Why Does Windows XP Crash With AVI Files?

Question

I've been having a problem with Windows XP for the last couple of months, and I've finally gotten around to trying to fix it.

Here's the problem:
Whenever I open a folder with certain .AVI files (like movies) it crashes and explorer closes and starts up again. Video clips from a digital camera do not cause it to crash however.

When the files are on my desktop, the system does not crash.

Does anyone know why it's doing that and how I can fix it?

Answer 1

windows is crashing because the codec that was installed on your pc, for the codec within the video file, is damaged.



when you play the video, the codec that's required to decompress and play the video is loaded. if that codec is damaged then you get a crash of the media player or windows.



if they are videos downloaded from the internet then the culprit will very likely be the 'xvid' codec since most downloaded movies have been compressed using the xvid codec.



check your add/remove programs in the control panel and also the start menu for anything relating to xvid, uninstall them, then reboot your computer.



now download and install this version:

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Video/Codec-Packs-Video-Codecs/Koepi-XviD.shtml



if you installed a 'codec pack' then that is likely the cause of your problems - they're junk. poorly compiled collections of old and/or incompatible codecs for beginners that more often than not mess up more computers than they help.



if you did install a 'codec pack', remove that too before installing the codec i linked to above.

Answer 2

It is always better to play the file locally on the computer, than on a USB or Camera; specially if it's a large file...



VLC player (www.videolan.org) is a great player that plays most formats..



Hope this helps & good luck,

Answer 3

This situation many times happens once you're surfing a folder containing XviD video clips and Explorer tries to create thumbnail previews of the video clips utilizing an old version of the XviD codec that's put in. while it fails you get an errors message approximately Explorer encountering a situation with xvid.dll and having to close down (domicile windows Explorer has encountered a situation and desires to close). because of the fact the xvid.dll report hasn't been used for incredibly it sluggish its presence on your equipment ability which you have nonetheless have been given an old version of the XviD codec put in. purely setting up the main contemporary version of the XviD codec over the old one won't restoration the subject because it does not eliminate the old data and registry settings. You first ought to uninstall all previous variations of the XviD codec and make certain that the subject is going away. then you certainly could deploy the main contemporary version of the XviD codec.

Answer 4

download vlc player



and set that as the default player for .avi files