Comodo Internet Security prevents PowerDVD from playing DVD or Blu-Ray

Comodo Internet Security - CIS Resolved/Outdated Issues - CIS
1

Below are the details of the problems that CIS causes with PowerDVD.

Here are links to a couple of topics on the Cyberlink Forums :
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/0/8749/ENU.page#37228
http://forum.cyberlink.com/forum/posts/list/0/8763/ENU.page#37440

All the below problems have been reported to Cyberlink.
Leaving COMODO installed, but disabling features does not fix anything.
Uninstalling & Replacing COMODO with alternative software fixed all the problems including the crashes.
PLEASE read to the end - as far as I am concerned, any complaint about out of date graphics drivers is simply not good enough.
LAPTOP USERS ARE OFTEN RESTRICTED IN THE CHOICE OF VIDEO DRIVERS THEY ARE ALLOWED TO INSTALL BY THE MANUFACTURER.
You are losing all potential customers who have PowerDVD installed.

Machine - Alienware M17X (Dell manufactured)
Memory - 8Gb
Processor - Intel(R) Core™2 Extreme CPU Q9300 @2.53GHz 2.53 GHz
OS - Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Optical Drive - Matshita BD-RE UJ235A SCSI CdRom Device (Driver 6.1.7600.16385)
Display - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M (x2 SLI) (Driver 8.15.11.8640)
Audio - IDT High Definition Audio CODEC (Driver 6.10.0.6233)
COMODO Internet Security - Virus protection and Firewall

Will NOT play DVD discs

The Operating system (i.e. Windows File Manager) recognises DVDs and they can be explored.
Windows Media Player can play DVDs.
Windows Media Center can play DVDs.
PowerDVD 9 will NOT play DVDs.
It seems to be insisting on “File Mode” and ignoring the DVD Player.
When I use the “Select Source” button in the bottom right of the window to select the DVD drive with a Disc in it, then for a second the player control buttons become enabled as if it is going to play the disc.
But then a little message box towards the upper right of the PowerDVD window flashes up with the words “File Mode”, and then the player control buttons are again disabled; And then another popup frame says “Stopped”.

Will NOT play Blu-Ray discs

The following message is displayed when trying to play Blu-Ray discs :

PowerDVD 9
There is a disc with an unsupported format in drive D:

The computer did play Blu-Rays before upgrading to Windows 7.
i.e. It was working using the PowerDVD version that came installed for Vista 64 Ultimate (I can’t remember what version that was… it is the pre-installed version provided by Dell on their Alienware M17X laptop)
Windows 7 was installed as a Clean Install, and NOT an upgrade.

Crashes

When ever I click on the Video Tab in the PowerDVD 9 Ultra Options, Windows reports 2 errors one after the other under the general title :

“PowerDVD 9.0 has stopped working”

2 sets of problem details are involved -

FIRST

With the following problem details :

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: PowerDVD9.exe
Application Version: 9.0.2115.0
Application Timestamp: 4aaf72fc
Fault Module Name: DVD_X.IMP
Fault Module Version: 9.0.2115.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 4aaf732c
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00050c85
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 2057
Additional Information 1: 0a9e
Additional Information 2: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789
Additional Information 3: 0a9e
Additional Information 4: 0a9e372d3b4ad19135b953a78882e789

Read our privacy statement online:
Windows 7 Privacy Statement

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

SECOND

With the following problem details :

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: PowerDVD9.exe
Application Version: 9.0.2115.0
Application Timestamp: 4aaf72fc
Fault Module Name: ntdll.dll
Fault Module Version: 6.1.7600.16385
Fault Module Timestamp: 4a5bdb3b
Exception Code: c0150010
Exception Offset: 000845bb
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID: 2057
Additional Information 1: 13f4
Additional Information 2: 13f490d035d3e80a395520857a1cc0fb
Additional Information 3: 3882
Additional Information 4: 388280ae5a0f0571968ff785d547c506

Read our privacy statement online:
Windows 7 Privacy Statement

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

As reported to Cyberlink :

I advised you that the problem was with COMODO IS.

You then replied that it was a problem with my drivers.

Well, NO, it is not a problem with my drivers - it is a problem with COMODO IS.

If COMODO claim that the problem is only caused by their software because of my drivers - then please be aware that my drivers are up to date based on Dell’s download center.

You may not be aware that it is not always easy to update the video drivers of a laptop because the manufacturers restrict this. Whether or not, COMODO believe my drivers are up to date - they are the most recent that Dell have published for installation on their M17X laptop - AND they are quite recent. For COMODO to completely disable PowerDVD’s ability to play discs based on the claim that video drivers are a couple of months old is not good enough.

(Note, that my audio drivers are also up to date as far as Dell is concerned)

You should complain to COMODO.

2

I can also confirm the Unsupported Disc Format bug with blu-ray and other issues with DVD as well as the Video menu.
A complete removal of Comodo is the only way i can get movies to play with PowerDVD 9 Ultra.

Judging by Cyberlink’s past i’ll say that we have more hope for the Comodo team to fix this than Cyberlink itself.

This combination used to work together so i really don’t know what’s up, i think id rather have Comodo than PowerDVD though.

3

Sorry for the double post but i managed to find a solution on another forum.
I don’t use defense+ it is disabled on install (firewall only) I don’t install the anti-virus software as i have another product. This setting appears to be enabled no matter which installation options you pick however.

Okay here goes:

  1. Start Comodo, Click the Defense+ shield, Click advanced and then Image Execution Control Settings.
  2. Once you have the settings window onscreen untick/uncheck ‘Detect shellcode injections (i.e. Buffer overflow protection)’
  3. Click OK

A reboot may be needed (i didn’t have to) after this PowerDVD 9 ultra should work fine.

If anyone here also has an account on the Cyberlink forums or email contact with them please pass this solution along.

4

Thanks alot, that works! I was at my wits end for so long trying to figure out this problem. Didn’t realize COMODO was causing this, as I never had any other conflicts of this manner with it before. I don’t even use defense+ and find it kind of funny that it was still controlling things even when disabled. This should be made into a sticky post if not and hopefully patched soon either by comodo or cyberlink. Also to the person that was notified it may be their drivers that may be a cop out heh. I always have the latest video, audio drivers and was still getting this problem.

5

Instead of totally disabling the detection of shell code injections you can also add the offending Power DVD executable to the exclusions. This way you will still keep the buffer overflow protection for all of the other programs.

6

Please sticky this post, you saved me, thanks! I have Dell Laptop with PowerDVD 8.3 and I could not play any Blurays at all. I excluded PowereDVD from the shell code injections within Comodo 3.14 and all is working. Thanks!