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Trouble installing the December MSDN Library

I received the latest MSDN DVD distribution the other day. The package included the December 2006 version of the MSDN Subscriptions Library. When I try to install this updated version of the library my XP/SP2 system totally hangs trying to do something on/with the DVD. If I put the DVD in a system that does not have VS 2005 installed and does not have any previous version of the library installed I can read the DVD without any problems.

My question is has anyone else seen this problem with the December library? If so, have you found any workarounds other than to stay with the previous library version?

Thanks
Neil

[628 byte] By [NeilL] at [2007-12-30]

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# 1

Hi NeilL,

Just a suggestion and first step in trying to solve your problem...

Have you tried eliminating the DVD player on your machine as the cause of the problem?

Try going to a machine where you can read the the DVD as you've mentioned and share its DVD drive with permissions for yourself as a user and for your machine.

Insert the MSDN December DVD in that machine and link to the shared DVD drive through your network from your machine.

If you can "see" the MSDN December Library DVD and start the install remotely from the shared DVD drive, then it may be your DVD player itself that's having the problem. Using a DVD cleaner to clear the laser may solve it.

Continuing with the hardware aspect, it may be that your DVD player it is incapable of reaching the speed necessary to read the MSDN December Library DVD. If it's an older model, this may be the problem. AIso, this may explain why other machine's DVD players (which may be newer models) are able to read it and not yours.

Hope this helps,

Kind regards,

Frank

FrankPalinkas at 2007-9-5 >

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# 2

Frank,
Thanks for the reply

It could be a problem with my DVD player however I'm able to read many other DVDs in the drive and I'm able to read/use the previous library version without any problem. Also, I have a second (backup) system where I have VS2005 installed and a previous version of the library installed. When I try the the December library setup I have the same issue ... so multiple systems, multiple DVD drives with the same failure. Now, both systems I tried also have Sonic "Drag to disk" installed which allows me to create CD/DVDs by dragging/dropping files to a formatted CD or DVD. It could be that there is something funny with the library DVD this time that is causing problems...but again I kind of doubt it.

That having been said, I'll run your test and see what I get.

Neil

NeilL at 2007-9-5 >

# 3

I am having the exact same problem with the exact same DVD. It works in a 2 year old TDK IndiDVD 880 on a 2 year old Dell Precision , but a 3 day old ThinkPad Z61p hangs and eventually has to be turned off. I too have successfully read several MSDN DVDs on the ThinkPad including ones from older shipments and one from a shipment received a couple days ago. By no means have I attempted to read every MSDN DVD I own, but this is the only MSDN DVD I have ever had trouble with on any machine.

I am interested to hear if anyone else is having this problem and what type of machine/drive they are using.

chanceu at 2007-9-5 >

# 4

I guess I should add that it does not matter whether I allow autorun to run or not. If autorun runs, it hangs. If I prevent autorun from running, it hangs the first time I try to access (run setup.exe or browsing with Explorer) the DVD.

chanceu at 2007-9-5 >

# 5

Just FYI, I tried disabling Sonic DLA on the DVD and on one system it seemed to make things better. I was able to open the DVD in Explorer and even install the library update. This was on an older T42p. When I tried the same on my T60p it made no difference. Still hangs and requires power off. I'm still a bit suspicious of the Sonic DLA causing the problem as I've found that DLACTRLW.EXE is one of the tasks (perhaps the only task but I can't tell) that is totally hung and can't be killed or forced out ... requiring the power off/on to recover. I've sent a query to Sonic/Roxio but don't really expect any response from them.

Neil

NeilL at 2007-9-5 >

# 6

Another update (if it helps).

I uninstalled Sonic DLA and then restarted my system. After that I was able to get to the December Library DVD without any problems. After reinstalling Sonic DLA the system would hang again....so, there must have been some change to the DVD format or content that is causing DLA big problems. Obviously, uninstalling DLA every time I want to use the library isn't going to work for me :) and I need to use DLA from time to time so I'm kind of stuck...but thought I'd pass along my findings just in case it is of help to anyone with the same issues.

Neil

NeilL at 2007-9-5 >

# 7

Hi Neil,

Thanks for your feedback. I'm sure it will be of help to others experiencing a similar problem now or in the future.

Just one more suggestion for you:

a) Have you tried shutting down the Sonic DLA service (from within the Services section of the operating system on your computer) and then proceeding with reading/installing the MSDN DVD?
b) Set the IMAPI CD-burning COM Service Startup Type to Manual or Disable?

Shut down the Sonic DLA service:

Turn off/disable Sonic DLA from your desktop icon or desktop toolbar.

Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services

Scroll down to the Sonic DLA service and double-click on it.

In the Startup Type section, change the setting to Manual or Disable (try setting each and then test the respective results)

In the Service Status section, click the Stop button.

Close the dialog box.

Reset the IMAPI CD-burning COM Service:

While still in the Services section, scroll to the IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service and double-click on it.

Set the Startup type to Manual (if this doesn't work, set it to Disable - you can reset it anytime you wish).

In the Service Status section, click the Stop button.

Close the dialog box, and all associated windows.

Maybe this will work instead of having to uninstall the Sonic DLA program for the next install of the MSDN Library? Also, you might try looking into another product similar to Sonic DLA, like Nero for instance. This is what I use and it's never given me a problem from inception.

Hope this helps,

Frank

FrankPalinkas at 2007-9-5 >

# 8

Thanks for the reply.

I'd really rather try to get an answer to what changed on the Library DVD that is causing DLA the issue in the first place or get Sonic to fix the issue with DLA..but I'll give the workaround you suggested a try.

Neil

NeilL at 2007-9-5 >

# 9

I'll bet that's my problem. My ThinkPad has Sonic and my Dell has an older version of Roxio. When I try to shut down my ThinkPad after the DVD hangs, I get an error about DLACTRLW.EXE not responding with the end now button.

chanceu at 2007-9-5 >

# 10

I just read a note (Document ID: MIGR-67267) on lenovo.com about Sonic

DLA not being compatible with Windows Vista. I wonder if any Vista

stuff has made it in to IE7 or Media Player 11 that is causing problems

under XP?

chanceu at 2007-9-5 >

# 11

I don't have IE7 installed on my system. I did have WMP11 installed but that was causing me some other issues with the RecordNow offering that IBM pre-installs in a thing called the "Multimedia Center for Think Offerings". In that case WMP11 seemed to be causing an exception on exit from RecordNow. I uninstalled WMP11 and now don't have that exception any longer.

By the way, I tried disabling DLA. When I did that I would get an "Access denied" error when trying to access my DVD drive. I had turn DLA off for my drives and then reboot. Once I did that I was able to get access to the library DVD but this reboot thing does not work for me. I think I'm going to stay with the old library until there is some real reason to move to a new version. Perhaps by then the various vendors/providers will have things sorted out :) .

NeilL at 2007-9-5 >

# 12

I didn't try to disable DLA, but I did uninstall all the Sonic stuff and the DVD worked without a problem. I checked my current PC and I don't know why, but I wasn't using DLA, so I figured I wouldn't miss it.

I also installed Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 (I know it's the same company now) and still have no problems with the DVD.

Thanks for the DLA advice.

NeilL: FYI..Lenovo just put out (2/13) a fix for the Multimedia Center for Think Offerings incompatibility with Media Player 11.

chanceu at 2007-9-5 >

# 13

Thanks for the pointer on the Multimedia center update. I downloaded what I thought was the current version just the other day... there must be another update available. I'll go looking for it.

Neil

NeilL at 2007-9-5 >

# 14

This is my first MSDN visit and note. I was seeking data on DLA. Problem on my Lenovo T60 is when I open the CD drawer (after formatting it for DLA storage, and copying files to the CD) I get "Please wait while your media is updated ...". Spent day or so and found suggestion to Start, My Computer, click on the CD drive, click on Properties, etc.... and set the options to NOT auto open the drawer. Even sat 15 min with the drawer shut after a copy-to-the-CD. But ALWAYS the T60 dumped into DOS (with message disappearing before I could read it), and a warm boot took place. No matter what I did ... still got same error message, but noticed that the dialog box the message was in had the word SONIC in it. Went to Sonic website ... found it most unhelpful ... just buy new version of something I did not want (also had no clue if it would remedy the original problem, or compound it with additional unwanted files). Asked dogpile for SONIC DLA and got to MSDN forum where at least some of the search words parallel my need. But here is what I want:

I want only DLA (I store photos and artwork and census images on CDs); so I can't see buying new Sonics "Creator" boxes. I feel Lenovo's original software worked, once. Can you help figure out just what I should remove in "Add/remove software" to get the drawer back to normal?

What I have also hit on, in my searching, is that if you have two packet-writing programs, you can have problems -- could mine be one of those? How do I find out if I have TWO such programs?

Not sure how (being new to MSDN) to get back into the forum and find any replies.

Kirby

Kirby6805 at 2007-9-5 >

# 15

With googling I have found that the DVD format of the Visual Studio 8 installation disk, and presumeably your disk cause Sonic DLA (DLACTRLW.EXE) and explore.exe to hang up consuming the CPU. You cannot eject the DVD or shutdown normally. There is a fix for the Sonic DLA hangup - http://docs.roxio.com/patches/d2d3290.exe
The patch file uninstalls Sonic DLA and replaces it with Roxio drag to disk.

Ed at 2008-2-5 >

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