Is there any problems with transcoding with other processes running? Just wondering since it takes sooooo longggggg.

With video recording or any other activity--I can record while web surfing or opening folders but "some" programs still require all computer resources to initially open leaving a 1/4 second glitch in whatever I'm recording. I just schedule what I'm going to do so that I won't open programs==I make sure they are all open and running before the recording starts. I'm sure the same will apply to encoding.

Take a rewriteable disk and just max out everything you might do like play a game while downloading some other stuff==then check your disk for errors. I assume you will get a few.==so be judicious. ((Use a short 10 minute file to test this all out))

Also==I now you can setup task manager in Win2000/xp so that resource hogs won't take over the computer when starting but I don't know how effective those are.

I run AMD so I don't know but I "should have" built a hyperthreaded rig to help avoid this problem==although it is manageable but I would like to see how hyperthreading handles this since that is its forte.

And of course, adding the maximum ram might solve the problem if any of your glitches are caused by inadequate ram.

Finally (!!)==right after I built my machine after waiting 12 months for a price gap to open, I noticed the same performance was on sale for about $300 total==so build a cheap 478 based machine and use it just for encoding if you can spare the change.///bobbo.

Just set the priority of the process.
CTRL+ALT+DEL once to get task manager, right click the application, go to processes, change priority.
Drop it one notch, and see if that helps.
It will slow down the process, but still allow you to do other things, with less hesitation.
The only real solution, is to purchase a faster CPU and more RAM.

It depends on your system specs. With my setup I have done other things while rendering and burning, and haven't noticed any slowdowns or adverse effects. But I usually make a habit of not messing with anything while rendering or burning, just to be safe. I hate coasters...

If your system is running right, you don't get coasters, no matter what you're doing.

You can also drive while brushing your teeth, combing your hair, and talking on a cell phone all at the same time, but I sure wouldn't recommend it.

I don't think multitasking a computer is comparable to risking one's life and that of others...

Regarding "right running systems"==I used to get coasters burning mp3's then on the same system but with a new burner that had burn safe on it, I never got another coaster even when I tried to overload the system.

I notice while transcoding wave to mp3 or whatever that certain programs on startup will cause small glitches in the resulting music which makes me think these encoding/transcoding programs suffer from lack of buffer--or other alliterative failure amounting to not being "burn safe." Meaning again, that "system" is a bit grandiose when it comes down to the component of interest (a burnner or a piece of software) being designed for a real time environment.===although maybe adjusting every running program to take fewer resources may be a sloggish fix.

I wish there was some more effective way the market place could bring bad software to task. We take too much pride in figuring out how to make it work or to live with it rather than reject it.

Thanks--I feel better now. ///// bobbo.

That is what i've been doing .I was just asking a question, If it comes down to wasting time and possibly messing up a good transcoding, I'd just as soon let it run on its own.
As for this statement
"If your system is running right, you don't get coasters, no matter what you're doing".
I am not talking about burning. I just want to avoid glitches in the final rendering. But even then I never do other tasks while burning. I hate coasters and really like the minimal errors I get when burning.

There are a few ways to multitask without "glitches".
The easiest, is to do all your video and audio work on a separate hard drive.
The glitches are usually the result of hard drive access by some program, while the transcoding/encoding is working with files on a different part of the same hard drive.
A surplus of RAM helps too.

It all comes down to how important your backup is. If I am backing up my system for recovery purposes, I'm going to boot to safe mode, shut down all non-essential tasks, and burn at a slower speed on my best media. If I'm just copying a movie, I'll do other tasks without any concern whatsoever, and burn at higher speeds.

I have heard that burning etc. data from the same drive that the OS is on is going to give you a higher rate of errors or glitches but I have burned the identacle files from two seperate drive one with the OS and one one a separate drive and had the same Kprobe results from both drives.

And you might be lucky like that another 20 times. Then again, the next one might be a coaster, if something is running in the background, and spikes to 80 - 90 % cpu usage. Like Clint Eastwood said: "Do you feel lucky punk"...