Installing PowerDVD 20 Essential and PowerDVD 20 Ultra
System: new HP OMEN-17-cb0061T (Intel i7-9750H, chipset Intel HM370, video NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070, 2 x SSD M.2, 1 x 16 GB ram, no HDD).
Windows 10 Pro 64 v.1909 build 18363.900
I installed PowerDVD 20 Essential, downloaded as part of installing a software disk that came with an LG portable USB DVD drive. At about 96% I lost my 2nd screen and all USB communication (DVD player, mouse, keyboard), and the touch pad of the laptop. The laptop screen was still working, although the mouse pointer had disappeared. I pulled out all the cables and fiddled with the inbuilt keyboard and touch pad for a few minutes in intense anxiety, but the installation appeared to have hung at 96%. Nothing responded until I gave it a Microsoft Salute (ctrl-alt-del) (at least the inbuilt keyboard was still working), arrow-keyed to the shut-down icon, and shut the system down. Even then the power light would not go off until I forced a power down (held the power button down for >5 sec). When I rebooted (normaly) the system started OK and I was able to connect all the cables and devices then resume normal operation. PowerDVD seemed to have installed OK, and I was able to try it by viewing a DVD from the ext drive.
I decided to go all the way to the Ultra version, duly paid for and downloaded. When I installed it the installer first un-installed the 'essential' version then started installing 'ultra'. The system locked up at 96% much the same as before. This time I didn't panic (so much), left all the cables connected, and waited a bit longer before saluting. This time the system informed me that the install was preventing shutdown. On a whim I cancelled the shutdown, but when the screen came back the install claimed to have finished, and offered to start PowerDVD for me. Still non-communicative, so another salute, and this time shut down, but still requiring a forced power down. Normal reboot, and the system came back as normal and seems to be working OK, including PowerDVD Ultra.
I also had problems with the video card getting lost when I installed the 2nd SSD. I presume that both the hardware and PowerDVD installations are commandeering the bus services that other devices are using. Is this a Cyberlink problem with their install, or a Microsoft problem? OK, it worked eventually, but I could have done without the anxiety.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at Jul 02. 2020 08:31