Video games, video slow and choppy?

Question

Hi. I have a Dell PC laptop with pentium 4 window xp sp1,2. Recently when I try to play a video (from my camera, or youtube) it gets choppy. The audio stays normal, but the video slows way down. I've also had problems playing video games. The graphics slow way down to a stop-time kind of performance. I have a ndivia gforce graphics card. I tried updating the driver for that but it didn't do anything. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Answer 1

sounds like a lack of RAM memory. how much memory you have? 256k? 512k? most items today take a minimum of 512k if not 1 gig of ram to handle.

games especially take at least 1 gig of ram if not even more.

Answer 2

try this.......
Background applications can affect the performance of the game on your computer. Unnecessary background applications can cause:

a. Slow performance.
b. Errors during the installation.
c. Issues with Audio/Video in the game.
d. Error messages.

To resolve the issue, we suggest you close all the unnecessary background applications and then try playing the game. Use the following instructions to disable the background applications:

Note: The following procedure is a temporary troubleshooting step used to disable the non-Microsoft services, which may include security programs like antivirus and firewall programs. To revert the changes made follow the steps documented at the end of the article. While the steps provided below are descriptive, we recommend you contact your system administrator before following the steps listed.
For Windows XP

1. Click Start Button and select Run.
2. Type msconfig and click Ok.

*If your computer is in Normal Startup do the following:

a. Click the button that says Selective Startup.
b. Uncheck the box that says Load Startup items (or Load Startup Group items)
c. Click the Services tab and check Hide all Microsoft services.
d. Click Disable all.
e. Click Apply and click Close.
f. Restart the computer when prompted.
g. Once restarted, if the system configuration window appears, close the window. Select No to restarting if prompted.

*If your computer is set for Selective Startup do the following:

a. Click the Startup tab at the top.
b. Make a note of the items that have checkmarks next to them.
c. Click Disable all.
d. Click the Services tab and check Hide all Microsoft services.
e. Make a note of the services that have checkmarks next to them.
f. Click Disable all.
g. Click Apply and click Close.
h. Restart the computer when prompted.
i. Once restarted, if the system configuration window appears, close the window. Select No to restarting if prompted.

If the program is working fine then it can be concluded that some of the background applications running in the system were causing the issue.

To identify the program that is conflicting with the program follow the steps given below:

** To find the service conflicting with the program follow this trial and error method.

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig and click Ok.
2. Click the Startup tab and click Enable all. If the computer was in Selective startup enable the items that correspond to the items noted earlier.
3. Click the Services tab, check the option Hide all Microsoft Services
4. Click Enable all. If the computer was in Selective startup enable the items that correspond to the services noted earlier.
5. Uncheck one of the services from the list.
6. Click Apply, click Close and restart the computer when prompted.
7. Play the game and test the performance.
a. If the issue is resolved, the service disabled above (step 5) is the cause of the issue. To play the game you will have to disable this software.
b. If the issue is still unresolved then uncheck a different service from the list and repeat steps 1 to 7.

If issue is still not resolved check for Start up item, which may be conflicting with the game.

** To find the Startup item is conflicting.

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig and click Ok.
2. Click the Services tab and click Enable all. If the computer was in Selective startup enable the items that correspond to the services noted earlier.
3. Click the Startup tab and click on Enable All. If the computer was in Selective startup enable the items that correspond to the items noted earlier
4. Uncheck one of the startup items from the list.
5. Click Apply, click Close and click Restart
a. Play the game and test the performance. If the issue doesn't occur, this confirms that the particular service running on the system is causing issue.
b. If the issue occurs, check the startup item unchecked in previous attempt.
c. Uncheck another startup item and repeat the steps 1 to 5.

If the above steps don't help to resolve the issue, follow the steps given below to, revert the changes made in System Configuration Utility (msconfig):

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig and click Ok.
2. Click the Startup tab and click Enable all. If the computer was in Selective startup enable the items that correspond to the services noted earlier.
3. Click the Services tab, check the option Hide all Microsoft Services
4. Click Enable all or enable the items that correspond to the items noted earlier.
5. Click Apply, click Close.
6. Restart the computer when prompted.

_____________________

For Windows 98/Me

1. Click Start Button and select Run.
2. Type msconfig and click Ok.

*If your computer is in Normal Startup do the following:
a. Click the button that says Selective Startup.
b. Uncheck the box that says Load Startup items (or Load Startup Group items)
c. Click OK.
d. Restart the computer when prompted.
e. Once restarted, if the system configuration window appears, close the window. Select No to restarting if prompted.

*If your computer is set for Selective Startup do the following:

a. Click the Startup tab at the top.
b. Make a note of the items that have checkmarks next to them.
c. Uncheck all the Startup Items.
d. Click Apply and click OK.
e. Restart the computer when prompted.
f. Once restarted, if the system configuration window appears, close the window. Select No to restarting if prompted.

Try running the program

If the program is working fine then it can be concluded that some of the background applications running in the system were causing the issue.

To identify the program that is conflicting with the program follow the steps given below:
To find the Startup item is conflicting.
1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig and click Ok.
2. Click the Startup tab and enable all the startup items. If the computer was in Selective startup enable the items that correspond to the items noted earlier.
3. Uncheck one of the startup items from the list.
4. Click Apply, click Close and click Restart
5. Play the game and test the performance.
a. If the issue is resolved, the start up item disabled above (step 3) is the cause of the issue. To play the game you will have to disable this software.
b. If the issue is still unresolved then uncheck a different startup item from the list and repeat steps 1 to 5.

If the above steps don't help to resolve the issue, follow the steps given below to, revert the changes made in System Configuration Utility (msconfig):

1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig and click Ok.
2. Click the Startup tab and enable all the startup items. If the computer was in Selective startup enable the items that correspond to the items noted earlier.
3. Click Apply, click Ok.
4. Restart the computer when prompted.

___________________________

For Windows 2000

1. Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys on the keyboard.
2. Briefly press Delete and then release the other keys.
3. Click the button that says Task Manager.
4. Click the Applications tab at the top.
5. For each item listed in the task list:
a. Click the item to select it.
b. Click End Task.
6. Repeat the above steps until the task list is empty.
6. Close the Windows Task Manager screen.

Answer 3

well do you have anything else open when you are doing this? you want to make sure that you free up some space so your memory isn't working overtime. plus your graphics card could always be going bad or something. try buying a better card for it. hope this helps!

Answer 4

If this is recent have you installed any new applications?,

have you defragged your hard drive? this is under programs, accessories, system tools, then select disk defragmenter.

have you tried re-booting and re-accessing the video, a reboot clears the temporary ram.

Answer 5

What model is the video card? You might need to upgrade it.

Answer 6

Do you have enough memory installed?