia's site but they made no difference.

I also installed the Intel Driver Update Utility and the resulting output did not mention any form of disk controller. Just stuff like an update was available for Wired Networking.

Nety

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#354912 22-Jul-2010 13:52

Can you confirm the storage controller name? I did a search but cannot find any info on a AE5K0EA4 controller.

Nety

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#354943 22-Jul-2010 14:59

OK try downloading and installing the Matrix storage manager driver

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&ProdId=3154&DwnldID=18064&lang=eng

The dell site is stating that you have a Intel controller and your issues do seem to support a driver issue.
If there is not one then the driver will tell you and not install.

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