Since the board now supports "Hot Topics" (keeps popular threads up at the top), I thought there should be one to for us to help each other with technical issues. (If Andrew doesn't mind it getting off-topic too much...) If anyone has a unique solution to a vexing computer problem, please share!
If, like me, you could never get your damned DVD software to work on your computer, you want to check this out. It might help.
I tried Windows' own DVD Player, I tried the DVD Player that came with my ATI video card, I even tried another downloadable trial program the name of which I've forgotten (but it was the one "guaranteed" to work). No dice. I was informed that the copy-protection safeguards in the programs were conflicting with something else--but even after I disconnected everything but the monitor, the assorted players still didn't work.
Then I found this. (http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/cinemaster.html)
The Qi Cinemaster DVD Player is described as a "bare-bones player," but not only does it do every you need it to, it looks quite nice without being obnoxious like so many "skinned" programs where the skin overwhelms the playing media. Best of all, it WORKED. For me at least.
The funny part: on its own, it doesn't work so well. I couldn't figure out why my Qi Player was suddenly suffering a lot of "flicker." A Google search found a page that stated that this was not correctable--but I knew it worked fine when I first installed it.
Then I remembered I has uninstalled the ATI DVD Player, because it was useless and I thought I didn't need it anymore. I re-installed it: bingo, the Qi Player worked like a charm again. THE QI PLAYER IS MISSING SOMETHING THE ATI PLAYER HAS, BUT THE ATI PLAYER ITSELF DOESN'T WORK. Go frickin' figure.
Bonus: the Qi Player seems to be able to change regions repeatedly without hitting the "five change" limit. Not necessary for me--my PlayStation2 plays my Region 1 stuff, while I violently orgasm to "Futurama" (UK) and "Godzilla-Mothra-King Ghidorah" (Japan) on my PC. But it's good to know it's there!
No solutions, but I do have a couple problems I wouldn't mind hearing opinions on;
1. I have a Soundblaster 16 plugged into an ISA slot and like most sound cards, it includes a joystick port. The sound works fine in DOS programs even in pure DOS mode, but not the joystick. Joystick works fine in Windows98, but not in DOS.
2. My modem is an internal USR Courier V.Everything 56K ISA modem I bougfht used on eBay. Most of the time it works fine, but every so often it just locks up. Stops transferring data, won't hang up, won't respond to commands and if you pick up the phone, it's just emitting a steady tone. A reboot won't stop it, nor will a hardware reset, you have to turn off the power, then it's fine, until the next time. Before getting it, I had a USR 28.8 Sportster in that same slot and never had a problem with it. I tried it in a different computer and after a few days of use the same thing happened. I bought another used one, same type, plugged it into the second system, it did the exact same thing after a few days. All USR would say is that it sounds like a failing modem. Seems like an awfully big coincidence for two different modems to do exactly the same thing in two different systems. Any ideas? Anyone ever have this happen?