Good News for Vista Users

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  • Ground_Breaker
    FFR Veteran
    • Jun 2007
    • 789

    #1

    Good News for Vista Users

    It has been a while since I've posted on these forums, so I don't know if a good solution has already been found. Hopefully more people will find this is the case with their systems and will find this helpful.

    While tinkering with my computer for quite some time trying to figure out what actually causes the infamous Vista lag, I ended up stumbling upon a background process called "PCMService.exe" which not only is a huge memory hog (in the neighborhood of 300-400MB of RAM) but seems to be the cause of the delayed keystrokes that kill accuracy during FFR.

    Apparently, "PCMService.exe" is a required process for Dell MediaDirect's PowerCinema program, which allows CD/DVD playback and other media-related features. It is not necessary for any Windows application unless you use remote control features of PowerCinema, according to CyberDirect Tech Support. It comes automatically installed on many PCs that run Windows Vista, and it runs automatically on startup by default.

    Disabling this process has stopped Vista lag every single time I've turned it off, and I'm certain that this is causing my problem, and probably the problems of many other frustrated Vista users. I have played a game of FFR with Vista lag, ended the process, then played another game without a single bit of Vista lag in the span of about 5 minutes.

    To disable it, simply open your task manager (you'll likely have to hit CTRL-ALT-DEL to do so), and end the process named "PCMService.exe" in the list.

    To keep it from running on startup, follow these steps:

    1) Press start and type "msconfig" in the search bar at the bottom.
    2) Click on "msconfig" at the top of the search results to open your System Configuration preferences.
    3) Go to the "Startup" tab in the dialog box and scroll down to "Cyberlink PowerCinema" and uncheck the box.



    4) Hit "apply".

    That's it! Hopefully this will help some folks experiencing Vista lag to finally get a solution. If this isn't causing your Vista lag, look for a similar program that might be eating up large chunks of RAM that isn't necessary for your computer.
    fgsfds
  • Plan_Bsk81127
    snooches
    FFR Simfile Author
    • Aug 2007
    • 6420

    #2
    Re: Good News for Vista Users

    I never had any problems with vista, but hopefully this will just make it even better. thanks.

    Comment

    • Quigly
      nah
      • Jan 2008
      • 3506

      #3
      Re: Good News for Vista Users

      It might have helped a bit but I'm not really sure. I've pretty much gotten used to the lag after a while.
      nah

      Comment

      • who_cares973
        FFR Player
        • Aug 2006
        • 15407

        #4
        Re: Good News for Vista Users

        that didnt come installed on my laptop but i still have vista lag :<

        Comment

        • Psychotik
          Heckin' Cute
          FFR Simfile Author
          • Jan 2008
          • 1727

          #5
          Re: Good News for Vista Users

          I will definitely try this out.
          Check out my Speedruns
          Originally posted by TEEX
          I want me a grrrl that will call me at 4 in the morning and ask me what my best is on Ants.

          Comment

          • Bynary Fission
            Retired One-Hander
            • Jan 2008
            • 2437

            #6
            Re: Good News for Vista Users

            Interesting...I've seen other solutions that dealt with the crux of the lag though, so wouldn't it only work for some people?

            In any case I might try this, though I've never noticed any effects of Vista lag, likely because I started played on Vista two weeks after joining...
            Newest Track (05/04/2026): Battle Theme - The Infernal Sepulchre [8-bit Chiptune]

            https://soundcloud.com/bynary-fission/zone-4-battle-theme

            Comment

            • [TeRa]
              FFR Player
              • May 2007
              • 9922

              #7
              Re: Good News for Vista Users

              Never had a problem with my keytaps being delayed, just fps lowered so frames are skipped causing goods every now and then. I dunno I'll try this though.

              Edit: Nevermind, not even installed on my computer.
              Last edited by [TeRa]; 03-23-2009, 03:50 PM.

              Comment

              • supersonicpwns
                FFR Player
                • May 2008
                • 216

                #8
                Re: Good News for Vista Users

                i just got a new computer with vista. going to get windows 7 beta. but, lets try this out.
                Originally posted by iCyAJ
                Haiku's are easy
                But sometimes they don't make sense
                Refrigerator
                rawr.

                Comment

                • Ground_Breaker
                  FFR Veteran
                  • Jun 2007
                  • 789

                  #9
                  Re: Good News for Vista Users

                  Originally posted by Bynary Fission
                  Interesting...I've seen other solutions that dealt with the crux of the lag though, so wouldn't it only work for some people
                  Yes this will most likely only work for folks who have this installed on their computer, but I'm sure there are other options that are more helpful for others. This is, I suppose, just another solution to add to the list of steps to take to eliminate Vista lag.
                  fgsfds

                  Comment

                  • DanTheManMS
                    FFR Player
                    • Jan 2008
                    • 5

                    #10
                    Re: Good News for Vista Users

                    Don't have the process running on my system unfortunately, so this doesn't help me.

                    What DID help me was switching the theme from Vista Aero to Vista Basic before playing FFR. That eliminated a good amount of the lag, and then setting the flash quality to Medium and giving firefox.exe higher priority helped a tiny bit as well. But it's the Aero/Basic switch that was the most help. Still not quite as responsive as it is on my XP desktop, but much better than before.

                    Worth a try for users who are currently using Aero.

                    Comment

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