Well, I finally got a different computer, and the specs are as follows:

eMachines eTower 366i
533MHz Intel Celeron
4MB ATI Rage IIc AGP
The same 52x32x52x CD-RW 16x DVD-ROM combo drive from my last computer
20GB hard drive
Windows 98SE
256MB RAM

Anyway, I installed PowerDVD and it works, but it skips. I turned on DMA and that made a huge difference, but playback still isn't flawless. Is it just because my computer's too slow? Is it a lost cause? I'd love to be able to watch DVDs on it. Thanks!

-John533MHz is a bit slow for DVD playback, although I have seen machines cope. Ensure that absolutely nothing else is running at the same time. (TRY Ctrl-Alt-Delete and end the unneeded tasks. Don't end systray or Explorer.)

If playback is still dire then you have the option either of buying a hardware MPEG decoder (I have one which I will be selling on Ebay SHORTLY!) or upgrading the whole system.What version of PowerDVD? I have 5.0. HTTP://www.cyberlink.com/multi/products/require_1_ENU.html states system requirements for version 6 that clearly exceed your system. However, the system requirements stated by vendors are sometimes overstated. My processor, an Athlon XP 2200 (1.8GHz) is well above the system requirements stated on that web page; yours is considerably lower.

Note that the system requirements calls for "Graphics Card: AGP or PCI Express graphic accelerator with DirectDraw Overly Support". And, this, in my opinion, is an overstated requirement. I have two monitors and two video cards (AGP and PCI). RIGHT now, I've got PowerDVD playing a movie on the monitor connected to the PCI video card (nVidia GeForce4 MX440 with 32MB memory) and it's running flawlessly.

I think your video capacity is a major problem. I'm quite sure installing a PCI video card with at least 32MB (but preferrablly 64MB) of memory (on the card) would greatly improve the performance of your system when running PowerDVD. And, the video upgrade would improve performance for general use, as well. Now, I can't give you any assurance it would eliminate all the performance problem because you still have a processor that's below the stated system requirements.

You have plenty of system RAM for Win 98SE. Again, a video upgrade would help a lot but might not totally elminate performance issues with PowerDVD.8 meg. is the acceptable minimum for DVD playback. The processor is OK, that's not the ISSUE. I have a PIII-500 with 8 meg AGP Rage that works fine. A 16 meg PCI card would be a nice upgrade to an older system if no AGP slot is available.