DVD playback problems with my Compaq Presario 2500

In recent months I have been having problems with playing back dvds on my Presario 2500. Whenever I try to play a DVD, it locks up. I can still read CDs, and burn CDRs, however I can't play DVD. Other side effects are my Madden 2004 game will lock up or play really choppy. I've run tests at PCPitstop.com and all it says is I have unusually slow memory performance. I've downloaded diagnostics to test out my RAM, and I show no problems. Recenty my HD died on me, so I thought maybe that was the cause of my problem. I've installed a new HD, reinstalled windows xp, and I stil lock up playing back DVDs. Could it be my RAM, my video card, or DVD drive? Has anyone heard of a similar problem with Presario 2500s before. thanks for your help.

 

Please present the stats for your computer: CPU/RAM/GPU (video card...most important). Otherwise we're left with blindly guessing what your hardware is, and the related problems associated with that hardware.

Generally speaking, I'd recommend getting the newest drivers for your video card. Your Madden game is choppy because your video card can't handle it...I'm going to guess that it's one of those integrated ones. Can't be a RAM problem if you run other applications OK. Can't be an optical drive issue for same reason. Again, tell us the specs for your system, otherwise it's like asking for directions without knowing the destination.

P.S. Do you use Divx player/codecs to play those DVD movies? Compaq Presarios have a history of freezing on playback for those.

 

Oops, sorry about that. Here's the specs on my system,

System Model: Presario 2500 (DS542U)
Video Card: RADEON IGP 345M (64MB Shared)
Processor: Celeron 2600MHZ
Ram: 1 GB minus 64 MB for video

I haven't installed the latest video codecs since my reinstall, however I was having the same playback problem when I had all my codecs including divx. I will reinstall video codecs and post how I make out. Thanks again for the help.

 

What program are you using to playback DVD video?

Try this, it was posted in another thread earlier.

Originating thread link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=89960

 

The Radeon IGP + Presario combo is known to present headaches. Here's a link to the problem being discussed, try installing Omega driver version 2.6.25a (for your video card) that might solve your problems. Here is the link to the list of Omega drivers, just find the version suggested.

P.S. He's not running in PIO mode, trust me. He'd know if his hard drive was reading one bit at a time...

 

I installed the Omega Driver you mentioned in the post, and my situation is way better. Madden 04 works again, and DVD start playing at least. I usually get 2 to 3 seconds into the movie, and I get an error message. Might need to try another driver, but for now, this has made a big difference. Thanks again to everyone that helped. You guys rock!