Another problem - new computer with sound and vision trouble

A friend of mine has a brand new packard bell imedia, and the sound on it keeps stuttering and sort of "jumping" at random points, in all players, both on music and video. Not only this but the visual quality of videos is, while not absolutely horrendous, quite blurry and of bad quality. This wasn't a problem for the first few weeks, so it seems like it hasn't been there from the start. This is a new packard bell imedia and the audio is a reltrek ac'97 device, if it helps. Any help would be appreciated

When sound/video stutter, it is usually because some other process is kicking in and hogging the system resources. You friend may have installed new applications and utilities or activated some of the cursed "free trials" that often bloat new computers. Take a look in the MSCONFIG StartUp(tab) for items that are running from boot, that don't need to be running at all. (I will be making some suggestions to you, of this type in your other posted topic) How much RAM does this New machine have. If it's 512mb or less, he could easily have problems. And, of course, there is the dreaded "malware" possibility. Best Regards

It has 896mb of RAM. Some other info: AMD Athlon 54 Processor 3400 Plus 2.20 Gigahertz Windows XP Service Pack 2 He's a bit unsure what items to delete in MSCONFIG Startup, so do you have any ideas? I'll ask for a copy and post them here if that's possible. Also, how would he know about free trials and how to get rid of them? I could ask him to run a hijack this scan maybe? I'll also see if he's run any malware removing programs lately, like Adaware etc. Also would there be any "patches" he could download perhaps? Thanks

Pretzel Prince, In my earlier reply, I blew right past the first most important consideration…… The Video Card. Overheating, faulty Video Card memory modules, stuck fan, corrupt Video Card Driver, and failed Video Card. (Have him get a can of Compressed Air, crack that Tower Case open and blow out the dust bunnies, especially on and around the CPU HeatSink and Fan, and the Video Card Heatsink and Fan. Maybe the easiest way to get needed information fast is to invite him to Run A PCPitstop Full Test and Post the TechExpress Link. The Pit Test would also display information about running programs that he could consider disabling from MSCONFIG, and will answer additional questions about software, hardware, and condition of the Hard Drive that I would want to ask. Have him download and run Everest 2.20 and create a quick report from Sensors so we can view the Temperatures and Voltages. I think you indicated that this is a relatively new machine, so we will want to keep "warranty repair" considerations in mind. Best Regards Edit: Since he reports 896mb RAM, he probably has "integrated video adapter" (built as part of the MotherBoard and not a separate PCI or AGP Card) The integrated video adapter is probably drawing 128mb of his RAM to run Video. 128mb + 896mb = 1024mb (1gig of RAM) So he may not find a separate video card, and if he doesn't, he shouldn't worry about that.