media center, slow

[nickolp]

installed x64 win7 on my desktop

specs:
[email protected] ghz
4gb 1066 ram
280gtx
750 hd space

tried running media center and found it very slow at responding, anything i can do are other people experiencing this?????

 

[Hollowpointman]

I came here looking for the same answer. I was running media center on vista perfectly, but this new 7 version lags

 

[AngelProcesser]

explain exactly what you mean by slow or laggy...

 

[Hollowpointman]

The transitional effects lag a great deal particularly when using the new guide. If running a mouse in a circular shape over various television shows presented in the guide, it takes a while for the software to recognize and respond. With Vista, there was no lag and it looked fluid.

The problem goes from bad to worse when trying to use the guide while media center is running live tv. Accessing the guide from live tv takes several seconds to load and runs incredibly slow once accessed (occasionally to the point of skipping the live tv feed playing in the background.)

I'm running a 3gb processor with 4gb of ram and a virtually empty hard drive so I can't understand whats up

 

[AngelProcesser]

Hollowpointman,

Please complete the hardware spec section of your profile and verify that you have the latest drivers for all your devices (from the manufacturer of each).

You can also run the new W7 troubleshooter. (click the start menu orb and type trouble in the text box)

You can review performance events (click the start menu orb and type performance in the text box)

As it ran fine with Vista I suspect drivers.

 

[Usotsuki]

I just installed Win 7 Home 64 bit on my HTPC today. Everything played pretty well in Vista 32 bit Ultimate (with 2008 TV pack) except using the TV guide (which was slow and buggy). I heard Win7 fixed those problems so I bought a Samsung 1 TB Ecogreen drive (5400 RPM) and did a fresh install.

After all the drivers I noticed I couldn't play any HD programing from recordings without things getting messed up (slow play, scrambled picture, just like you described above). I could watch HD TV just fine through my tuner card (Avermedia M780) but couldn't play recorded HD programing without terrible video playback. I thought it must be my slower drive since the exact same hardware worked fine before. But I played the HD files on my other computer and it played flawlessly over the network, so I figured it couldn't be the hard drive.

Then I realized I installed the ATI video driver, but then did an update to the video driver and ATI control panel via the full package install on their website. So I went back and completely uninstalled the ATI control panel and all ATI programs displaying in the Remove Program list and rebooted. VIOLA! It fixed it and now the performance is much better. Guide working much smoother now and HD play back is working perfectly. I can even cruize through the guide while HD program is playing (which I couldn't do with 2008 TV pack on Vista)! YES, Win7 did fix this! (Now, if only my internet was faster - only 768 down - so it didn't slow down the guide while loading pictures into the guide. Nice feature as long as you have a fast internet connection - faster than 768 down).

The driver for my on board ATI Radeon HD 3200 is still there, just not the control panel. So I think installing the video driver, then adding the full ATI package (driver and control panel) messed things up and caused Win7 Media Center to foul up HD recordings.

So perhaps try uninstalling any and all ATI control panel programs first. If that doesn't help then try completely uninstalling all ATI and video drivers and see if that helps. It seems like it's never a good idea to install a video driver or ATI control panel over an existing driver.

Think back to when you did the installs, did you install anything more than once? Or install a driver over an old driver - instead of removing it and adding a new one? Sometimes this can cause problems too. I hope this gives you some ideas of other things to try. Good luck! And remember, if trying these things don't work, just remember the next best (although totally irritating!) solution - reinstall. Yes, I know you just did a clean install, but if these things don't work you might as well try it one more time. Trust me, Win7 works great and will be worth the extra 45 minutes to reinstall.

 

[bimmerbill]

My guide lags too. I press the remote button and then it takes a few seconds to show up. I find myself wondering if I pressed the right remote button, so look, and by that time the guide is up.

 

[AngelProcesser]

I have found that a pair of (quality) fresh batteries and a clear line of sight to the IR receiver (no interference from screen or speakers or TV's also) removed lag in the guide not normal to the STB to begin with...do you have unusual lag using the keyboard? The IR Receiver typically has a very long cord, try moving it.

I also find the guide always works best when I use my thin fingers and the number of scotches consumed is less than 3

Interestingly, I cannot seem to locate the xml files referenced
here: http://www.sevenforums.com/media-ce...without-having-open-wmc-first.html#post382878
on my system (the shortcuts work) anyone know if they are made on the fly and how hard it would be to create a dialogue box to use these xml files to setup WMC to your liking?

 

[jotego]

Well, Usotsuki might be saying the truth ! I found that Media Center slowed down incredibly after I tweaked some of the ATI video card settings. When I set them back to defaults Media Center was just flying, including the guide!

Different video settings from defaults might be needed depending on your card model. Now, do not ask me for details as I do not know which setting caused the trouble.