When importing video - reboot, freeze or blue screen (5 weeks new 1558)

a laptop isn't the idea mechanism for importing video since laptop hard drives run at 5400rpm whereas a desktop PC's hard drive runs at 7200rpm

sometimes it is just a matter of the hardware not being able to keep up

I do not think it's a hard drive speed issuse and laptop hard drives come in all speeds just like a desktop.

More likely it's that the laptop is entering sleep mode or hibernate even the screen going black will give the graphic card a hard time!

Try adjusting power settings and the advance settings too.

Video rending is the most intensive work a computer can do so make sure nothing else is running!

And you do not have to take the battery out, just press and hold down the power button until it shuts down!

Thanks for the tip on the power down.  I'd already adjusted the sleep and hibernate mode to never.  You have given me a thought about the screen saver, this i looping in the background showing all my photos.  I just thought with an i3 CPU M 350  @ 2.27GHz, 2266 Mhz,4GB of memory and Radeon HD 4570 that would be enough to import a 60 min video to a 500GB hard drive.  Could it be the firewire card?

Thanks for the help above, I'll await a response from tech support

Any time glad to help, I do not have your setup so detailed help would be hard.

But make sure all screen savers are off and changing back round picture is off, you would be digging into the capabilty of the graphics card.

and are you converting while importing? I've found it's best to download the raw file first and then do what ever you need.

Hi again, quick update - even with the photos turned off and no desktop picture it still didn't work.

Dell did send me some links for new drivers but they didn't work so the guy took control of my laptop and said he needed to install new Chipset drivers, deleted the filters from the registry files and updated the Bios from 4 to 6.  I thought it had cracked it but no luck, although the screen is just freezing and laptop locking up now on import - it doesn't appear to be re-booting from the blue screen (but I have to re-boot anyway).

I also tried my DVD burner and keep getting the message that the disc is not re-writable.  I've even been out to but another pack of DVD re-writeable discs to be sure and it still isn't working.

I also get an intermittent fault that says the camcorder is still running on this computer, you cannot start another instance ubntil this instance is stopped.  This is following another message saying the camcorder had been disconected.  I don't touch it.  It appears like something is turning the camcorder feed off & then back on again.

So I still have the same problems and some more.  E-mailed Dell and hopefully they will call back.

My system  info is below if this helps -

MS Windows 7 Home Edition, Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600, 64-bit, Intel i3 CPU M350 @ 2.27ghz, RAM 4GB, ATI Mobility Radean HD4570, Intel 5 series/3400 series chipset, wireles n, Ricoh I394, PLDS DVD+-RW DL-8ATS ATA Device.

with a 5400rpm