Nvidia 6800 and Roxio problems

I have an Evesham P4 computer with Nvidia 6800 256MB card running XP Pro SP2 and Evesham Viewsonic E72f+ digital CRT monitor. I normally keep the settings at 800x600 because I have eyesight problems and I use the maximum refresh this monitor allows which is 85hz because I cannot take even the slightest flicker. I do not normally have video problems.

However when I try to use the Roxio Easy Media Creator basic which came bundled with the computer it insists on going to 1024x768 res and downgrading my monitor to 60hz refesh. This afternoon I thought I would set my monitor at 1024x768 myself so I could make sure it was left on 85hz and it looked fine but when I fired up Roxio it first of all set my res at 640x480 which is not normally available in XP then it went to 1024x768 and shrunk my viewing area square with a pinched effect. I closed Roxio and rebooted but the screen still came up squeezed in the middle with a pinched effect. I tried setting different res in turn but each came up with the same smaller pinched viewable area so I did a system restore and everything is back to normal but have not tried Roxio again yet.

What I would like to know is the issue with Roxio, XP or my video card? Would I be better off with Nero as I never had any problems with Nero version 5.5 on my other XP computer which also runs a Nvidia card albeit only 64mb. I need to burn some DVD backups and save my digital photographs to disc but I cannot do this on the other computer because it does not have a DVD burner.

Sounds like you have Media Creator 7? I don't believe 8.0 gives this prompt. either upgrading to Media Center 8.0 or switching to Nero should resolve this. For now, if you get Nero, stick with V. 6.x; 7.0 seems to have some major bugs.

In the past, I've preferred Nero, but some of my experiences with V. 7.0 and even some of the components of Nero 6.x have just about exhausted my patience.

The exact product on my computer is Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 Basic DVD Edition and if I do not obey the prompt and let it go to 1024x768 it refuses to run!

Thank you for your comments on Nero 7, no wonder PC World are offering it at half price. I was not aware there was a version 8 and will follow this up.

EDIT: I have now taken Roxio off completely as it did it again only this time I set a Restore Point for that possibility so I could go back to just before I tried Roxio. I am going to install the Nero 5.5 from the CD which came with my older XP Home computer, at least I can burn CD backups until I buy sonething else. Might be able to upgrade my Nero 5.5 online once I have it installed.

I have been playing around with Roxio 7 and have found a workaround.

First of all on installing it comes up in compatibility mode "run at 640x480" by default. This is what caused the application to first go to that res then to 1024x768. I unchecked the 640x480 box and ran it again but when it goes to 1024x768 automatically it still shrinks the screen to the middle. I had to go to the instal restore point to get my screen back. This also removed Roxio and I repeated the process again with same effect.

Solution is to set the res to 1024x768 myself before running the application. I do not like being forced to use a res I find hard to see even with glasses and a strong desk lamp but at least the screen is as it should be this way. I can at least burn my DVDs now.

Right, ML, but what I'm saying is that either switching to Nero or upgrading to Media Creator 8 will let you use a lower, more readable screen resolution. The requirement to run Media Creator at 1024x768 is strictly a v. 7.0 thing. Sorry if I was confusing.