Common problem with jerky playback and static orange timeline marker

Scenestealer wrote on 3/1/2017, 4:30 PM

Just wanted to air my observations about the above problem widely reported across all versions of MEP, VPX etc.

This happened to me after returning home after several weeks away from my Desktop and I have commented on this in other posts.

The problem appears, as far as I can see and others in other languages have deduced, to be caused by a failed or uncompleted Windows update usually of the graphics drivers. A manual update of said drivers using the Nvidia or AMD installer that downloads with the driver package from the GPU manufacturers website using the Custom> Clean install option often remedies this but in this case it did not.

I was not on the latest VPX patch so tried that but no improvement.

At some point in this I discovered that W10 was down loading the latest 1607 build of the OS (which I had delayed last year but eventually W10 forces the download) so I let it install during which it restarts several times.

Problem solved but why?

Recent advice from FredW on the German forum is to turn off "Fast Start" in W10. Because this puts the system into a Hybrid Sleep state instead of turning it off completely, my guess is that this may not allow the driver or other update to complete as it would with a full Restart. This may explain a comment on another issue I saw by a Microsoft tech recently where he said that a Shut Down is not the same as a Restart, but no explanation as to why.

Only thing I can think is that the hard restarts caused by the OS build update allowed some component of the driver update to properly install, as opposed to just doing the driver update which does not trigger a restart and shutting the machine down only puts the machine into a Hybrid Sleep state if Fast Start is enabled.

A French member who had the problem in my Topic heading posted a solution he had from magix support which I have copied below FYI. This confirms some of my observation are on the right track:-

The driver for your Intel (R) HD Graphics 4600 graphics card is January 6, 2014. Please update by a more recent driver. To do this, use the Intel Update Drivers Utility if possible:

Http://www.intel.com/p/en/US/support/detect?iid=dc_iduu

I could not do that

Also update the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M graphics card:

Http://www.nvidia.com/download/driverResults.aspx/80982/en

I did this

[2.]
Your computer has two graphics cards and the system may use the Intel (R) HD dedicated graphics card (built-in motherboard) by default, try to force it to use the Nvidia card by default, I do not know If possible on your computer but try this:

In the Nvidia Control Panel.

In 3D Settings -> Manage 3D Settings, there are two possibilities to do either -> Power Management Mode and then select: Maximize Performance or -> Program Settings -> 1. Select a program to Customize: (put magix) -> 2.Select the graphics processor for this program (and there you choose the nvidia card).

I did the 2

[3.]
Check if the latest update of your MAGIX software has already been installed and if not install it. To do this, use the "Help" menu, "Online update".
Then restore the software defaults.
Start the software (Create a new project) then go to:

File> Settings> Restore default program settings.

And now it works as before. I asked why it happened, but no answer. I wish it could work for you too

I am interested to hear others opinion on this.

Cheers

Peter

Comments

johnebaker wrote on 3/1/2017, 6:38 PM

Hi Peter

. . . . Problem solved but why? . . . hard restarts caused by the OS build update allowed some component of the driver update to properly install . . . .

The restarts during a Windows update are cold starts ie the kernel and driver data is not saved on shutdown and the computer boots fully from a clean state.

Fast starts rarely causes an issue, one of the biggest issues actually caused by FastStart is, paradoxically, a slow boot up. Turning off Fast Start, rebooting and then turning Fast Start back on often fixes slow boot ups.

There is potential for another issue depending on your motherboard and power pack - a shutdown hibernates the kernel processes and stops the processor quickly, however it can take up to about 30 seconds or more for the RAM to lose all its data.

This means if you switch off and do a restart immediately after the computer power lights there is the potential for memory issues.

Windows updates

On my PC and laptop I invariably know when a Window update has downloaded and is ready to install - I get odd random behaviours with Windows eg lose sound when browsing, lose the cursor moving in MEP, lose network connection and sudden slow downs to name a few.

The Microsoft Intel drivers updates from Windows issue: I had this issue over 18 months ago, after upgrading to Windows 10 and having all sorts of issues with MEP and the Microsoft Intel drivers as well as registration/activation and many other issues with MEP, VPX and MMM, all fed back to Magix support, which led me to write the tutorial on fixing issues, after the upgrade, back in 2015.

Windows updates have also been known to knock out MEP, VPX and MMM the most obvious occurrence was when a security update, which lowered a users, permissions to a point where the programs could not check the registrations or the status of the mp4 codecs and needed to be run as Administrator mode - re-installing using the tutorial fixed this.

Cheers

John EB

Scenestealer wrote on 3/3/2017, 4:39 AM

Hi John

Thanks for the extra info.

So we are on the same page with the possibility that only using Shutdown (with Fast Start enabled) in Win10 could give rise to a situation where updates may not install properly causing subsequent problems in Magix programs?

A bit of googling possibly says it better than I could, from a website called How to Geek:-

When Fast Startup is enabled, your computer doesn’t perform a regular shut down. Since applying new system updates often requires a shutdown, you may not be able to apply updates and turn your computer off. Restart is unaffected, though, so it still performs a full cold shutdown and restart of your system. If a shutdown doesn’t apply your updates, a restart still will.

The German member FredW also suggests that improperly applied updates to C++ Runtimes and Dot Net frameworks could cause the stuttering playback and static playhead cursor problem.

Peter

johnebaker wrote on 3/3/2017, 8:21 AM

Hi Peter

. . . . improperly applied updates to C++ Runtimes and Dot Net frameworks . . . .

That should not happen unless there is a power issue and even then Windows should roll back the incomplete installation.

Also the C++ runtimes and .Net frameworks should not interfere with each other, software written in Visual C++ will use the runtimes they were compiled to use and ignore the others.

However there are exceptions eg using alternative compilers to create the code which does not follow strict adherence to runtime version usage.

John EB