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Home: Video University Forums: Sony DV and DVCAM Forum:
Slow HD on Sony VAIO with VX2000E

X-Jonathan_Lundqvist
Imported Account

Mar 18, 2001, 10:05 AM

Post #1 of 2 (412 views)
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Slow HD on Sony VAIO with VX2000E	Can't Post

Six month ago I purchased a Sony VAIO Z600NE, with windows 98 pre-installed. The first thing I did was to install Windows 2000, since 98 couldn't offer me what I needed. I installed the appropriate W2K drivers, downloaded from vaio-link and got it all working.
Now, I've taken my first steps to DV editing. Using a Sony DCR-VX2000E attached to the computer with firewire I try to capture video with Adobe Premiere 6 (beta).
My smallest problem is that device control doesn't work, but what's more; I drop alot of frames when capturing, and playback is scratchy and jerky.
This is what I’ve tried to resolve the problem:
1) Defragmented the drive
2) Tried outputting video via firewire to the camera, and on to a CRT.
3) Installed even more drivers, and other capture programs.
4) Verified DMA-access on the IDE-channel.
Still, I have the same problem. Since I know a lot of people use VAIO laptops for editing, it took me a while to even consider a hardware problem, but faced with no other option I decided to test my harddrives transfer rate - and the results are, ehum, interesting.
On a newly defragged disk, clean boot and no software loaded my transfer rates are:
* Sequential Read: 3,6 mb/sec
* Sequential Write: 3.3 mb/sec
* Random RW: 1.3 mb/sec
Knowing the datarate of DV, I can see now why it's not working. The HD just cannot keep up!
The disc is an IBM, and according to the specifications on their website it should be well fast enough (link at the very bottom).
Faced with this news, I decided to give Sony a call - asking them if there's something I've missed or if things are supposed to be this way. I've never been treated so badly before in my life. All the Sony guy said was "since you installed Windows 2000 on the machine Sony can't support it". I suggested that the HD was apparently broken - kaput, since this is obviously a transfer rate too slow to accept.
According to him if you installed /any/ third party software, they could not be held responisible for anything. Well, hey, thanks! I understand they cannot support third party products, but they should be responsible for building a computer that can acctually work. I wasn't even talking just about the operating system - sony don't guarantee the performance or even basic functionality of OEM software. In plain language: if you can't run MS Word on your new Ł3000 VAIO that's your problem. Bastards!
So, with Sony doing that I'm at the mercy of the user-community.
Please, have anyone installed W2K on a VAIO? Anyone recogicing my symptomes?
I've measured the transfer rate of other, similarly spec'ed, notebooks from Toshiba and Dell - and they skyrocket in comparison.
I used Performance Test to measure the HD (link at the very bottom).
Please help me!

/ Jonathan Lundqvist, Sweden
PS. A possible work-around i've considered is buying a firewire external disk, will that help? Can the DV and HD be on the same adapter?

IBM-drive
http://www.storage.ibm.com/hardsoft/diskdrdl/travel/tr12gn.htm
Performance Test
http://www.wrensoft.com/ftp/petst.exe (560 Kb)

X-mike_velte
Imported Account

Mar 18, 2001, 11:43 AM

Post #2 of 2 (412 views)
Shortcut

Re: Slow HD on Sony VAIO with VX2000E	Can't Post

: Six month ago I purchased a Sony VAIO Z600NE, with windows 98 pre-installed. The first thing I did was to install Windows 2000, since 98 couldn't offer me what I needed. I installed the appropriate W2K drivers, downloaded from vaio-link and got it all working.
: Now, I've taken my first steps to DV editing. Using a Sony DCR-VX2000E attached to the computer with firewire I try to capture video with Adobe Premiere 6 (beta).
: My smallest problem is that device control doesn't work, but what's more; I drop alot of frames when capturing, and playback is scratchy and jerky.
: This is what I’ve tried to resolve the problem:
: 1) Defragmented the drive
: 2) Tried outputting video via firewire to the camera, and on to a CRT.
: 3) Installed even more drivers, and other capture programs.
: 4) Verified DMA-access on the IDE-channel.
: Still, I have the same problem. Since I know a lot of people use VAIO laptops for editing, it took me a while to even consider a hardware problem, but faced with no other option I decided to test my harddrives transfer rate - and the results are, ehum, interesting.
: On a newly defragged disk, clean boot and no software loaded my transfer rates are:
: * Sequential Read: 3,6 mb/sec
: * Sequential Write: 3.3 mb/sec
: * Random RW: 1.3 mb/sec
: Knowing the datarate of DV, I can see now why it's not working. The HD just cannot keep up!
: The disc is an IBM, and according to the specifications on their website it should be well fast enough (link at the very bottom).
: Faced with this news, I decided to give Sony a call - asking them if there's something I've missed or if things are supposed to be this way. I've never been treated so badly before in my life. All the Sony guy said was "since you installed Windows 2000 on the machine Sony can't support it". I suggested that the HD was apparently broken - kaput, since this is obviously a transfer rate too slow to accept.
: According to him if you installed /any/ third party software, they could not be held responisible for anything. Well, hey, thanks! I understand they cannot support third party products, but they should be responsible for building a computer that can acctually work. I wasn't even talking just about the operating system - sony don't guarantee the performance or even basic functionality of OEM software. In plain language: if you can't run MS Word on your new Ł3000 VAIO that's your problem. Bastards!
: So, with Sony doing that I'm at the mercy of the user-community.
: Please, have anyone installed W2K on a VAIO? Anyone recogicing my symptomes?
: I've measured the transfer rate of other, similarly spec'ed, notebooks from Toshiba and Dell - and they skyrocket in comparison.
: I used Performance Test to measure the HD (link at the very bottom).
: Please help me!
:
: / Jonathan Lundqvist, Sweden
: PS. A possible work-around i've considered is buying a firewire external disk, will that help? Can the DV and HD be on the same adapter?
:
: IBM-drive
: http://www.storage.ibm.com/hardsoft/diskdrdl/travel/tr12gn.htm
: Performance Test
: http://www.wrensoft.com/ftp/petst.exe (560 Kb)
Windows 2000 has very poor hardware support. If Sony does not offer drivers for the motherboard/chipset/bios for W2000 your best bet is to go back to W98 Second edition.