Tom said:
So you have the 9.13 version of TV running in the upper left corner of Guide
Plus the way it should?
Yeah, I can make it run in the upper left corner, but not the way it should.
I wasn't happy with the version of MMC I was running (executable named
9-08_mmc_enu.exe). My big complaint was that if I tried to schedule
more than one program to record via Guide Plus, the program would crash.
So I decided I'd just "install the latest drivers." That's what you
do, isn't it, when you want to improve your computer's performance?
Well that's what I've been doing for an awful lot of years, pretty much
with lot's of success. But not so much this time.
I have an AIW 9600 XT *and* an HDTV Wonder. I learned some time back
that the easiest way to avoid headaches when installing ATI drivers and
software on my setup is to do this:
1) Crack the box and pull that HDTV Wonder out of its slot.
2) Boot and run the ATI utility that removes all ATI software from the
computer
3) Reboot and insure WinXP installs whatever basic VGA drivers it wants.
I go to device manager and right-click on "Home" (top of the column)
and search for new hardware. This installs ... stuff. I dunno. Just
stuff. Whatever it is, though, it seems to prevent that "first you must
install VGA drivers" error message. I think.
4) Install Catalyst 6-2_xp-2k_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_30152.exe (35,582 KB)
5) Install DAO/MDAC 6-2_xp-2k_dd_ccc_wdm_enu_30152.exe (41,905 KB)
Now notice something here -- these two files have the same filenames,
but their file sizes are different. And I downloaded both of them the
same day from the ATI site. So what's up? How come they're the same
but different? How come one is "Catalyst" and the other is "DAO/MDAC"?
How come the ATI site can't CLEARLY EXPLAIN this right out front
where the explanation is easy to see? If you download this, you don't
need that unless you want this other thing in which case you need that
after all. How come they can't say that? Huh? Huh? How come? It's
no more confusing than the way the drivers site is currently laid out.
<grumble>
6) Install Remote Wonder II. 3-03_rw_enu.exe Hey, it works!
7) Download and install the DVD decoder using my home-made ISO of the
original installation disk for verification cuz the ISO is always easier
to find than that stupid disk.
8) Skip the "encoder" installation cuz I have no kids to protect.
9) Install the HDTV Wonder drivers 6-1_hdtv_83-2036_wdm.exe
Now I gotta say I'm not too sure about this step. But I did it and it
seemed to work. Did it overwrite something important? I dunno. But it
seemed to work. Seemed.
10) Turn off the computer and put that HDTV Wonder card back in its slot.
11) Reboot, and note that the computer *doesn't* find new hardware. Now
why is that? I dunno. But everything seems to be working.
12) And now -- ta dah -- it's time to install the Multimedia Center,
9-13_mmc_enu.exe. And when I choose custom setup to see what's about to
be installed, I notice it's installing only a TV, but not a DTV. Groan.
13) So now there's lots of installing and re-installing and re=-seating
cards and wondering why on earth WinXP isn't detecting both the AIW and
the HDTV Wonder tuners. I even notice drivers for both seem to be
installed in Device Manager, but the Multimedia Center installation
package just isn't seeing both. Groan ... so I just go ahead and
install MMC.
Doesn't take too long to figure out that the new Multimedia Center
software has put both the AIW and the HDTV Wonder under one roof. Want
to change between them? Just choose different inputs. Neat? Oh, no,
not at all. If you try to cycle among the various inputs, there are
some that turn the screen black and leave you with no option but to
reboot. Takes a while to figure out you can right click and get a menu
of inputs so you can choose just AIW or HDTV and leave the other nasties
alone.
13) Now install Guide Plus. It seems to work. Downloaded the the guide
and it installed. But in order to get the video in the top left corner
where it belongs, I have to start TV first and then start Guide Plus.
This sucks. Yes, I seem to be able to select more than one program to
record in Guide Plus, but the weirdness of the new drivers and software
is just not worth it. I'm going back to my Ghosted previous version.
The new ATI drivers and software suck. REALLY suck.
