DEP breaks Blu-ray playback (aka another reason why Vi(ru)sta sucks!)

[geomz]

OK, if you're like me and have tried to get Blu-ray playback set up on your rig and have been hitting your head against a wall because it simply won't work, please read on. (you can just scroll to the bottom if you want the short version )

I installed a new blu-ray drive in my machine
I got all the updates, firmware, bios updates, yada, yada, yada installed
I inserted my first blu-ray disk in gleeful anticipation.
I sat through a bunch of crappy FBI warnings, previews, and splash screens.
Then...... Nothing. No movie. No menu. Nada.
WTF!!!!
<insert several weeks of messing with Anydvd, powerdvd, codecs, video card settings, nvidia drivers, hdcp, reinstall just about every GD thing I can think of, still nothing>

Finally I decided “screw it, I'll rebuild everything from scratch”.
Reinstalled all my apps and yea blu-ray now works. Fantastic!

I then went to install an app that pissed off DEP. So I checked the only radio button option you have to disable friggin' DEP, "turn it on for all except". I added the app I was trying to install, then went back to play a blu-ray movie, and surprise... it won't play.

So long story, slightly shorter,
To fix it, you either need to select the radio button that turns on DEP only for Windoze apps or add your blu-ray player's exe to the list of excluded files.

I hope someone can benefit from my significant pain in trying to get this working :bang:

I'm running:
Windoze Vi(ru)sta with SP1
Anydvd
PowerDVD 7.3
Imgburn
Virtual Clone Drive

and I now finally have a usable blu-ray system!!!

 

[dpandkp]

Just a quick clarification, you spelled Vi(ru)sta wrong, it's Vista.

 

[odd_function]

Just a quick clarification, you spelled Vi(ru)sta wrong, it's Vista.

Just a quick clarification, He's reffering to Vista as a virus

 

[dpandkp]

Really? I didnt realize anyone had ever done that? Glad you got it working though!

 

[Adbear]

I've been using Vista for over a year with no real problems. The usual reason PowerDVD will play then freeze before the menu's is due to conflicts on your system (to many codecs etc). I tend to keep mine pretty clean and only have the stuff I need on it, I don't install these big codec packs or any other rubbish like that.
To your second point, it's not really Vista's fault as such if you turn on the DEP option to be on for everything except the items in the list and then don't add PowerDVD to the list. It does basically tell you in the option name that you have to add things to allow them to work

 

[geomz]

I've been using Vista for over a year with no real problems. The usual reason PowerDVD will play then freeze before the menu's is due to conflicts on your system (to many codecs etc). I tend to keep mine pretty clean and only have the stuff I need on it, I don't install these big codec packs or any other rubbish like that.
To your second point, it's not really Vista's fault as such if you turn on the DEP option to be on for everything except the items in the list and then don't add PowerDVD to the list. It does basically tell you in the option name that you have to add things to allow them to work

1) This was a brand new build so no other "rubbish" was on it

2) Personally I don't want DEP on at all. But that's not really an option is it. So, to install any application that pisses off DEP, you have to check that box. Regardless, DEP should not equal "randomly don't run an app without any warning or any reasonable way to interact with it". Or better yet, "go ahead and run the app, allow large portions of it to work, just make certain portions of it silently break".
That's why this is a DEP (and thus a Vista) problem.
It's not designed that you turn on that option, then add every EXE Vista could possibly ever run!

 

[Adbear]

What build of powerDVD were you running on the first time round and what film was it as that can make a difference on whether it would play back. Also you don't say what version of Vista because even that can make a difference. There are many factors that could have stopped it from playing, and these things also happen under XP (apart from the DEP)

 

[dpandkp]

You keep referring to this one program that "pisses" off DEP. That sounds like your problem there, not necessarily with Vista. What is this one program? Also, DEP was a part of XP too.

 

[geomz]

What build of powerDVD were you running on the first time round and what film was it as that can make a difference on whether it would play back. Also you don't say what version of Vista because even that can make a difference. There are many factors that could have stopped it from playing, and these things also happen under XP (apart from the DEP)

Originally I was using PowrDVD 7 Ultra that came with my drive.
I upgraded to 7.3.
But it doesn't matter Total Media Theater does the exact same thing as do all builds of power dvd.

I'm running home premium. Originally with no SP, then with SP1.

The movies ran the gambit from Spider Man 3, Stargate Continuum, Rataouille (sp?), etc. All the same.

You can continue to postulate that I'm an ignorant fool who has no idea what he's talking about, OR you can go test it for yourself.

I provided this information, because I know I saw people having very similar problems to mine and no amount of codec, hotfix, service pack, powerdvd install, install alternate app fixed it.

All factors being IDENTICAL. DEP ON = Broken blu-ray, DEP OFF = Happy blu-ray.

 

[geomz]

You keep referring to this one program that "pisses" off DEP. That sounds like your problem there, not necessarily with Vista. What is this one program? Also, DEP was a part of XP too.

The app doesn't matter, and has nothing to do with this.
The app never got installed (at first) since it pissed off DEP.
Thus why I had to make an exception for it, thus why I was messing with DEP, thus why I found this problem, thus why it's posted here

As an FYI, in this case it was Imgburn. But like I said the app does not matter. It could be any app that DEP happens to not like.

 

[dpandkp]

Interesting. I am using Vista Ultimate with SP1, imgburn, PD8 and PD7 Ultra both installed, and DEP isnt enabled or turned on. Now that I am not guessing at the validity of your statement, I am kinda curious. Was DEP enabled and then you put IMGBurn on and then it complained? Or did the process deviate a little bit?

 

[Adbear]

If you'd read my posts you'd see I am using it under Vista and have been for over a year with no DEP problems. I also asked what build of 7.3 you had been using as that makes a difference on whether disc will play properly. If you read around a few of my posts you'll learn I'm a system builder (we build video editing systems) so I'm pretty used to using Vista with PowerDVD and have never had to change DEP on either 7 or 8 to get it to work. And so far I've never installed any software that has given me cause to change the DEP settings from the default including Imgburn, that's why I'm asking so many questions as on the many different systems I've built I've never had any cause to change it.

 

[geomz]

Interesting. I am using Vista Ultimate with SP1, imgburn, PD8 and PD7 Ultra both installed, and DEP isnt enabled or turned on. Now that I am not guessing at the validity of your statement, I am kinda curious. Was DEP enabled and then you put IMGBurn on and then it complained? Or did the process deviate a little bit?

Out of the box Vista has DEP turned on for OS items only. But for some reason Imgburn's installer still managed to trip DEP. I'm not sure why, but I suspect that Vista saw something in the installer it considered "a windows protected file". (As an FYI, the version I was installing was 2.4.2)

At that point is when I went in to modify the DEP settings to allow Imgburn to install. (which required a reboot).

Keep in mind Imgburn is not actually installed at this point, the only change made was DEP.

During the rebuild process, I was constantly testing to see if/when blu-ray would stop working, for any change I made (however trivial).

That's how I found this, and can now reproduce it fairly easily

I even went back to my now defunct build (another HDD) and disabled DEP and voila, blu-ray works.

 

[geomz]

If you'd read my posts you'd see I am using it under Vista and have been for over a year with no DEP problems. I also asked what build of 7.3 you had been using as that makes a difference on whether disc will play properly. If you read around a few of my posts you'll learn I'm a system builder (we build video editing systems) so I'm pretty used to using Vista with PowerDVD and have never had to change DEP on either 7 or 8 to get it to work. And so far I've never installed any software that has given me cause to change the DEP settings from the default including Imgburn, that's why I'm asking so many questions as on the many different systems I've built I've never had any cause to change it.

Good for you! I wasn't questioning your resume. I won't question your resume if you don't question mine!

If you don't have this problem, then FANTASTIC! I could not possibly BE any happier for you. As I said, I'm reporting this problem because it was my experience, I'm pretty confident about it, and figured others could benefit from it.

So AGAIN, we can keep going back and forth OR you can go test it yourself.

 

[Adbear]

I already have on many systems with Vista, and I don't have to touch the DEP which is pretty much what I said in my previous post. I've used all the builds of PowerDVD 8 and from 3319a upwards of 7.3 and am also using the latest build of Imgburn and still have no problems. All we're trying to understand is what could be different on your system to ours as we don't get the problem. If you don't want to answer the questions then don't reply rather than starting to get nasty

 

[damnskippy]

DEP breaks BD playback in Vista, got it thanks.

I think the reason for the questions is not because it is doubted that DEP breaks BD playback but because of how you blame Vista for this. Plus to make the data truly useful for archiving additional info was needed.

 

[geomz]

......because of how you blame Vista for this.

DEP is a function of Vista that triggered this problem and silently caused a perfectly legitimate application to stop working. You're given no other facility to "disable" DEP except to turn it on for all applications and make one-off exceptions. Those exceptions are needed IF Vista told you DEP was unhappy about something in PowerDVD, which it did not. Leaving one to start down the wrong path, with hours of wasted time, dealing with the more obvious and mundane reasons why blu-ray doesn’t work (codecs, builds, vid drivers, etc).

Who would you blame?

Plus to make the data truly useful for archiving additional info was needed.

.
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To your second point, it's not really Vista's fault as such if you turn on the DEP option to be on for everything except the items in the list and then don't add PowerDVD to the list. It does basically tell you in the option name that you have to add things to allow them to work

I'm fine answering questions. When they were asked as questions, not stated as blatant dismissal of my process!

 

[Adbear]

How was that a dismissal? I pointed out that if you set it to that option then you would expect to have to add the programs into the list otherwise they won't work. It's very title states that.
And I did ask a few times what build PowerDVD 7.3 you were originally using as that could have had some bearing on why it didn't want to play discs.

 

[geomz]

How was that a dismissal? I pointed out that if you set it to that option then you would expect to have to add the programs into the list otherwise they won't work. It's very title states that.
And I did ask a few times what build PowerDVD 7.3 you were originally using as that could have had some bearing on why it didn't want to play discs.

It's dismissive because that is not how that interface is designed to work.
You only assume that it is. You are not expcected to put every possible exe your machine could ever run into that list. That's why it's an exception list. I have a sum total of 1 item in that list right now, and my machine is, now, working just fine. Want to guess which item it is

My gripe is about the fact that DEP, this entire time, silently killed certain portions of PowerDVD. If it behaved, like it does with other things that trigger DEP dialogs, then this would not be an issue.

 

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

geomz, maybe you might want to contact both Microsoft and Cyberlink and display your displeasure?