"sheppardwk" wrote in message
news
Windows XP SP 2 using WMP 11 to watch a DVD, or a video clip the movie
will
play for 30 seconds or so and then the screen goes blank. The audio
continues, but I'm staring at a slightly grey screen. No other way to
stop
it other than to turn the computer off. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Also, tried to use CyberLink Power DVD to view the DVD, same thing. After
a
brief viewing, the screen goes blank, but the audio continues.

Quicktime video files work fine, FLV files work fine.

#

Not enuff info.
Why haven't you updated to SP3 - You should.
Implied it is any DVD, that are proven to play in a standalone player or
another PC? And what type of video clip - mpeg? WMV? ???
In what media player do .flv files play fine? Is it VLC, then try the DVD(s)
in VLC, if they play OK, then it's not the DVD at fault. But as it happens
in PowerDVD as well, it could be a decoder issue, or registry corruption?
So when WMP or PowerDVD goes blank when playing a DVD, the actual
media player freezes the PC?
Any error messages?
Try disabling anti-virus + firewall software then attempt playback (make
sure you are disconnected from the evil of the internet before you disable
such software). If it plays OK with AV+FW disabled, I'd suspect a rootkit,
but you would have had plenty of previous warnings?
In the MS knowledge database the only listed and unhelpful solution is
this: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928898
But though that is specific to Vista, it is WMP11 and a known issue.
What spec is your XP computer, has it ever been able to play DVD's?