creaky and rotary: have been speaking to brobear concerning this. His answer is: Here goes... A logic error in the pool kernel memory allocator could cause memory corruption in low-memory situations, then a crashed program or system can result. So, the low memory resources can definitely come into play. Shrink was written to work with the older 98 SE operating system. So, Shrink and DVD Decrypter are good choices for older systems. Shrink is set up to split files in the FAT32 file system. That's why XP with the NTFS file system is preferable (larger file structure). The name is sort of self-explanatory New Technology File System (NTFS), and DVD movie recording is fairly new tech. Having 98 SE as the OS, it's probably an older system, so you may be dealing with an older processor as well. What is it and the speed? Video recording is a highly processor and memory intensive task. It really isn't meant for older systems. Not to say some older systems won't do it. Let's just say the ones that can are the lucky ones. Then look to memory resources that back up shortcomings in processor speeds and the OS. Most of the problems I've seem have come with systems too small to handle the recording task; older, slower systems with low memory.
That's a well constructed explanation. I made another stab at it today and came up empty: Backed up the drive to a larger one Replugged the larger one to avoid any local drive errors. Ran scan Disk Ran Norton disk fix Defragged the drive in Safe mode Ran DVDShrink in Safe mode. It went until it hit the same spot of completion-- 67% and issued the same error: Invalid page fault im module KERNEL32.dll. I thought I had it with taking everything off the processor but the shrink prog. It's starting to look like a bad file created from a bad dvd. But how could I check the dvd which is a commercial item? It plays from beginning to end and is brand new as well. The system is a PII 400 Mhz on a Tyan 1854 combo board 394 mem various disk drive sizes. Is this why Linux is upgrading its kernel all the time? Or is it different in hardware? I'm thinking about setting up a new motherboard... nothing that sparkles, but newer than what I have now.
Troubleshooting 101 requires one find out the system in use. What is the brand and model? What is the processor and speed? How much RAM does the system have and how much is not already utilized? What is the front side bus (FSB) speed? What is the operating System? How large is the hard drive and how much free space? What is the drive configuration and what optical drives are in use? Once one has a picture of the system, they can get a better picture of how the that system can utilize certain software and hardware. DVD recording with less than a P3 and 750MHz should set off some warning lights. My advice here is to give up on the antiquated equipment and go for something more up to date. A P2 just isn't enough processor for doing video recording. A P3 at 750MHz would be terribly slow. Older PCs can handle CDs, but recording DVDs is a whole different ball game. Just to give you the picture, the P2 processor is 2 generations old. CD recording was just coming about with the P3. The P2s were still doing floppies. The processor is running at 400MHz. The newer ones are running near 3000MHz, some are faster. That's the 3GHz range. You should see the picture, the older PCs just weren't engineered with the capacity to handle tasks intended for the newer technology using the newer high capacity PCs with newer operating systems, like DVD video recording. I'd suggest doing something like purchasing the low end PC by one of the big suppliers like DELL, or most any of the major builders. Starters for a P4 are around $300. You can use your current burner if need be. That would give you the processor to do the job with. A used PC is another option. Just go with a P4 system at 2GHz or better with a good sized HD and around 512MB RAM, preferrably running Windows XP. I'd add a few bucks to make sure there is at least 512MB RAM on any system. RAM is the cheapest and best upgrade for many systems. I don't know why people don't go for more RAM. Builders cut bucks on RAM is why it is usually at a minimum in many builds. You can buy a PC cheaper than purchasing the components to build one. Plus, to get the processor speed and memory, you'd be out much more than just for a motherboard. Granted a personal build is nice for the latest in high tech, but not a good idea cost wise for a working PC for most users.
I'd say continued discussion of a 400MHz P2 system is something of a waste of time. Even if one were lucky enough to get it to record DVD video, the system would be a constant problem due to limited resources.
I accept your evaluation and through the summer would like to assemble a new motherboard/cpu/vid card/mem package. But I'm still holding onto the idea that there is somethign wrong with the data on the original. Is there a way to scan that for errors?
Not just my evaluation, it's a general consensus. Assuming you're knowledgable enough about the technology and the components involved to build a PC, you should agree. Years wise, we're still in the early days of PCs. Late 80s and early 90s was the start of PCs as we know them. A relatively short time. Those P2s were early products of the technology in its infancy. The P2 was little more than the processor for a glorified word processor. Those early computers didn't have nearly the capabilities of the new units. Even in office settings, the P2 units are seldom found today. As I said, even if you do get it to work, you'll continue to have problems due to lack of system capacity and resources. As for checking a DVD source, DVDInfoPro is a good freeware app. There are others if you check around. Scroll your cursor over the InfoPro icons and they read out the function. Look to the icon with the magnifying glass. http://www.dvdinfopro.com
