Comments

rustier wrote on 12/4/2006, 7:53 PM
Sounds like you have already got the diagnostics rolling.
scratch the firewire.
probably not the computer (except)
could be the camera
could be the tape
scratch the VMS software

no new software - but you said you updated the bios - thats a pretty important piece of software. Did you update the bios before or after the issue? This could alter the way the core processes of the computer interact - especially if it is the wrong one or it was a bad install.

Have you gone into the system manager to check the hardware for conflicts?

Assuming you are capturing from a video camera, have you tried to capture another video tape(known to be good) with the same camera? It may be possible your camera needs servicing. Have you tried to take it to a friend to see if they capture from it okay?

Thats all that pops into the head at the moment. Good luck with it.
rlj wrote on 12/5/2006, 2:33 PM
The BIOS update was done by HP so it should be fine. The problem existed before the update. The camcorder capture is perfect with window movie maker so that isn't the problem. I have tried at least five different tapes all of which worked fine with vegas in the past and still work with windows movie maker. I have almost 1000GB harddrive with about 800GB free a 2.2 gh 64 dual core pros. 4GB ram and I have tried everything I can think of and everything I have read. The only thing I have figured out for sure is Sony Support Sucks.
RJ
rustier wrote on 12/5/2006, 5:55 PM
I feel your pain RJ. I am surprised to hear you are frustrated with Sony support. Maybe its the season and they are swamped.

Two more things I thought about. Some guys in the past have had dropped frame issues with a secondary or external hard drive. Something about the way the data was passed. I am assuming your monster is a single drive, yes?

Have you tried opening the capture program and setting everything back to its default condition?

Make that four things - Have you tried a bare (selective) boot with minimal running - and then tried a capture? {I am wondering if it is possible a program has updated itself in the background which is causing the conflict}

Have you considered a restore back to a date prior to your computer having problems? ( I know it could be a pain - but maybe . . .)

Have you tried cutting a potato in half, rubbing the halves on both sides of the computer, tossing salt over your left shoulder and then burying the potato halves - making sure you walk over them every day? . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .just a feeble attempt at levity. . . . .

Good luck sorting it out.
Russ
Paul Mead wrote on 12/5/2006, 6:48 PM
There is always the possibility of spyware eating up your system. Have you done any scans for viruses, etc., lately? Does Task Manager show any processes getting lots of CPU or I/O? (I hear that some spyware knows how to hide itself from the Task Manager, so even if Task Manager doesn't show anything that isn't a guarantee that there isn't something there.)

And I wouldn't discount the new BIOS. You just never know when the new one may be worse than the old one.

In my experience, Sony support is like any support. They can knock out the easy stuff, but when things get complicated or hard to define they tend to leave you on your own. But, considering the price of this product (cheap!), I guess you can't expect a whole lot. That doesn't make it any less frustrating, however.
rlj wrote on 12/7/2006, 7:42 AM
rustier,
The humor was most appreciated. Yes i am very disappointed with Sony support right now. Bottom line is the only support they have offered is FAQ. Thats' the first place I went. I am using an external hard drive dedicated to video, but it passes all tests. I have also tried to restore, but I can't quite get back far enough. I changed the capture in Sony to use windows movie maker capture and it worked fine, but I had a problem with the audio. It was weird watching Sony capture video through winmm. Windows Movie Maker works perfect. I just don't care for the program. I'm going to take your suggestion and go into capture program and reset the defaults. I'll let you know what happens. Thanks very much for your help.
rlj wrote on 12/7/2006, 7:56 AM
Paul,
I appreciate your suggestions. I am a little bit paranoid about viruses etc. I run various tests almost every night so I'm sure it's clean. You are right about this being a cheap product, but my camera and camcoder weren't cheap. Price shouldn't matter anyway. As I'm sure you know to many people this program would be considered very expensive. I have been lucky I guess. I have received outstanding support from HP, Microsoft, Epson and others. I really like Sony products but if they don't do something to resolve this I will have to look at alternatives. Having a program that won't work properly is worse than not having one at all. You spend all of your time trying to fix it instead of using it. Maybe I got spoiled by other companies support.
Roger
IanG wrote on 12/7/2006, 10:22 AM
It's probably not helpful, but have a look at this thread.

Ian G.