I just purchases AnyDVD & CloneCD yesterday and commenced to install it on my media box, which runs Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition.

Unfortunately things don't work very well. I've had to pull the power on the box twice now, because it wouldn't shutdown properly (after waiting 10 minutes). Of course not something one likes to do on a box with 3TB of RAID-5 storage.

So my main question is, does anyone else run AnyDVD on that OS without problems?

More info about the problem:
If I don't insert a DVD in the drive, everything is fine and I can reboot if needed.
When I insert a DVD in the drive, AnyDVD says: No Disc is present in Drive D:! However, AnyDVD won't exit, and killing it from the task manager doesn't work either. In any case, shutting down either takes a very long time, or in two cases, I've finally had to pull the power.

I turned on Safe Mode, but the problem persists.

I've uninstalled AnyDVD now, because it's basically useless to me (too bad I didn't "try before you buy"... Gotta read, but I had used it on another PC and it had worked so well.

After uninstalling, when I insert a DVD, it seems just fine.

More info about my setup:
Hardware:
DVD: Plextor PX-716A
CPU: Intel Core Solo @ 1.66GHz
Motherboard: MSI 945GT Speedster-A4R
RAM: 1GB
HDD: 300GB for OS, 4x 750GB in RAID-5

Software:
AnyDVD version: 6.0.8.0
OS: Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition
Other than that almost clean install, but I am running Ardence Server, which lets me boot my media PC over the network. Also not the most conventional piece of software, but I don't suspect it to be the problem yet; I ran it on a Windows XP box and AnyDVD worked fine with that (but this was a little while ago)

If it turns out that no-one is using AnyDVD on Win2003 Server R2, then I'd be more than happy to do some testing for the developers.

Maybe silly to say, but FYI: all software is legit, registered & paid for.

Dear mickeysoft, this is the prime reason Slysoft has a 21 free trial, did you try it first? If you did , did it work for you? This is "Shareware" try before you buy". I do not know anyone thats uses that Operating System but I am sure someone will respond.

Uhm, no I didn't try, that's why I wrote "too bad I didn't "try before you buy"... Gotta read, but I had used it on another PC and it had worked so well."

So don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining about losing the money. I'd rather work towards a solution to getting this to work.

Like you said, hopefully someone will respond that has either tried, or has it working on that OS.

Thanks.

yup, i use anydvd/ clonedvd2/mobile with 2003 server enterprise and r2, just fine, albeit that's under vmware on linux, so probably more stable than letting windoze loose on your hardware

mickeysoft,
It may not be Server that is causing your issue. RAID arrays have caused some members problems with AnyDVD. It depends on the RAID bios version (Promise?) on your motherboard and driver used by Windows. I don't know more about the specifics though.

Open AnyDVD's settings and choose "Safe Mode". This should resolve RAID incompatibilities.

Post back the results so others will learn, OK?

Best regards,
Whisperer

I'm a little embarassed but I missed this in your first post.

You could try flashing your RAID bios with the latest version and/or checking your MB manufacturer's site for a more current driver version, but:So you may be right in your original suspicion that Server just may not be suitable for making backups. Backing up DVD's is more of a home chore for a simpler rig. Using your machine to make simple backups is a bit like going to the grocery store on a formula racer!

Anyone who can afford your box could afford to put together a simpler XP box and dedicate it to only making backups. If you load only DVD backup software you will also avoid software conflicts that many encounter who have only one machine to use for multiple tasks. I prefer 2000:SP4 for my dedicated box because of it's low inclusion of "Digital Rights" type crap and no need for "activation".

Whisperer

Happens to all of us.

Thanks, the RAID controller/software was not something I considered before. I'll see if I can find out if that's what is causing it. It's basically the Intel RAID software combined with the integrated RAID controller in the ICH7 (or so) chipset.

I guess there's truth in that, but the problem was that over the network ripping DVDs was slow. So I was hoping that having the DVD player in the machine would be faster.

I had hoped to get some interest from the vendor to help work this out, but I guess I'm expecting too much...

Thanks for your response!

Mickeysoft -

The Technical Staff at SlySoft and Elaborate Bytes closely monitor the CD Freaks CD & DVD Copy Protection and Copy DVD Movie Forums. I am sure they have taken note of your problem.

The below is a direct quotation from the SlySoft Web Site concerning the AnyDVD software program system requirements ->

“System Requirements
IBM-compatible PC with a minimum 500 MHz Pentium-class microprocessor and 64 MB RAM
Windows 95/98/98SE/ME/2000/XP
2 MB hard-disk space”

I see that Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition is not listed.

Regards,
bjkg