I got the adapter installed and working. It seemed to work nicely in the system until suddenly the ATI TV tuner software locked up. I attributed the fault to the software until I realized that other programs capable of using the TV tuner card (such as the Windows Media Encoder) also failed in the same way...totally frozen. Oftentimes the programs would take the entire system with them.
At first I attributed the failures to the card having difficulties working in such a fast and modern system. It wasn't until I did some work with Google that I found the true reason. A bug in the Microsoft-supplied STREAM.SYS driver causes this lockup problem on certain systems with Intel Pentium 4 processors featuring Hyper-Threading technology. Microsoft supplied a fix for Windows XP that is available as an add-on to Windows XP Service Pack 1 and included with Windows XP Service Pack 2.
This hotfix only functions on Windows XP. It will not run on Windows 2000, despite the fact that Windows 2000 apparently suffers from the same bug in STREAM.SYS on Hyper-Threading capable systems. So, how does one get the fix to work with Windows 2000? It's not too hard.
All you need is the Hotfix file, a Windows XP computer running SP1 or SP2 as a source for the file and some experience replacing key system files.
WARNING: Applying this Hotfix to your Windows 2000 system is likely not supported by Microsoft. Assume that if you mess things up that they cannot help you fix them! The fix itself is intended for Windows XP systems. It has been my experience that the updated file works with Windows 2000 as well and solves the problem of certain TV tuner card related software locking up on a computer with Hyper-Threading technology. However, always make a complete backup of your system before ever attempting any procedure (such as this one) that may cause your system to crash or fail entirely. These instructions are provided as a courtesy only and I can accept no responsibility for the results of their use.
Get the Hotfix Description from Microsoft. The actual Hotfix is located here.
For anyone without access to an XP machine, download the updated STREAM.SYS here.
(All of these files have been checked as thoroughly as is possible for viruses with a current anti-virus product. However, you should consider taking the time to scan them yourself.)
1. From the XP system, run the Hotfix. (This isn't necessary on XP SP2, where the fix is included with the service pack. In fact, the Hotfix setup program will not run on XPSP2.)
2. With the Hotfix setup program running, search for the file STREAM.SYS. It will be in a folder with a long alphanumeric name or in the windows\system\drivers folder on an XP SP2 system. Make sure you get the latest revision of the file.
3. Copy this new STREAM.SYS file to your Windows 2000 system. The desktop is a good place to keep it for the moment. The version of this file should be 5.3.2600.1193 or later. Compare yours to the screenshot below.
