Powerpoint 2003 SP 2 Very slow performance

[Rich]

Hi,

I'm trying to make a very simple Powerpoint presentation but the performance
of Powerpoint 2003 is awful! All im trying to do is make a simple box
slightly transparent over another box which has a gradient fill. It
continuously tries to render the slide everytime you make a change such as a
1 pixel movement or adding some text, takes about 10 seconds for each minor
change to fully render.

It is the first time I've used PP 2003 so I dont know what the performance
was like prior to service pack 2.
Im used to Fireworks and Photoshop for my vector editing. But with these I
can use more advanced features and addons and it happens immediately, i can
go wild with the mouse and it doesnt slow down the system.

Why are such simple tasks so slow? Are there some performance features I can
tweak somewhere?

I will get out my old PP 2000 copy and see whether that is as bad, in the
meantime:

My specs are,

DVI Montor - DVI Gfx Card
Athlon 64 3000
1GB RAM (Ballistix)
Giga-byte K8NXP-9 Motherboard
Giga-byte Geforce 6800GT

 

[Echo S]

Turn down your hardware acceleration.

How to set graphics hardware acceleration back
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00129.htm

Also update your video card drivers.

 

[Rich]

Thanks for the Suggestion.
Im already on the latest drivers.

Reducing the hardware acceleration has little affect, it stops a few other
applications from running so ive had to put it back up to Full again.

I've now installed Powerpoint 2000. This has the performance of what I would
expect. Im able to use some of the advanced fill features and textures
without it eating the CPU or showing any signs of render problems. I've run
them side by side and done exactly the same process, for whatever reason PP
2003 just eats the CPU and cant render properly.

I forgot to add that my OS is MCE '05 which requires different video drivers.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Rich

Turn down your hardware acceleration.

How to set graphics hardware acceleration back
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00129.htm

Also update your video card drivers.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Hi,

I'm trying to make a very simple Powerpoint presentation but the
performance
of Powerpoint 2003 is awful! All im trying to do is make a simple box
slightly transparent over another box which has a gradient fill. It
continuously tries to render the slide everytime you make a change such as
a
1 pixel movement or adding some text, takes about 10 seconds for each
minor
change to fully render.

It is the first time I've used PP 2003 so I dont know what the performance
was like prior to service pack 2.
Im used to Fireworks and Photoshop for my vector editing. But with these I
can use more advanced features and addons and it happens immediately, i
can
go wild with the mouse and it doesnt slow down the system.

Why are such simple tasks so slow? Are there some performance features I
can
tweak somewhere?

I will get out my old PP 2000 copy and see whether that is as bad, in the
meantime:

My specs are,

DVI Montor - DVI Gfx Card
Athlon 64 3000
1GB RAM (Ballistix)
Giga-byte K8NXP-9 Motherboard
Giga-byte Geforce 6800GT

 

[Echo S]

If it resolves PPT's performance, you may just have to switch the hardware
accleeration settings as appropriate.

You might also see what's running in the background, though. I've seen weird
redraw issues when I've had various apps running in the background. So turn
off everything else running, and also turn off everything that starts on
startup by going to Start|Run and typing msconfig in the box. (I assume you
can do that in Media Center Edition, anyway.) If that resolves it, you can
turn on the apps one by one until you isolate the problem app.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Thanks for the Suggestion.
Im already on the latest drivers.

Reducing the hardware acceleration has little affect, it stops a few other
applications from running so ive had to put it back up to Full again.

I've now installed Powerpoint 2000. This has the performance of what I
would
expect. Im able to use some of the advanced fill features and textures
without it eating the CPU or showing any signs of render problems. I've
run
them side by side and done exactly the same process, for whatever reason
PP
2003 just eats the CPU and cant render properly.

I forgot to add that my OS is MCE '05 which requires different video
drivers.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Rich

Turn down your hardware acceleration.

How to set graphics hardware acceleration back
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00129.htm

Also update your video card drivers.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Hi,

I'm trying to make a very simple Powerpoint presentation but the
performance
of Powerpoint 2003 is awful! All im trying to do is make a simple box
slightly transparent over another box which has a gradient fill. It
continuously tries to render the slide everytime you make a change such
as
a
1 pixel movement or adding some text, takes about 10 seconds for each
minor
change to fully render.

It is the first time I've used PP 2003 so I dont know what the
performance
was like prior to service pack 2.
Im used to Fireworks and Photoshop for my vector editing. But with
these I
can use more advanced features and addons and it happens immediately, i
can
go wild with the mouse and it doesnt slow down the system.

Why are such simple tasks so slow? Are there some performance features
I
can
tweak somewhere?

I will get out my old PP 2000 copy and see whether that is as bad, in
the
meantime:

My specs are,

DVI Montor - DVI Gfx Card
Athlon 64 3000
1GB RAM (Ballistix)
Giga-byte K8NXP-9 Motherboard
Giga-byte Geforce 6800GT

 

[Austin Myers]

What is MCE 05???


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

PowerPoint Video and PowerPoint Sound Solutions www.pfcmedia.com

Thanks for the Suggestion.
Im already on the latest drivers.

Reducing the hardware acceleration has little affect, it stops a few other
applications from running so ive had to put it back up to Full again.

I've now installed Powerpoint 2000. This has the performance of what I
would
expect. Im able to use some of the advanced fill features and textures
without it eating the CPU or showing any signs of render problems. I've
run
them side by side and done exactly the same process, for whatever reason
PP
2003 just eats the CPU and cant render properly.

I forgot to add that my OS is MCE '05 which requires different video
drivers.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Rich

Turn down your hardware acceleration.

How to set graphics hardware acceleration back
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00129.htm

Also update your video card drivers.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Hi,

I'm trying to make a very simple Powerpoint presentation but the
performance
of Powerpoint 2003 is awful! All im trying to do is make a simple box
slightly transparent over another box which has a gradient fill. It
continuously tries to render the slide everytime you make a change such
as
a
1 pixel movement or adding some text, takes about 10 seconds for each
minor
change to fully render.

It is the first time I've used PP 2003 so I dont know what the
performance
was like prior to service pack 2.
Im used to Fireworks and Photoshop for my vector editing. But with
these I
can use more advanced features and addons and it happens immediately, i
can
go wild with the mouse and it doesnt slow down the system.

Why are such simple tasks so slow? Are there some performance features
I
can
tweak somewhere?

I will get out my old PP 2000 copy and see whether that is as bad, in
the
meantime:

My specs are,

DVI Montor - DVI Gfx Card
Athlon 64 3000
1GB RAM (Ballistix)
Giga-byte K8NXP-9 Motherboard
Giga-byte Geforce 6800GT

 

[Rich]

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

Windows XP Pro with a few bolt on applications and stricter Driver rules.
Graphics and Sound drivers can only be installed if they are certified and
fully tested. Unfortunately it means that driver updates are few and far
between. At the moment its aprox. every 4 months for a new driver release,
but they should be more rounded off and stable with the testing that they
have to go through.

What is MCE 05???


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

PowerPoint Video and PowerPoint Sound Solutions www.pfcmedia.com

Thanks for the Suggestion.
Im already on the latest drivers.

Reducing the hardware acceleration has little affect, it stops a few other
applications from running so ive had to put it back up to Full again.

I've now installed Powerpoint 2000. This has the performance of what I
would
expect. Im able to use some of the advanced fill features and textures
without it eating the CPU or showing any signs of render problems. I've
run
them side by side and done exactly the same process, for whatever reason
PP
2003 just eats the CPU and cant render properly.

I forgot to add that my OS is MCE '05 which requires different video
drivers.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Rich

Turn down your hardware acceleration.

How to set graphics hardware acceleration back
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00129.htm

Also update your video card drivers.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Hi,

I'm trying to make a very simple Powerpoint presentation but the
performance
of Powerpoint 2003 is awful! All im trying to do is make a simple box
slightly transparent over another box which has a gradient fill. It
continuously tries to render the slide everytime you make a change such
as
a
1 pixel movement or adding some text, takes about 10 seconds for each
minor
change to fully render.

It is the first time I've used PP 2003 so I dont know what the
performance
was like prior to service pack 2.
Im used to Fireworks and Photoshop for my vector editing. But with
these I
can use more advanced features and addons and it happens immediately, i
can
go wild with the mouse and it doesnt slow down the system.

Why are such simple tasks so slow? Are there some performance features
I
can
tweak somewhere?

I will get out my old PP 2000 copy and see whether that is as bad, in
the
meantime:

My specs are,

DVI Montor - DVI Gfx Card
Athlon 64 3000
1GB RAM (Ballistix)
Giga-byte K8NXP-9 Motherboard
Giga-byte Geforce 6800GT

 

[Rich]

Thanks!

That was a good excuse to remove a lot of junk that was starting with my
system in particular Ulead and Creative DVD/CD checkers that are imho a waste
of time.

So far I have not found an application or service causing a slow down to
powerpoint.

I will eventually get around to going through msconfig and starting with the
bare minimal services and applications. At the moment ive only gone through
closing all the processes i can in task manager and removing various startup
programs.

If I find the cause I will post on here!

If it resolves PPT's performance, you may just have to switch the hardware
accleeration settings as appropriate.

You might also see what's running in the background, though. I've seen weird
redraw issues when I've had various apps running in the background. So turn
off everything else running, and also turn off everything that starts on
startup by going to Start|Run and typing msconfig in the box. (I assume you
can do that in Media Center Edition, anyway.) If that resolves it, you can
turn on the apps one by one until you isolate the problem app.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Thanks for the Suggestion.
Im already on the latest drivers.

Reducing the hardware acceleration has little affect, it stops a few other
applications from running so ive had to put it back up to Full again.

I've now installed Powerpoint 2000. This has the performance of what I
would
expect. Im able to use some of the advanced fill features and textures
without it eating the CPU or showing any signs of render problems. I've
run
them side by side and done exactly the same process, for whatever reason
PP
2003 just eats the CPU and cant render properly.

I forgot to add that my OS is MCE '05 which requires different video
drivers.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Rich

Turn down your hardware acceleration.

How to set graphics hardware acceleration back
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00129.htm

Also update your video card drivers.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Hi,

I'm trying to make a very simple Powerpoint presentation but the
performance
of Powerpoint 2003 is awful! All im trying to do is make a simple box
slightly transparent over another box which has a gradient fill. It
continuously tries to render the slide everytime you make a change such
as
a
1 pixel movement or adding some text, takes about 10 seconds for each
minor
change to fully render.

It is the first time I've used PP 2003 so I dont know what the
performance
was like prior to service pack 2.
Im used to Fireworks and Photoshop for my vector editing. But with
these I
can use more advanced features and addons and it happens immediately, i
can
go wild with the mouse and it doesnt slow down the system.

Why are such simple tasks so slow? Are there some performance features
I
can
tweak somewhere?

I will get out my old PP 2000 copy and see whether that is as bad, in
the
meantime:

My specs are,

DVI Montor - DVI Gfx Card
Athlon 64 3000
1GB RAM (Ballistix)
Giga-byte K8NXP-9 Motherboard
Giga-byte Geforce 6800GT

 

[Echo S]

If I find the cause I will post on here!

That would be great!

 

[Austin Myers]

You may want to look at updating your version of DirectX.


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

PowerPoint Video and PowerPoint Sound Solutions www.pfcmedia.com

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

Windows XP Pro with a few bolt on applications and stricter Driver rules.
Graphics and Sound drivers can only be installed if they are certified and
fully tested. Unfortunately it means that driver updates are few and far
between. At the moment its aprox. every 4 months for a new driver release,
but they should be more rounded off and stable with the testing that they
have to go through.

What is MCE 05???


Austin Myers
MS PowerPoint MVP Team

PowerPoint Video and PowerPoint Sound Solutions www.pfcmedia.com

Thanks for the Suggestion.
Im already on the latest drivers.

Reducing the hardware acceleration has little affect, it stops a few
other
applications from running so ive had to put it back up to Full again.

I've now installed Powerpoint 2000. This has the performance of what I
would
expect. Im able to use some of the advanced fill features and textures
without it eating the CPU or showing any signs of render problems. I've
run
them side by side and done exactly the same process, for whatever
reason
PP
2003 just eats the CPU and cant render properly.

I forgot to add that my OS is MCE '05 which requires different video
drivers.

Any other ideas?

Thanks
Rich

:

Turn down your hardware acceleration.

How to set graphics hardware acceleration back
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00129.htm

Also update your video card drivers.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP]
http://www.echosvoice.com

Hi,

I'm trying to make a very simple Powerpoint presentation but the
performance
of Powerpoint 2003 is awful! All im trying to do is make a simple
box
slightly transparent over another box which has a gradient fill. It
continuously tries to render the slide everytime you make a change
such
as
a
1 pixel movement or adding some text, takes about 10 seconds for
each
minor
change to fully render.

It is the first time I've used PP 2003 so I dont know what the
performance
was like prior to service pack 2.
Im used to Fireworks and Photoshop for my vector editing. But with
these I
can use more advanced features and addons and it happens
immediately, i
can
go wild with the mouse and it doesnt slow down the system.

Why are such simple tasks so slow? Are there some performance
features
I
can
tweak somewhere?

I will get out my old PP 2000 copy and see whether that is as bad,
in
the
meantime:

My specs are,

DVI Montor - DVI Gfx Card
Athlon 64 3000
1GB RAM (Ballistix)
Giga-byte K8NXP-9 Motherboard
Giga-byte Geforce 6800GT

 

[Rich]

Hi,

Right Ive done a bit more testing. Annoyingly with all Services and Startup
items disabled. No change in rendering speed.

When I press F5 to start the full presentation there is no rendering
problems, all pages load very fast, it just appears when editing the
presentation.

The PC is also on the latest DirectX, 9c (904)

My thoughts are winging towards the MCE nVidia drivers...

Thanks
Rich

 

[Echo S]

Nuts. I thought Austin had probably nailed it with DirectX.

Now I'm thinking you may be right about the nVidia drivers for MCE. You
might ask nVidia if they're aware of this issue.