Windows 7 will not open .avi files

[Boxer77]

I've been having this frustrating issue with one of my clients. They are trying to open a .avi file from a CD. I've tried everything from downloading codecs to installing other players (DivX, VLC, Gom, etc.) Nothing works. I thought the CD was bad or the .avi files were corrupt, but others are able to play them with multiple players with no issues. They are all running Windows 7. I'm kind of at a loss at this point. There are 6 users and 3 can play and 3 can't. I don't know if there is a corrupt registry setting or if something else may be stopping them from opening. Thanks!

 

[cdogg]

Not all video codecs out there are natively supported in Windows 7 (or any OS for that matter). Instead of going to multiple sites and trying them left and right, there are some good codec packs out there that have already assembled them for you.

I highly recommend this one. It's adware-free and covers every codec I've ever needed:

http://www.cccp-project.net/

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[goombawaho]

I always use VLC media player. Never found anything it wouldn't play. Small footprint. I'll put it up against the other product for $5 pretend.

Link

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[rclarke250]

OP already tried VLC. What if the .AVI file is online, or coming from a thumb drive? will it play it there, in other words, could it be a dvd drive or settings issue? What actually happens when trying to play the .AVI file? nothing? Have you looked into the event log and seen if there are any errors there?

 

[goombawaho]

Oops.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[Boxer77]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. The files in question are on a DVD. I tried copying them to the hard drive with no success. Is the cccp site safe? It looks a little shady.

 

[rclarke250]

I tried copying them to the hard drive with no success." And this didn't raise a big red flag with you? Use a machine that can read it, and copy the file to another media device like an usb hdd, or thumb drive, or accessible network location, go to the other machine, locate the file and try to play it back, more than likely you have a faulty dvd drive. Also look at this and see if it fits.Microsoft kb929461

 

[goombawaho]

Right, you proved that the DVD is okay by other PCs being able to play it.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.

 

[Boxer77]

I meant that I copied the files to the hard drive to play it directly from the hard drive. The files copied with no problem but would still not open. I've tried other computers and was able to play them from the same DVD. There's three that play them and three that won't.

 

[timtim1234]

This may be silly, but did you reboot the pc?

 

[cdogg]

Try the CCCP site I posted above on one of the PC's. It's perfectly safe.



-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.

 

[Boxer77]

Okay. I was back on-site and he said he found a codec online that worked. He doesn't remember which one though. I love problems that solve themselves. Thanks again for all or your advice.

 

[cdogg]

Yep, if you venture from site to site downloading codecs, you'll eventually find the right one. That's taking the longer route, but hey, whatever works right? Good to hear.

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.