cant play vids....

[fent]

sorry, but didnt know where else to put this thread as i cant get into the software/help section without being logged out!

Basically the moment i try and open a vid and play it, be it on media player, real player, winamp etc, the pc slows down for a few seconds then just freezes......ive tried doing a system restore to when it worked ok, but no help...

anybody got any ideas?

Ive installed the following codecs:

xp codec pack,
AC3
DivX
XviD
ffdshow

And installed the following players:

VideoLan (VLC)
MediaPlayer Classic

however, when i try and play a video file, the sound starts, with no video, and then my pc crashes.....its driving me crazy!!!!

 

[juvealert]

hey dud i had the same problem but with mpg's then came across with this multi pack

Theorica.net

then my old mpg's worked

hope this worked

 

[Kurz]

I suggest you uninstall everything,

xp codec pack,
AC3
DivX
XviD
ffdshow
Including any others that you've forgot to mention.

Reboot! Just do it, you cant skip this.

Then install

www.cccp-project.net


I can play everything I throw at it.
The codec pack suggested by the eariler poster doesnt support .mkv's
and several other containers.

BTW VLC doesnt use codec packs.
Instead it uses its own files located in their folders to play back stuff.
It works most of the time, however it fails at Subtitles and older files.

 

[fent]

ok..ill try this now...as the last one didnt make any difference...

weird thing is, that i managed to get a look at the taskmanager whilst the pc was crashing, and it was showing the media player taking up 97-99% of the CPU juice...

 

[fent]

I suggest you uninstall everything,

xp codec pack,
AC3
DivX
XviD
ffdshow
Including any others that you've forgot to mention.

Reboot! Just do it, you cant skip this.

Then install

www.cccp-project.net


I can play everything I throw at it.
The codec pack suggested by the eariler poster doesnt support .mkv's
and several other containers.

BTW VLC doesnt use codec packs.
Instead it uses its own files located in their folders to play back stuff.
It works most of the time, however it fails at Subtitles and older files.

unfortunately, after doing this, my problem remains

The media player takes up 99% cpu and crashes my pc....so surely it cant be a codec prob? but what else could it be?

 

[Kurz]

Weird... Could you give more system info?
Btw are you updated in OS updates as well as Video Card drivers?

What kind of file are you trying to play?

 

[fent]

Weird... Could you give more system info?
Btw are you updated in OS updates as well as Video Card drivers?

What kind of file are you trying to play?

im running a copied version of xp pro i downloaded...i did notice that it came with a version of SP3, which isnt released yet..could this be the problem?

my gfx drivers are updated.....is that waht you mean by video drivers?

its just a simple mpeg im trying to play

 

[Kurz]

a simple mpeg...
Really weird...
XP SP3? Isnt out for a while yet. It could be its still buggy, so try finding a SP2 version.

Frankly I bought the OEM verison of XP, you should too.
(www.pricegrabber.com search XP pro)

Maybe your directX verison is not up to date.
Frankly I cant think of anything that can cause the whole computer to crash.

You could try getting a legit copy of XP...

 

[sirheck]

it is possiable that the copied version is the problem

that is m.s. knows it and is sending you bugs

 

[Kurz]

it is possiable that the copied version is the problem

that is m.s. knows it and is sending you bugs

Action Please Sock puppet him.

 

[uber_g]

reformat

 

[I]

Do NOT install codec packs!

They are the number one reason for video problems.

Uninstall ALL things even loosely related to video, and do NOT install anything.

NEXT, reinstall DirectX9c even if that's the version you are running now.

NEXT, uninstall your video card driver then reinstall it. Try a newer and older version of that too if nothing else helps.

Use Windows Media Player. Everybody and their brother makes codecs meant compatible, though your "MPEG" could be alot of things. Determine exactly what it is. Download a media file codec identifier utility. "Gspot" is one of them, Google for "Gspot codec" and you should find latest version.

If GSpot can't identify the codecs needed for both audio and video, go to the source of the file and see what they have to say about codec support. Look at the header of the file with a hex editor.

if worst comes to worst, post a link to it so someone else can take a look and tell you if/when it plays.

If your video is screwed up, try enabling or disabling hardware overlay support (in the codec control panel or video driver controls).

Determine if your questionable windows install is whole. Look at the COntrol Panel multimedia properties to see what codec support it lists. Does this windows install play *any* kinds of video and if so, what kinds/codecs?

Have you checked the system for general stability issues? I've seen boxes that were pretty instable but seemed ok just sitting at the desktop, you wouldn't crash till something like a media player started. However, this was only during early testing, such instability pops up in other areas too given some time.

Is it only that one file? Could be corrupt. We really don't have a complete description of the scenario.

 

[juvealert]

video clips won't play back without codecs !!!

u need DivX an Xvid to playback divx and xvid encoded movies !
some other codec packs are needed to view some other movie extensions !!!

i don't agree with u 'I'.


I had performed an xp reinstall on my friends pc and he needed the codecs to play the movie files

 

[macheng]

codec problem. i had this problem. after uninstalling and installinh packages it worked.

 

[Kurz]

"I" CCCP is an exception to the rule that "All Codec Packs are evil". If you are going to state again CCCP is evil, you are just ignorant.

CCCP will cover everything he'll need.
Anywho its definitely a problem with his overall system... check out his previous posts.

 

[I]

video clips won't play back without codecs !!!

u need DivX an Xvid to playback divx and xvid encoded movies !
some other codec packs are needed to view some other movie extensions !!!

i don't agree with u 'I'.


I had performed an xp reinstall on my friends pc and he needed the codecs to play the movie files

You are completely wrong. A codec pack is an ignorant guess that if only one installs enough codecs they will be covered, but they end up with all kinds of out-of-control things being done to a system. That doesn't mean a codec pack will automatically fork up a system, but it is the most horrible way possible to isolate a problem.

Further, a lot of codec packs install some odd 3rd party codec that tries to be a jack-of-all-trades, but is not the best codec for the job.

I never claimed you didn't need Divx to play divx movies,etc. Divx is NOT A CODEC PACK! It's a codec, one, targeted to that need. That is different from random guesses about "needs codecs". Know exactly what you are doing and why else you will eventually come up on problems. I don't make this stuff up, there are plenty of ways these packs will even interfere with formats that USED to work and then don't (or don't as well), and may even break other applications (like TV tuner/capture SW).

The correct solution is to identify the specific major codec used in that video and install ONLY that. This is in the context of solving a problem, not in the context of trying to get a clean windows installation ready to play videos, but even then it would be wise to install the major codecs you need rather than a pack full. All a pack does is take away control from lazy people. Create a folder and put all the codec installers in it if it's that much trouble.

 

[I]

"I" CCCP is an exception to the rule that "All Codec Packs are evil". If you are going to state again CCCP is evil, you are just ignorant.

CCCP will cover everything he'll need.
Anywho its definitely a problem with his overall system... check out his previous posts.

Nope, I never said that all codec packs are evil and you are foolish to suggest it.

No, I should just be honest. You have no argument, are trying to imply things not in evidence instead of conceding your ignorance. If I meant all were evil, I'd have written "all are evil".

Do you need help using the scroll button on your browser so you can see what I DID write?

They are at best, a lack of control over what's installed, a lazy "you don't know WTF you're doing" way of getting video working. At worst, "some" may make previously working video unworkable (reassign inferior codecs), break software, and even fail to restore the prior state of the system after having been uninstalled (overwrite past file then that file is gone, not a proper backup and increamental records kept so any other changes after the codec pack were also weighed into the action the pack uninstaller takes.

There are other potential problems too but I guess eventually if you get as much experience as I have, then you'll find out for yourself.

A codec pack will never work better than a targeted and correct individual codec. Learn how to do it instead of pretending that a shotgun blast at a problem is the answer.

Again, it's not that ALL codec packs cause problems, but it IS that there is NEVER a need to install one to resolve one format playback problem. It only adds possible complications, and could ultimately make it harder to solve the problem than if never tried.

Know how many videoes I can't play? Zero.
How many codec packs did I use? Zero.

 

[Kurz]

How do you play h.264 videos then?
FFdshow?

Frankly you dont know why Codec packs were invented.
80% (Guestimate now) of all computer users dont know what the hell they are doing. They can surf the web, play a game. But when the need arrises they wont be able to solve their issues.

I am not saying they dont have their faults, however its geared to those who dont want to hunt down every Codec when the need arrises.

Though I do agree that a single codec instead of a codec pack does wonders. Of course I changed my mind when I became a CCCP supporter.

 

[juvealert]

so how the heck do u watch ur movies and clips ?!! (apart of Divx and Xvid)