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Logitech QuickCam software and DVD/CD drive issues

DrinkLyeAndDie

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If this is posted in the wrong area feel free to move it.

The other day I found out that Logitech had updated the QuickCam drivers and software [to v10.5.1]. I was still using v8.4.8 with my Logitech Orbit webcam. So, I updated. What resulted was far from good.

The reason I'm even posting this is because it totally messed up my DVD/CD drives. I ended up having Nero flake out on me and then my PX-760A wouldn't even recognize discs. Dr Watson definitely appeared a lot. Anything related to the drives was crippled. I rebooted and it still wouldn't read anything off the drives. It wouldn't even acknowledge me putting in a blank disc. I experimented and removed the QuickCam software and the problem went away. The issue isn't the new drivers... it's the software.

I did some web searches and found that it seems that the QuickCam software has had some serious issues since about v9.5 and apparently they haven't fixed them. The really sad part is the software has definitely improved in the quality of the the webcam, itself.

After reviewing my findings online and fiddling with my system I have resorted to disabling the System Service titled Process Monitor which is a Logitech Inc service. So far I've had no further issues. I'll report back if the problems return.

The entire purpose of me posting this is that it can cause major problems with AnyDVD, CloneDVD, CloneDVDmobile, CloneCD, etc. It's something to take into account in the event you have a serious issue with your drives and you happen to have the Logitech QuickCam software installed.
 
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I stay away from EVERYTHING with the Logitech name.
 
I stay away from EVERYTHING with the Logitech name.

Well, I've never been a fan of any of their products other than their webcams. I've never had a problem until I updated from v8.4.8 to v10.5.1. What a mess. I've had the webcam for like 2 yrs, I think. It's the stupid software causing the problem and I think I resolved it... it's working alright so far. The updated software definitely uses more memory, though. Joy.

I just wanted to make note of the issue for other Slysoft users who might have absolutely insane issues with their optical drives might also have a Logitech webcam. In my case that is all that was the main problem but I also had issues with shutting Windows down... I had to turn off the surge protector to turn it off sometimes. Ugh.

Bad bad QC on the software.

Edit: Actually, I forgot, I still have a old Logicech mouse... I think it was a MouseMan Wheel. I just use the Windows drivers for the mouse and it works beautifully. Even now I love that mouse when I play games like UT. Nice old-school ergonomics. It just simply rocks!
 
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Edit: Actually, I forgot, I still have a old Logictech mouse... I think it was a MouseMan Wheel. I just use the Windows drivers for the mouse and it works beautifully. Even now I love that mouse when I play games like UT. Nice old-school ergonomics. It just simply rocks!

Logitech mice and keyboards are very well respected in the PC Gaming industry. Most gamers are using Logitech mice (but you'll have to pry my Razer Deathadder mouse from my cold, dead hands: http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1300293&page=5).

Also the Logitech G15 keyboard is exceptional. I can't imagine gaming without it.
The great thing with Logitech mice and keyboards is if you bust them while they are under warranty, Logitech will send you a replacement often without you having to ship anything back to them (same goes for Microsoft, but I'd rather not feed that company any more of my money than I have to).

Sounds like messy drivers with that webcam though.
 
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... (but you'll have to pry my Razer Deathadder mouse from my cold, dead hands: http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1300293&page=5).

I have an older Razer Boomslang. Sadly, I never could learn to play with it. I tried for awhile I actually couldn't play well and ended up with some serious cramps. It was flatter not taller and ergonomic.

Also the Logitech G15 keyboard is exceptional. I can't imagine gaming without it.
The great thing with Logitech mice and keyboards is if you bust them while they are under warranty, Logitech will send you a replacement often without you having to ship anything back to them (same goes for Microsoft, but I'd rather not feed that company any more of my money than I have to).

I've heard good reviews but I just have a low opinion of their driver support in the past. At the time I got the webcam it was pretty much the best one rated and I had zero issues until now.

Sounds like messy drivers with that webcam though.

That's just it. There are two things to install: drivers and QuickCam software. The drivers are fine. It's the software that is foobared. I can leave the new drivers installed and remove the software and have zero issues. But, as I said, I think I found the problem and I disabled that service. I'll test it for a few days. I may just revert back to the old v8.4.8 software and see if it plays nice with the newer drivers.
 
I have an older Razer Boomslang. Sadly, I never could learn to play with it. I tried for awhile I actually couldn't play well and ended up with some serious cramps. It was flatter not taller and ergonomic.

I never liked the older Razer mice, precisely because they didn't fit my hand well. This new one is exceptional for right-handed users, and the side mouse buttons aren't raised annoyingly high like they are on the Logitech gaming mice (the Logitechs do have more buttons, but I don't find them useful--nor do I like scroll wheels that tilt sideways for horizontal scrolling; so this mouse is perfect for me). And the teflon feet is a nice touch. The previous review I linked to shows why it's the best gaming mouse, but if you're interested in the way it feels, then this review from IGN may interest you: http://gear.ign.com/articles/757/757992p1.html
The complaint that reviewer has about the no dedicated "on-the fly" dpi button is easily remedied via creating profiles through the driver software.



That's just it. There are two things to install: drivers and QuickCam software. The drivers are fine. It's the software that is foobared. I can leave the new drivers installed and remove the software and have zero issues.

Oh sorry, I misread your first post (skimmed too fast).

I haven't researched webcams, so I don't have an opinion.
 
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I never liked the older Razer mice, precisely because they didn't fit my hand well. This new one is exceptional for right-handed users, and the side mouse buttons aren't raised annoyingly high like they are on the Logitech gaming mice (the Logitechs do have more buttons, but I don't find them useful--nor do I like scroll wheels that tilt sideways for horizontal scrolling; so this mouse is perfect for me). And the teflon feet is a nice touch. The previous review I linked to shows why it's the best gaming mouse, but if you're interested in the way it feels, then this review from IGN may interest you: http://gear.ign.com/articles/757/757992p1.html
The complaint that reviewer has about the no dedicated "on-the fly" dpi button is easily remedied via creating profiles through the driver software.

Looks nice but so does the Microsoft Habu [made by Razer]. The DPI is better with the Habu but they don't mention the 1000 Hz Ultrapolling that is in the specs for the DeathAdder.

Thanks for the info. It'll likely be my next mouse purchase for gaming. For normal use I have a MS Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer v2 and a MS Wireless Multimedia keyboard in black and grey. I think they call it the Wireless Optical Desktop Pro. It serves my needs with being wireless for my current computer use but for games I still use the old Logitech MouseMan Wheel.
 
Looks nice but so does the Microsoft Habu [made by Razer]. The DPI is better with the Habu but they don't mention the 1000 Hz Ultrapolling that is in the specs for the DeathAdder.

Laser mice tend to suffer from issues that don't hamper infra-red (which is now the preferred choice for gaming mice) mice as much:

http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=8

"On paper this 2000 DPI mouse certainly does look like an awesome piece of hardware, as you'd expect for its hefty price-tag of £40, but it is let down by the laser sensor performance. My benchmarks show that the Perfect Control ends at a low speed of 1.04 m/s and Malfunctions not long after that at 1.15 m/s. That means players with low game sensitivity will have problems playing with this mouse, reaching the skipping point and experiencing random movements when they want to turn quickly."

And you can see where the Habu ends up getting ranked:

http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1300293&page=5


from http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=22
"Laser vs Optical
In almost every mouse review I've read, the writer makes the automatic assumption that laser mice must be better than optical. I imagine it's down to the perceived firepower of each word. No one ever destroyed an Imperial Cruiser with an LED gun. The performance benchmarks show that todays batch of laser mice can't keep up with the finely tuned optical ones. They do have slightly higher resolution, but not enough to make up for their poor performance at speed."
 
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Laser mice tend to suffer from issues that don't hamper infra-red (which is now the preferred choice for gaming mice) mice as much...
<snip>

Man, I've fallen behind when it comes to knowing much about mice anymore. I think the last real info I read up on was when I got the Boomslang and that was when it was originally the rage and before Razer went into bankruptcy. Definitely nice to see they got some outside help and pulled themselves back up onto their feet.

Times have certainly changed and so have the technologies. Thanks again for the info! :)
 
Thanks again for the info! :)

No problem. I don't recommend the other Razer mice, but for a no-nonsense (low-sensitivity based) gaming mouse, I do recommend the Deathadder. If you want lots of buttons and a side-scrolling wheel (or are left-handed), then look elsewhere. If you do happen to get it, update its firmware (as the latest firmware fixed issues; this is one reason I waited to buy this mouse until now).
 
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No problem. I don't recommend the other Razer mice, but for a no-nonsense (low-sensitivity based) gaming mouse, I do recommend the Deathadder. If you want lots of buttons and a side-scrolling wheel (or are left-handed), then look elsewhere. If you do happen to get it, update its firmware (as the latest firmware fixed issues; this is one reason I waited to buy this mouse until now).

Nah, I don't need a million buttons. I need a old-school scroll wheel, 2 buttons on the side and the left and right buttons on the top. That's enough to satisfy how I can kick butt in UT and other fast-paced games. And more than enough if I use it for standard use.

As much as I love a wireless mouse for normal use... I can't handle wireless when gaming which is why I still love my old Logitech mouse. It just simply works and works well and the thing is... probably 9 yrs old.

I have a few things I plan on getting first but the DeathAdder is definitely on the todo list!
 
As much as I love a wireless mouse for normal use...

I'm not a fan of wireless mice (which is yet another reason why I prefer Razer's Deathadder). While some might use li-on batteries, those batteries do eventually die (just like cellphone batteries). Otherwise, you're dealing with rechargeable batteries (some wireless mice do claim to last 90-120 days on a single AA battery, which isn't too bad I suppose), but wireless mice also tend to fall asleep and take a millisecond to wake up (a small pause, but a pause nonetheless). The Logitech G7 never falls asleep, but it also consumes more battery power as a result (which is why logitech provides you with 2 batteries that can be swapped out).

"Check the Logitech forums for more details about the G7 and it's battery hungry behaviour. Since it is billed as a "gaming mouse" the G7 only has active mode (LEDs on) and ready mode (LEDs off). Most, if not all, other mice have a final "sleep" mode after about 5-10 minutes where they will require a much more significant jolt to wake them up and start battery consumption back up.

Ostensibly, the reasoning behind this is that you can be secreted somewhere waiting to snipe someone for extended periods and don't want that split second "lag" for your mouse to wake up.

A simple test for this is to leave your G7 on for an extended period and check on its battery; it will have gone down due to the mouse never reaching a proper "sleep" mode."

from http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index....umber=1&msgcount=9&subpage=1&product_id=20627

I sometimes use a wireless Logitech VX Revolution for my notebook, since it is a bit more portable than the Deathadder (and that VX Revolution mouse fits my girlfriend's hand better when she wants to surf and check email when we travel); the (almost) frictionless scroll wheel is nice for scrolling quickly through long pages of code or documents, but it's certainly not a gaming mouse.
 
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Just a quick and final update. I've now been running my system for a couple days and I've experimented with ripping DVDs, editing them and burning them. I've suffered none of the absolutely insane problems with optical drives that I had when I first installed the QuickCam v10.5.1 software and found repeatedly when testing.

In order to have the latest drivers and not suffer system instability there are two options:

Option 1:

Install only the drivers and not both the drivers and the QuickCam software. They both come with the QuickCam software download. The webcam will still operate fine with other software programs but you'll, obviously, lose the ability to use Logitech's own software. I suppose you could also just use the drivers that appeared on Windows Update but I shy away from drivers that Microsoft offers on WU.

Option 2:

Install the drivers and the software but there are 2 things you need to know. When you start the install you'll be told in a list of directions to unplug your webcam. This is important! Do it! Now, install the drivers and software. When you get to the end of the install it will ask if you want to reboot now or later. Just hold on a minute and plug in the webcam! Wait for Windows to detect it and then select to reboot the computer. In my case when I did not plug the camera back in before restarting the computer literally wouldn't boot. I ended up with a nice black screen with nothing and had to unplug the computer. This happened 3 times until I thought that just maybe the problem was no camera was being detected! Nice that they morons didn't tell you to plug it back in before rebooting! Alright, so now the software is installed and the camera works. Here's the key part to make you system stable. Use MSConfig (Run | Start | msconfig | OK) and go to the Services tab, check the Hide all Microsoft Services - this shortens the list and you aren't looking for an MS one, anyway - and scroll down until you find the service by the name of Process Monitor with the Manufacturer listed as Logitech Inc and uncheck the box. Click Apply, then Close, and then save everything that is open that needs to be saved and Restart. Your system show now be stable with the updated Logitech software.
 
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