4.6 (Samsung): Impossible to play video, games stutter after trying to - any ideas?

Gamer · 10-15-2009, 02:46 PM

As I indicated in the thread about 5.2 Beta, I went back to the "official" Samsung driver 4.6. But I still have severe problems...

I still haven't managed to play a single video file (on the main screen) with the U70 attached. The main screen flickers extremely, and there is no video shown (only audio). I tried several players and file types, but the result is always the same.

What's more: After attempting to play a video, something seems to be broken and all games run in slow motion or won't even start up at all!

It doesn't even help to deactivate or even unplug the U70, all that helps is a reboot. Only then can I play games again.

Playing videos on main screen is absolutely impossible? I cannot imagine that this has to be like this, it makes my DisplayLink device rather useless.

Configuration: XP SP3, GTX 260, 1st display: 24" Digital, 2nd: U70 USB driver 4.6, 3rd: 19" Analogue

EDIT:

Now it got even better: I decided to return the U70, since I'm not willing to waste more time on this beta technology. But I cannot uninstall the software anymore ("severe error" when trying to), and its remains still prevent me from watching any videos on my other screens! No video (see above) and then a BSOD from nv_disp.dll. I am aware this is the Nvidia driver, but it's definitely the DisplayLink software causing the problem.

In Device Manager (and only there) I still see 3 (!) monitors which claim to be connected to my GTX 260. Those are definitely remains of the DisplayLink software which obviously interacts with other display drivers due to some severe bugs - which is fatal, as you can see from my experiences here.

I'd be really grateful for any hints on how to get rid off the software once and for all!

Martin · 10-18-2009, 09:56 AM

Hi Gamer,

From your post in another thread, I can see that you're receiving a message informing you that DisplayLink Core Software cannot be uninstalled because it is in use.

This is usually a valid message, and means that you must remove all customer packages first. Please take a careful look through your program and features list, and uninstall the programs that say "DisplayLink Software", "DisplayLink Public Software", "DisplayLink EarlyAccess", "Samsung UbiSync Monitor". By removing all the customer branding packages, the DisplayLink Core Software product should be removed automatically.

If you cannot find any of these entries, please export (that is, make a copy to a file) the HKLM\Software\DisplayLink registry key tree and post it here.

Regards,
Martin.

Martin · 10-18-2009, 09:58 AM

For XP, you should look in "Add/Remove programs", not Programs and Features (which is Vista/Win7).

Gamer · 10-18-2009, 02:17 PM

Ok, you got me there... I indeed overlooked the separate entry for "Samsung UbiSync" monitor - which is really, really easy though in my opinion! When you have a really long list of programs like me, the letter "S" is very far from "D", and of course I never looked down there since I didn't even expect another entry related to DisplayLink except "Core" and "Graphics"! The readme's should really mention specifically that uninstalling "everything DisplayLink" is not enough but that the USB device has an additional entry of its own! I (still) consider myself a pro user with lots of experience (also in fixing things), and if I went into this trap I don't find it unlikely that others may as well...

I discovered this on the second machine. For the other (main system) on which I did a system restore there are no entries at all - but still 3 additional monitors in device manager and your registry key is still there as well, so the question remains for me why DL software is not just completely removed when reverting to a restore point before installing DL drivers.

Anyway, I'll try to install one of the drivers again (even though the device has long been sent back) since it cannot get any worse with the video playback, and then try to uninstall that one including the "undocumented" entry. I'll post here about results, thanks for now.

EDIT: Well, I think I can actually forget about that because if I don't have the device anymore, no entry for "Samsung UbiSync" will be made, correct? Or will the driver recognise the mysterious 3 additional monitors and remove them when uninstalled? I'm now getting hesitant again because at one point during my long sessions, I couldn't access my GTX 260 anymore - it was just impossible to install drivers for it (VGAsafe driver only). I'd rather wait for more info before trying this... A solution for people who stopped using DL devices and now want to remove them completely without owning them anymore.

The registry key as it is now on this machine (with "apparently" nothing installed):

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\DisplayLink]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\DisplayLink\Core]
"AddOnApiFileLocation"="<NOT_IN_USE>"
"AddOnApi64FileLocation"="<NOT_IN_USE>"

Martin · 10-20-2009, 08:46 AM

Hi Gamer,

I see in another thread you're awaiting a response. Unfortunately, we don't get notifications for edits to posts.

The lack of (nearly) everything in the registry for DisplayLink shows that the software is pretty much completely uninstalled. Regarding the monitor issue, I'm not entirely sure what this is - could you post a screenshot (also expand the "Display Adapters" tab for information)? If these are the things in device manager under the "Monitors" tab, it is perfectly safe to remove these and initiate a search for new hardware afterwards.

Martin

Gamer · 10-20-2009, 02:02 PM

Here are some screenshots:

As you can see, the 3 extra monitors are only visible in the device manager and allegedly connected to my main video card.

During the long hours trying to get rid off this driver, I already once tried to remove the monitors from device manager. Result: Reboot required, after that: GTX 260 is not accessible anymore (VGAsafe driver). Impossible to install a driver for it, impossible to uninstall the old one (even in safe mode!). That's why I used system restore in hope everything would be gone!

But it is not - I still have the same symptoms when trying to play video as I had with the driver "really" installed!

If you say the driver is gone according to registry, then it must have left something severely messed up. Something that also affects the Nvidia card drivers.

Martin · 10-20-2009, 04:10 PM

Hello,

I cannot see anything that should cause an issue now. I would suggest you reninstall the nVidia graphics drivers.

I'm sorry your problem is quite severe, but with everything related to displayLink removed, there is little else I can do.

Best of luck,
Martin.

Gamer · 10-20-2009, 09:03 PM

Ok, to my surprise, that simple step did it. The leftover 3 monitors are still there, but I can finally stop watching videos in a VM after 1 week.

However, this also proves in my opinion that the DisplayLink software fiddles around with the main graphics drivers - and may break them in a strange way.

Just out of curiousity: In what way is your driver interacting with the main graphics hardware? I mean actually there shouldn't be a reason? Back in the old days, I used an additional PCI card to have a second display. The drivers acted totally independent from one another. I thought the same should apply to DisplayLink hardware, which is "a virtual graphics card on a chip behind the display"? And why this additional entry for the monitor under "Programs", but not in device manager, where it puts even three monitors of which you then see only one in display properties? It all seems a bit weird to me, but maybe I can get the logic behind if it is explained to me...

Thanks for now, back to watching videos...

Martin · 10-21-2009, 09:19 AM

Hi Gamer,

We do indeed install a virtual graphics adapter, and under XP you will see this as "DisplayLink Graphics Adapter" in the "Graphics adapters" section of Device Manager. We do not "take over" the native graphics adaper on XP, but there can sometimes be interoperability issues with native drivers that do not expect to be installed along side other drivers. This is rare and more commonly small applications like CCC or the intel graphics properties applications have problems with multiple drivers. This is something that is very difficult for us to address.

The "Samsung Ubisync Monitor" in Add/Remove Programs is there because you installed the 4.6 version from the samsung cd. This is absolutely as designed. The customer is not expected to know that to uninstall their Samsung Ubisync monitor they should unstall "DisplayLink Core Software", as they may well have no idea who or what DisplayLink is. You will have been affected due to your experience and participation on the beta program where software is branded as "DisplayLink Graphics". There is a request to remove the "DisplayLink Core Software" entry, but there are both positives and negatives to this.

Unfortunately I have no idea why there are several monitors listed in Device Manager, but as far as I can tell, it will have no adverse affect on your system.

Best Regards,
Martin

Gamer · 10-21-2009, 07:26 PM

Thanks for the information!

Since you've really tried your best to resolve my problems (even though I was quite mad and had already returned the unit a week ago), I now have gained some confidence in DisplayLink, so maybe next year I will try your technology again with another device.

View Poll Results: I can...
...run videos on my non-DL screen with DL drivers installed without problems	1	100.00%
...not run any videos on my non-DL screen with DL drivers installed	0	0%
Voters: 1. You may not vote on this poll

10-15-2009, 02:46 PM	#1
Gamer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12	4.6 (Samsung): Impossible to play video, games stutter after trying to - any ideas? As I indicated in the thread about 5.2 Beta, I went back to the "official" Samsung driver 4.6. But I still have severe problems... I still haven't managed to play a single video file (on the main screen) with the U70 attached. The main screen flickers extremely, and there is no video shown (only audio). I tried several players and file types, but the result is always the same. What's more: After attempting to play a video, something seems to be broken and all games run in slow motion or won't even start up at all! It doesn't even help to deactivate or even unplug the U70, all that helps is a reboot. Only then can I play games again. Playing videos on main screen is absolutely impossible? I cannot imagine that this has to be like this, it makes my DisplayLink device rather useless. Configuration: XP SP3, GTX 260, 1st display: 24" Digital, 2nd: U70 USB driver 4.6, 3rd: 19" Analogue EDIT: Now it got even better: I decided to return the U70, since I'm not willing to waste more time on this beta technology. But I cannot uninstall the software anymore ("severe error" when trying to), and its remains still prevent me from watching any videos on my other screens! No video (see above) and then a BSOD from nv_disp.dll. I am aware this is the Nvidia driver, but it's definitely the DisplayLink software causing the problem. In Device Manager (and only there) I still see 3 (!) monitors which claim to be connected to my GTX 260. Those are definitely remains of the DisplayLink software which obviously interacts with other display drivers due to some severe bugs - which is fatal, as you can see from my experiences here. I'd be really grateful for any hints on how to get rid off the software once and for all! Last edited by Gamer; 10-15-2009 at 06:56 PM. Reason: Nightmare drivers

10-18-2009, 09:56 AM	#2
Martin Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 75	Hi Gamer, From your post in another thread, I can see that you're receiving a message informing you that DisplayLink Core Software cannot be uninstalled because it is in use. This is usually a valid message, and means that you must remove all customer packages first. Please take a careful look through your program and features list, and uninstall the programs that say "DisplayLink Software", "DisplayLink Public Software", "DisplayLink EarlyAccess", "Samsung UbiSync Monitor". By removing all the customer branding packages, the DisplayLink Core Software product should be removed automatically. If you cannot find any of these entries, please export (that is, make a copy to a file) the HKLM\Software\DisplayLink registry key tree and post it here. Regards, Martin. Last edited by Martin; 10-18-2009 at 01:41 PM.

10-18-2009, 02:17 PM	#4
Gamer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12	Ok, you got me there... I indeed overlooked the separate entry for "Samsung UbiSync" monitor - which is really, really easy though in my opinion! When you have a really long list of programs like me, the letter "S" is very far from "D", and of course I never looked down there since I didn't even expect another entry related to DisplayLink except "Core" and "Graphics"! The readme's should really mention specifically that uninstalling "everything DisplayLink" is not enough but that the USB device has an additional entry of its own! I (still) consider myself a pro user with lots of experience (also in fixing things), and if I went into this trap I don't find it unlikely that others may as well... I discovered this on the second machine. For the other (main system) on which I did a system restore there are no entries at all - but still 3 additional monitors in device manager and your registry key is still there as well, so the question remains for me why DL software is not just completely removed when reverting to a restore point before installing DL drivers. Anyway, I'll try to install one of the drivers again (even though the device has long been sent back) since it cannot get any worse with the video playback, and then try to uninstall that one including the "undocumented" entry. I'll post here about results, thanks for now. EDIT: Well, I think I can actually forget about that because if I don't have the device anymore, no entry for "Samsung UbiSync" will be made, correct? Or will the driver recognise the mysterious 3 additional monitors and remove them when uninstalled? I'm now getting hesitant again because at one point during my long sessions, I couldn't access my GTX 260 anymore - it was just impossible to install drivers for it (VGAsafe driver only). I'd rather wait for more info before trying this... A solution for people who stopped using DL devices and now want to remove them completely without owning them anymore. The registry key as it is now on this machine (with "apparently" nothing installed): [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\DisplayLink] [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\DisplayLink\Core] "AddOnApiFileLocation"="<NOT_IN_USE>" "AddOnApi64FileLocation"="<NOT_IN_USE>" Last edited by Gamer; 10-18-2009 at 02:26 PM.

10-20-2009, 08:46 AM	#5
Martin Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 75	Hi Gamer, I see in another thread you're awaiting a response. Unfortunately, we don't get notifications for edits to posts. The lack of (nearly) everything in the registry for DisplayLink shows that the software is pretty much completely uninstalled. Regarding the monitor issue, I'm not entirely sure what this is - could you post a screenshot (also expand the "Display Adapters" tab for information)? If these are the things in device manager under the "Monitors" tab, it is perfectly safe to remove these and initiate a search for new hardware afterwards. Martin Last edited by Martin; 10-20-2009 at 01:26 PM.

10-18-2009, 09:58 AM	#3
Martin Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 75	For XP, you should look in "Add/Remove programs", not Programs and Features (which is Vista/Win7).

10-20-2009, 02:02 PM	#6
Gamer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12	Here are some screenshots: As you can see, the 3 extra monitors are only visible in the device manager and allegedly connected to my main video card. During the long hours trying to get rid off this driver, I already once tried to remove the monitors from device manager. Result: Reboot required, after that: GTX 260 is not accessible anymore (VGAsafe driver). Impossible to install a driver for it, impossible to uninstall the old one (even in safe mode!). That's why I used system restore in hope everything would be gone! But it is not - I still have the same symptoms when trying to play video as I had with the driver "really" installed! If you say the driver is gone according to registry, then it must have left something severely messed up. Something that also affects the Nvidia card drivers.

10-20-2009, 04:10 PM	#7
Martin Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 75	Hello, I cannot see anything that should cause an issue now. I would suggest you reninstall the nVidia graphics drivers. I'm sorry your problem is quite severe, but with everything related to displayLink removed, there is little else I can do. Best of luck, Martin.

10-20-2009, 09:03 PM	#8
Gamer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12	Ok, to my surprise, that simple step did it. The leftover 3 monitors are still there, but I can finally stop watching videos in a VM after 1 week. However, this also proves in my opinion that the DisplayLink software fiddles around with the main graphics drivers - and may break them in a strange way. Just out of curiousity: In what way is your driver interacting with the main graphics hardware? I mean actually there shouldn't be a reason? Back in the old days, I used an additional PCI card to have a second display. The drivers acted totally independent from one another. I thought the same should apply to DisplayLink hardware, which is "a virtual graphics card on a chip behind the display"? And why this additional entry for the monitor under "Programs", but not in device manager, where it puts even three monitors of which you then see only one in display properties? It all seems a bit weird to me, but maybe I can get the logic behind if it is explained to me... Thanks for now, back to watching videos...

10-21-2009, 09:19 AM	#9
Martin Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 75	Hi Gamer, We do indeed install a virtual graphics adapter, and under XP you will see this as "DisplayLink Graphics Adapter" in the "Graphics adapters" section of Device Manager. We do not "take over" the native graphics adaper on XP, but there can sometimes be interoperability issues with native drivers that do not expect to be installed along side other drivers. This is rare and more commonly small applications like CCC or the intel graphics properties applications have problems with multiple drivers. This is something that is very difficult for us to address. The "Samsung Ubisync Monitor" in Add/Remove Programs is there because you installed the 4.6 version from the samsung cd. This is absolutely as designed. The customer is not expected to know that to uninstall their Samsung Ubisync monitor they should unstall "DisplayLink Core Software", as they may well have no idea who or what DisplayLink is. You will have been affected due to your experience and participation on the beta program where software is branded as "DisplayLink Graphics". There is a request to remove the "DisplayLink Core Software" entry, but there are both positives and negatives to this. Unfortunately I have no idea why there are several monitors listed in Device Manager, but as far as I can tell, it will have no adverse affect on your system. Best Regards, Martin Last edited by Martin; 10-21-2009 at 09:32 AM.

10-21-2009, 07:26 PM	#10
Gamer Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 12	Thanks for the information! Since you've really tried your best to resolve my problems (even though I was quite mad and had already returned the unit a week ago), I now have gained some confidence in DisplayLink, so maybe next year I will try your technology again with another device.