To set up your computer, log on as Administrator. If your computer is set to automatically log on as a user, log off and log on again as Administrator.

Recommended settings

Further settings to reduce lost frames

Recommended settings

Configure a drive for saving movie files

Designate the drive on your hard disk to save movie files captured from or to be exported to DV devices^*.

Lost frames may occur when the hard disk is highly fragmented, making it difficult to read or write large amounts of data at high speeds when capturing and exporting movie files. To reduce this problem, reformat or optimize (defrag) the hard disk periodically to maintain sufficient blocks of free space where MovieShaker movie files are usually saved.

Use the D drive or some other drive for saving movie files. If the C drive is used for saving files, the hard disk is easily fragmented and may require a long time to defragment.

For models that do not have a factory set partition, create a drive for saving movie files before using MovieShaker.

^{* Before exporting a final movie product to a DV device, the
movie file is temporarily saved in the hard disk drive. The temporary
file is deleted automatically after exporting the movie product to a
DV device.}

Hint

Using MovieShaker requires sufficient free disk space in the drive where you save movie files.

To process files, you need disk space for saving data captured from DV devices, data created while processing movie files, and data to be exported.

Therefore, ensure that you have free space three times the size of the total data you want to save. The size criteria for movie files saved to the hard disk is 2 GB for approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds.

You can change the disk management method (basic disks and dynamic disks) if your system is running Windows 2000. However, it is recommended that you use the original factory set disk management method or the method after a recovery.

Activate hard disk DMA settings

Follow the steps below to activate DMA transfer on your hard disk. This minimizes the load on the CPU.

Select "Settings" from the Windows "Start" menu, and then click "Control Panel."

The "Control Panel" window appears.
Double-click "System."

The "System Properties" dialog box appears.
Click the "Hardware" tab, and then click the "Device Manager."

A list of the devices connected to the computer is displayed.
Double-click the "IDE ATA /ATAPI controllers," and then double-click the "Primary IDE Channel."

The "Primary IDE Channel Properties" dialog box appears.
Click the "Advanced Settings" tab. Confirm whether the "Device 0" of "Transfer Mode" is "DMA if available."

If it is not available, click the drop-down list, and click "DMA if available" to select it. DMA transfer is activated.
Click "OK."

When DMA settings are changed, the "Do you want to restart your computer now?" message is displayed. Click "Yes," and Windows restarts.

Note

If the "Current Transfer Mode" is "PIO Mode," capturing from and exporting to a device does not occur correctly, even though the "DMA if available" has been selected.

Setting the cache memory on your hard disk

Follow the steps below to set the cache memory.

Select "Settings" from the Windows "Start" menu, and then click "Control Panel."

The "Control Panel" window appears.
Double-click "System."

The "System Properties" dialog box appears.
Click the "Hardware" tab, and then click "Device Manager."

A list of the devices connected to the computer is displayed.
Double-click the "Disk drives."

The disk drives that are connected to the computer are displayed.
Double-click the disk drive for saving movie files captured from or to be exported to DV devices.

The "Maker Name/Model Number Properties" dialog box appears. (The disk drive is usually named as follows: "Maker Name/Model Number", depending on the computer.)
Click the "Disk Properties" tab. Confirm that "Write cache enabled" is checked.

If it is not checked, click to select the check box.

The cache memory becomes active.

When you have checked the check box, a warning message appears. Click "OK."
Click "OK."
Click in the "Device Manager" window.
Click "OK" in the "System Properties" dialog box.

Further settings to reduce lost frames

Lost frames may still occur despite the above settings.

Make sure you perform the following procedures to further reduce the occurrence of lost frames.

Disconnect all USB-interface peripherals

Some USB-interface devices (or their drivers) place a large load on the CPU, and may cause lost frames to occur.

If you experience lost frames and there is a USB-interface device connected to your computer, either disconnect the device from the computer or set the computer not to use it.

Exit all software

Exit all software currently running before starting MovieShaker. Also, deactivate or exit from software that regularly update their status and change their displays, such as screen savers or some printer utilities.

Create a sufficient block of free disk space on the hard disk

Run Disk Defragmenter or format the destination hard disk or hard disk partition for saving movie files captured from or to be exported to DV devices so that there is a sufficient block of free disk space available.

Please see Windows' online help for instructions on how to defragment or format a hard disk.

Disconnect your computer from the network

If you use a network adaptor, disconnect the network cable connected to the adaptor. You can also set up Windows not to use the network adaptor as a means of disconnecting your computer from the network.

Disable Active Desktop

Follow the steps below to disable Active Desktop.

Right-click the mouse on the desktop.
Point to "Active Desktop."
Uncheck "Show Web Content" if it is checked.

If the previous adjustments have not improved the situation, you might get better results following the steps below.

Virtual memory settings

See below to configure the amount of virtual memory that Windows uses. For further information, see Settings for virtual memory.

The "Initial size (MB)" and the "Maximum size (MB)" options should be the same amount, and should be 1024 MB or more.

(For example, when you enter "1024" in the "Initial size (MB)" option, you should set "Maximum size (MB)" to "1024."

Note

If the amount of virtual memory is small, problems may arise when executing commands of software. If this happens, increase the value of virtual memory.