ATI TV Wonder USB 2.0 problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kevin CH
  • Start date Start date
K

Kevin CH

Ok...it has been a pain in the a**...from the moment I picked up this
card.

First of all, the driver on the companion CD won't install. Out pops a
messagebox saying "Invalid index" and then it terminates itself...

Then there is MMC (multimedia centre), which also won't install. The
setup program says "unhandled exception, description: invalid index"...

Afterwards I searched the web for a while and found out I'm not the
only one. What's worse is there hasn't been any solution
yet...wtf...this box has been out for like what, 2 years, and ATI's
been omitting its users' problems?

Then I tried connecting the device to my machine, and let Windows find
the driver on the CD. Apparently the drivers are there and Windows
recognized them. Then I started WinDVR and searched for channels and
everything, the TV picture popped up! It seemed to me it might
actually work after all...but, another but...I couldn't get any sound
output...now it has been two days and I still can't figure it out...I
reported a problem to their online customer service and their response
is neither here nor there...so frustrating!

Now I'm taking a shot at asking wise from here...maybe it's futile
but...heck...

By the way, my machine is a Toshiba TE2100 laptop (1.6G, 256M, 40G,
GeForce 420GO), and I'm running a Windows XP Pro SP2.

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

Regards,

Kevin
 
Kevin CH said:
Ok...it has been a pain in the a**...from the moment I picked up this
card.

First of all, the driver on the companion CD won't install. Out pops a
messagebox saying "Invalid index" and then it terminates itself...

Then there is MMC (multimedia centre), which also won't install. The
setup program says "unhandled exception, description: invalid index"...

Afterwards I searched the web for a while and found out I'm not the
only one. What's worse is there hasn't been any solution
yet...wtf...this box has been out for like what, 2 years, and ATI's
been omitting its users' problems?

Then I tried connecting the device to my machine, and let Windows find
the driver on the CD. Apparently the drivers are there and Windows
recognized them. Then I started WinDVR and searched for channels and
everything, the TV picture popped up! It seemed to me it might
actually work after all...but, another but...I couldn't get any sound
output...now it has been two days and I still can't figure it out...I
reported a problem to their online customer service and their response
is neither here nor there...so frustrating!

Now I'm taking a shot at asking wise from here...maybe it's futile
but...heck...

By the way, my machine is a Toshiba TE2100 laptop (1.6G, 256M, 40G,
GeForce 420GO), and I'm running a Windows XP Pro SP2.

Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

Regards,

Kevin
Click to expand...
Have you looked in the ATI Knowledge Base?
Searching with the keywords; Wonder USB; brings up a lot of info. Some of it
looks like it fits your situation. You don't mention versions or if you've
tried getting newer ones from the website.
 
Thanks for the reply. This entry describes exactly the problem I've
been experiencing when installing MMC:
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=19519

However, it's discouraging to see what ATI has to say about this
problem:

"""ATI Customer Care is aware of the issue and is investigating."""

which almost equivalent to """we don't have a solution for this
almost-two-years-since-its-release card"""

I have an troubleshooting ticket going on with their customer service,
but I won't get my hopes up...

The store won't take it back since it's not defective (by ATI's
standard anyway). Who knows one can have so much hassle dealing with a
product from a big-name company like ATI...
 
Reodered for clarity.
Kevin Ch said:
Thanks for the reply. This entry describes exactly the problem I've
been experiencing when installing MMC:
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=19519

However, it's discouraging to see what ATI has to say about this
problem:

"""ATI Customer Care is aware of the issue and is investigating."""

which almost equivalent to """we don't have a solution for this
almost-two-years-since-its-release card"""

I have an troubleshooting ticket going on with their customer service,
but I won't get my hopes up...
Click to expand...
ATI's support is a thread in itself. I don't have the TV Wonder USB 2.0 so
can only give generic help. I was hoping someone who has the device would
post.
I googled the error number 0x80040705 from the ATI webpage and it appears to
be an installer issue. AuthorScript(Sonic) from my AIW disc didn't install
properly until M$ issued an update to the installer last year. Make sure you
have that through Windows Update.
MMC_ENU.EXE is the actual mmc file. MMC_UCI.EXE is the DAO file. DAO is a
shared component of Microsoft Office. I saw a lot of posts for Office 2000.
Do you have it installed? Most of the posts I saw were dated last year or
earlier.

This is what I would do to try to make sure the drivers are installed
properly. Make sure you're connecting to a USB2 port. Some of your ports may
only be 1.1. Look in Device Manager and see if any of your USB2 ports are on
their own IRQ or if you have one that the other devices on the IRQ can be
disabled at least for testing.
Disconnect the TV Wonder USB 2.0 then uninstall and clean all of the ATI
stuff from the computer per info on ati.com/install. Registry, Program Files
folder and Windows Temp folder.
Remove the M$ USB drivers, reboot and let Windows reinstall them. I've had
problems with them before that this fixed.
Reinstall the software from the webpage. You'll need the CD for the DVD
decoder.
Only then connect the TV Wonder USB 2.0 to the (hopefully) unshared USB2
port.
ATI's webpages, as you'd expect from them, aren't updated as often as they
should be so they may have the answer even though it's not posted. W2K/XP is
much better that their predecessors but they still have problems. Don't
automatically rule out the O/S when you have a problem.
Good Luck
 
ATI's support is a thread in itself. I don't have the TV Wonder USB 2.0 so
can only give generic help. I was hoping someone who has the device would
post.
I googled the error number 0x80040705 from the ATI webpage and it appears to
be an installer issue. AuthorScript(Sonic) from my AIW disc didn't install
properly until M$ issued an update to the installer last year. Make sure you
have that through Windows Update.
MMC_ENU.EXE is the actual mmc file. MMC_UCI.EXE is the DAO file. DAO is a
shared component of Microsoft Office. I saw a lot of posts for Office 2000.
Do you have it installed? Most of the posts I saw were dated last year or
earlier.
Click to expand...
I don't have Office 2k, although I do have Office XP. But I had DAO
installed properly (from the companion CD). It's only the MMC and the
WDM driver that are bugging me.

Thank you for your detailed reiterate of the installation process,
although I do believe I followed their instruction closely.
Nevertheless I would try it again.

I got a reply from ATI's customer service, and their explanation is
because my laptop doesn't come with USB2 ports on the motherboard level
(I am using PCMCIA card that gives me USB2 ports), and their product
only supports USB2 on the motherboard level...
Shouldn't that be stated clearly on the box?

Well...anyways, I don't really think that is the problem though. I
*am* getting the pictures; it's just the sound that I don't have.

I wonder has anybody been in the same situation as I am (i.e. TV Wonder
USB2 on a PC card)

Thank you again for the replies.

Regards,

Kevin
 
Kevin Ch said:
I don't have Office 2k, although I do have Office XP. But I had DAO
installed properly (from the companion CD). It's only the MMC and the
WDM driver that are bugging me.

Thank you for your detailed reiterate of the installation process,
although I do believe I followed their instruction closely.
Nevertheless I would try it again.

I got a reply from ATI's customer service, and their explanation is
because my laptop doesn't come with USB2 ports on the motherboard level
(I am using PCMCIA card that gives me USB2 ports), and their product
only supports USB2 on the motherboard level...
Shouldn't that be stated clearly on the box?

Well...anyways, I don't really think that is the problem though. I
*am* getting the pictures; it's just the sound that I don't have.

I wonder has anybody been in the same situation as I am (i.e. TV Wonder
USB2 on a PC card)

Thank you again for the replies.

Regards,

Kevin
Click to expand...

Try reinstalling the sound drivers. MMC has always hosed the sound drivers
on my computer so that I always have to re-run the setup for the sound card,
and all is OK when done.
 
Kevin Ch said:
because my laptop doesn't come with USB2 ports on the motherboard level
(I am using PCMCIA card that gives me USB2 ports), and their product
only supports USB2 on the motherboard level...
Shouldn't that be stated clearly on the box?
Click to expand...
You didn't think going through a third party device was something you should
have mentioned in your OP. Amazing!
 
T said:
You didn't think going through a third party device was something you should
have mentioned in your OP. Amazing!
Click to expand...

Ok...sorry for your time then...

The fact is never had I have any problem with devices that are
connected through these PC card USB2 ports. And the fact that Windows
recognizes the device but the installer won't work, and the I can see
the pictures but no sound reflects poor engineering. I may have
overlooked my PC-card USB2 problems, but it won't change my view
towards ATI.

Sorry again if I've wasted your time...
 
Actually, I would not expect that you would have a problem with that.
For all intents and purposes, a PC Card USB port is the same as a
motherboard USB port. It's not like going through an external hub,
which some devices (HP printers among them) don't like.
 
Reordered for clarity
Barry Watzman said:
Actually, I would not expect that you would have a problem with that.
For all intents and purposes, a PC Card USB port is the same as a
motherboard USB port. It's not like going through an external hub,
which some devices (HP printers among them) don't like.
Click to expand...
Except for the card and I assume another level of drivers. I don't use PC
cards and probably wouldn't have posted if he had mentioned it. Doesn't seem
to happen so much any more but not too long ago people had problems with PCI
cards because of their M/B chipset drivers. Usually VIA.
Question is, is ATI,Toshiba, unnamed third party device mfg or Windows to
blame. What irritates me is it looks like he withheld the info to make ATI
look more culpable without regard to getting good help.
 
Barry said:
Actually, I would not expect that you would have a problem with that.
For all intents and purposes, a PC Card USB port is the same as a
motherboard USB port. It's not like going through an external hub,
which some devices (HP printers among them) don't like.
Click to expand...
I would expect the same, but apparently it's a big deal...(or not?)


T said:
Except for the card and I assume another level of drivers. I don't use PC
cards and probably wouldn't have posted if he had mentioned it. Doesn't seem
to happen so much any more but not too long ago people had problems with PCI
cards because of their M/B chipset drivers. Usually VIA.
Question is, is ATI,Toshiba, unnamed third party device mfg or Windows to
blame. What irritates me is it looks like he withheld the info to make ATI
look more culpable without regard to getting good help.
Click to expand...

Excuse me for being a little whiny after several days of
frustration...I didn't suspect the PC card in the first place, (and it
may as well not the problem with it after all.) However, If I had the
intention to derogate ATI's name by withholding "important"
information, would I still mention it in the follow-up email? Good
thinking! I'm no more than an ordinary consumer who expects
everything to work out-of-the-box from a big-name company. Sorry if I
irritated you, but what irritates me is now it looks more likely to me
that you're an ATI'er or at least an ATI fanboy that goes restlessly
after people and second-guess their intention of posting. If you're
not in those categories, I take my word back, and PLZ accept my
sincerely apology for wasting your time and ticking your nerve! I mean
it.
 
Re: "I'm no more than an ordinary consumer who expects everything to
work out-of-the-box from a big-name company."

Ah, now we know the real problem. You have unrealistic and unreasonable
expectations. All you need is an "attitude adjustment" and everything
will be fine. Well, the card still won't be working, but at least you
won't be complaining about it.

:-)

:-(
 
Kevin Ch said:
I would expect the same, but apparently it's a big deal...(or not?)




Excuse me for being a little whiny after several days of
frustration...I didn't suspect the PC card in the first place, (and it
may as well not the problem with it after all.) However, If I had the
intention to derogate ATI's name by withholding "important"
information, would I still mention it in the follow-up email? Good
thinking! I'm no more than an ordinary consumer who expects
everything to work out-of-the-box from a big-name company. Sorry if I
irritated you, but what irritates me is now it looks more likely to me
that you're an ATI'er or at least an ATI fanboy that goes restlessly
after people and second-guess their intention of posting. If you're
not in those categories, I take my word back, and PLZ accept my
sincerely apology for wasting your time and ticking your nerve! I mean
it.
Click to expand...
ATI's support is lacking but who's isn't? Your OP was good enough I didn't
realize you were new to the computer world. You had a computer then you
added a PC card and the ATI device. Now you have a computer system. You
wouldn't be able to afford products from a company that provided total
support for everyone's system.
Back in the early days of consumer computing a man shot a dealer to death
because he couldn't make a computer and printer work together, even though
he had not bought either item there. Don't let frustration keep you from
making good decisions.
Are you looking at Toshiba, unnamed third party device mfg or Windows for
fault?
Rhetorical questions. I'm out of this.
 
Barry said:
Re: "I'm no more than an ordinary consumer who expects everything to
work out-of-the-box from a big-name company."

Ah, now we know the real problem. You have unrealistic and unreasonable
expectations. All you need is an "attitude adjustment" and everything
will be fine. Well, the card still won't be working, but at least you
won't be complaining about it.

:-)

:-(
Click to expand...

Well...I made the OP after several days of frustration with this
product, and I thought I was entitled to get a little upset after
spending so much out of my limited income as a co-op student and not
getting what I had expected. Now I'm accepting the fact that it won't
work on my current machine, and I'm not resenting nor am I worried
about anything except for irritating somebody, which I had not
expected.

I totally agree a customer should do as much research as he or she can
before a purchase. But I can't agree that getting what people had
expected from a big company is unrealistic and unreasonable. In my
case, for example, I don't think it's too much to ask ATI to put a side
label stating it doesn't work for PC card USB ports (if that's really
what has been causing the problem), since external products are mainly
for laptop users and two years ago (which is when the product has been
released) M/B level support for USB2 was not a prevailing norm as it is
today. Anyways...
 
T said:
ATI's support is lacking but who's isn't? Your OP was good enough I didn't
realize you were new to the computer world.
Click to expand...
Sorry I'm not new to computers (I'm a programmer, although I admit I'm
not that knowledgable in hardware). If you think only a newbie can
make complaints than you're dead wrong.
Back in the early days of consumer computing a man shot a dealer to death
because he couldn't make a computer and printer work together, even though
he had not bought either item there.
Click to expand...
OK. That's a pure radical case which is neither here nor there...
Don't let frustration keep you from
making good decisions.
Click to expand...
That I'll take as a friendly suggestion. Thanks.

Rhetorical questions. I'm out of this.
Click to expand...
Sorry to brought (or "lure") you into this in the first place.
 
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