Choppy Video Playback And Dvd Burner Problems.

Hi all, I've been having problems with burning DVD data and watching DVDs. Now it seems that downloaded video files from itunes are not playing smoothly. Thirdly the burner can't seem to burn discs at a decent speed anymore without failing. I burn at 2x speed for 4.7gig discs but they used to burn at maximum 16x with no problems. I'm using the same brand discs that originally worked and have found that other cheaper ones are very unreliable. The system is clean, this is the main problem. Anyone got some advice before I reformat from sheer frustration.

Hi jws,

If your "sheer frustration" has not lead you to a reformat - reinstall, let's have a closer look.

The "list" of what could be causing this problem is long and and exhaustive.
- Corrupted Drivers
- Excessive background applications and processes
- Insufficient hard disk space
- Hard Disk fragmentation
- Failing Memory (RAM)
- Heat
- Missing or Corrupted System files
- Botched update from MS or other application software
- CPU "stepped" down automatically (if this is a laptop)
- Malware that you have not detected

Clearly, the above list does little to narrow the scope of your investigation.
Each item would need to be investigated and ruled out.

Happily, there is a quick and easy way to gain an overview that would include information on many of the items of the list.
Go to http://www.pcpitstop.com
Register, Run the Full Tests, Post the TechExpress link from Results, back here into this thread for analysis and feedback.

Best Regards

Thank's Dough, I've ruled out quite a few of these. I'll have a go at the ones that I didn't know about.

Here's the link to the Pc pitstop results finally, I've been busy.

http://www.pcpitstop.com/TechExpress.asp?id=03YFHWMKYMWS87DW

Any help on this would be great.