Messages posted by Matt

Also, for Windows 7, you need DirectX 11...

Anja, bit confused by your error - is it a 'Windows has stopped responding' error? Do you get an error code with it? Wording of the error is important. If you type in the error message exactly as written into Google, 9 times out of ten you can find a bulletin board somewhere with an explanation of the error. Solutions are often proposed. The Cyberlink team, in one of their blanket 'send to all and sundry' responses, advised setting the PC's virtual memory to a min value of 1.5 x your PC's total RAM, and a max of 3 x your PC's total RAM. For me, that meant setting it to 12,000mb min value and 24,000mb max value. After the problem of freezing reoccurred, I downloaded DirectX SDK pack, updated sound card drivers, uninstalled ALL Cyberlink programs using the Windows Software uninstall function in Control Panel, and then reinstalled Cyberlink from scratch, ran a disk clean-up, installed the latest patch (2702) and then rebooted the machine. Amazingly, it works again now...

I reckon your problem will come down to one small or corrupt program. You could try uninstalling ALL video and photo programs on your PC and then reinstalling them from scratch to see if one of those is causing a conflict of sorts?

I also used DriverMax to scan all drivers and confirm which were up to date and which were not. Make sure you have checked your start up programs using msconfig in the Run program in Accessories. Get rid of any but the most essential start-ups (stuff like Google toolbar notifier, Adobe PDF, MS Messenger) can all go. If using Norton Antivirus, uninstall it completely and use Avast! and Defender. These are more effective and less intrusive virus protection programs.

Seems the problem has returned for no apparent reason. DivX ran a new update, as did HP, and now powerdirector freezes again with no error message or other fault warning...

Dafydd, I tried to send you a pm but it just takes me to my profile screen. Can you pls advise?

Still very unstable though. Pc appears to struggle badly though when it really shouldn't...

Not since the update process I noted earlier in this forum...

I have the hd5500 which isn't listed but still seems to work...

Sorry - just saw the PM button..

Thanks Dafydd. How do I send you a PM though? Don't have those details...

Re: point 3, no, it doesn't cut both ways at all. I did not provide anyone with a flawed product. Users would have no need for my personal contact details to resolve their issues.

The problem is the complete lack of response from Cyberlink about the problems encountered. Dafydd kindly forwarded my details to them and they actually responded (finally) with something useful (see below).

Unfortunately, my post was removed containing Alice's email. Apparently these forums are excluded from free speech. I included it (validly) so that customers could take up the issue where it matters. If she gets too many emails, well, perhaps it's time to take action and improve the way they treat customers. After all, 'customer' is número uno on their list of core values...

The response tech support came back with is below:

Dear Matt,

Thank you for contacting CyberLink Technical Support.

I understand that you are using PowerDirector 9 software which is crashing while launching.

Please download the latest patch from the given link and then try to launch it:

http://www.cyberlink.com/downloads/support/powerdirector/patches_en_US.html

Please visit the link given below to get the list of system requirements to run it and if it satisfies that then try to run it else update the system:

http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdirector/requirements_en_US.html

Regarding your concern, if issue persists, I would suggest you to log in as an 'Administrator' and follow the below steps to resolve your issue:

(1) In order to avoid most of the compatibility issues, please close all other software and utility applications including virus scans, screen saver and instant messaging software when you use PowerDirector.

(2) Update your VGA card driver from the web site of card manufacturer. Also change the display resolution(1024*76 and color depth(32bit).

(3) Please update DirectX to latest version.

(4) Then try the following way to re-install PowerDirector:

a.) Uninstall PowerDirector from ADD/Remove program and then reinstall it. Reboot your PC.

b.) Reinstall PowerDirector

(5.) Please ensure that VGA, sound and capture has latest WDM driver.

(6.) Increase Virtual memory :

1. Right click on "MyComputer"
2. Select Properties -> Advance
3. Click on "settings" under Performance.
4. Select "Advance"
5. Click on "change" under Virtual memory.
6. Select "Custom" and enter initial value as "1.5X(where X= Your actual Ram size)" and Max value as "3X(where X= Your actual Ram size)".

NOTE: If your existing settings are higher than recommended then leave them as before.

(7.) Restart the system for the change to take effect.

Note: If you are trying to use the software from network or trying to install it over network then I regret to infrom you that it can not be done. You must install it on your local drive and then access it.

If you have followed all the steps and installed it on your local PC and issue still persists, please Start Windows in Selective Startup mode.

1. Click on 'Start'.
2. Click on 'Run'.
3. Type 'msconfig' and click on 'OK'.
4. A System Configuration Utility window will come up.
5. On the General tab, select 'Selective Startup'.
6. Uncheck 'Load Startup Items'.
7. Click on 'Apply'.
8. Click on 'OK' and close the window.
9. It will ask you to restart your computer. Click on 'Restart'.
10. Now try to launch the software.

Please feel free to contact us back for any further clarification or for any assistance related to CyberLink Products. Use the below mentioned link to get back to us for your further queries:
>>

http://www.CyberLink.com/english/cs/support/form/index.jsp <<

Thanks and Regards,

Tanmay
CyberLink Technical Support

Hi Dafydd,

Thanks - rather than giving my personal details on the forum, the ticket number should direct them to the relevant points (I have sent Alice a separate mail). Ticket number is CS001000024.

Regarding removal of her email address from the forum, I understand your mail, however all customers do have the right to escalate to senior management where they have not received the appropriate level of service. It is not really appropriate to restrict free information like that. I worked out Alice's email based on the company web address and a bit of logic. Not rocket science. Nor have I illegally or otherwise unlawfully obtained and distributed confidential information. So I am curious about the restriction to fair speech.

If the company does not provide a basic level of support to it's clientele via the 'support' services it offers, customers have the legal right to take appropriate escalation action.

Appreciate that you will take the matter to other parts of the company, but I do wonder why it takes that much just to get a simple answer. Alice (and the appropriate media/industry bodies) are entitled to know. It's the only way it seems Cyberlink customers will get a fair hearing about their problems. Ignorance does not make them go away.

That's my small rant done, but I feel it has a valid point.

Thanks.

I can easily enough get back to the edit screen and go again after producing one video...

Put it this way, 2 days ago, I could produce a 1.5min production and have that upload to YouTube. Try the same with a 14min production (both generated from GoPro HD MP4 files) and no go. No warnings, just froze at certain points. Left all day to process... Nothing. On top of that, every few seconds whilst splicing clips, the program would freeze and whilst still running, it would tell me that the program is not responding.

Yesterday, I defragged the machine, updated the codecs mentioned, updated chipset and graphics card drivers, made an exclusion for the program in Avast anti virus (goodness knows what would happen if you were running Norton... I'd hate to think), ran a virus scan and a clean disk, stopped unnecessary startup programs using the msconfig command (better than control panel), manually set the virtual memory to a custom setting (min 512mb; max 4000mb), cleared the cache, installed IE9 (not sure if this did anything but perhaps) and restarted the machine. 14min production uploaded without a glitch and was able to put together another one without a single crash (yet).

Btw, personal opinion is that Cyberlink support should all be sacked. The company is not above it's customers and should respond better to them. Tempted to lodge a complaint with the industry ombudsman and/or consumer affairs (or equivalent where they are)...

Just that - Pc needs to run fast calcs when rendering and uses storage on drives somehow. Delays may slow it and cause some functions to error due to timeout. That's my guess. Doesn't hurt to try. Latest QuickTime and Divx/directx codecs are also good to make sure things are working. Re the program itself, understand you tried reinstating the PC to a save point but did you actually download the program from their site from scratch and reinstalling it (it will automatically uninstall existing versions - don't worry about it deleting your working files, it doesn't do that even with an uninstall. So long as you have the PowerDirector project file that it creates when you save a project put somewhere safe like on your desktop, you will get your project back without a problem. Don't try adding any of the updates to it - use as is once downloaded and installed.

I didn't install the 2702 update after reinstalling and my copy now seems to be a 'little' more stable... Also changed none of the preferences after installing - everything set to factory standard.

Did you run a defrag too?

I do have to point out though that Cyberlink are HOPELESS as far as their 'technical support' services are concerned. I raised queries 5 days ago and still not a word of reply from them. In most parts of the civilised world, paying customers are a high priority for companies, but it seems the Cyberlink tech support team think otherwise. Doesn't really surprise me that so many people try to avoid paying for software like this if this is the kind of after sales treatment they can expect. Perhaps they should redirect the 'technical support' links on their site straight to this forum?

I think I may have managed to resolve the issue... Firstly, all drivers and codecs (graphics card, chipset drivers, divx codecs, etc) were updated. Pc was then checked to have all recent updates applied. Then run disk cleanup, followed by a defrag. Uninstalled PD9 and downloaded and reinstalled from scratch (apply no further updates or change ANY preferences). Re-ran the production again and it made it well past 16% without a glitch. Also excluded it from 'sandboxing' in Avast, but didn't switch Avast off (as YouTube uploads need an Internet connection, so this can't be disabled).

I'm running a 64-bit HP with Vista 64 as the operating system. Screen is a high def screen designed for professional photo editing, so no display issues there.

Fingers crossed this is a permanent fix... It's still a very unstable program.

Cheers,

Matt

Anja, I too am having problems. I have installed the latest codecs for divx and directx and have updated all graphics card drivers. I can produce a short (1.5min) 720p video to YouTube, but I try again with a 14min long one and PD freezes at 16% done. Time keeps ticking over, no error warnings and yet it just stops producing. I've tried disconnecting from the net and disabling the virus program (Avast), but it all does nothing. Files are not corrupted (although they were shot in NTSC format and I am producing in Pal - something PD says it can cope with). I've tried disabling shadowfiles and hardware acceleration - all to no avail. PC is a quad core HP desktop with 2.3ghz processor, 8gb Ram and nearly 3tb of hard disk. Graphics card is an AMD Radeon HD 5500.

Computer's specs should be more than enough to cope - Dafydd... Any ideas? Logged a few queries with tech support but like most people, got nothing in reply.

Cheers,

Matt