Please help with codecs and Vista.

So I finally finished moving all my files to my new inspiron 1520 and I am having issues playing my avi files. I cannot play them in Windows Media Player as I ger an error - "Windows Media Player cannot access the file. The file might be in use, you might not have access to the computer where the file is stored, or your proxy settings might not be correct." but this is while the video is playing in the background minus audio.

So I downloaded Video Lan VLC Media Player and Media Player Classic and the following codecs:
DivX
Xvid
CoreAvc Pro
AC3
AviCodec examiner

and I can now play the video using these two programs but I get no audio. I know that it is not the sound card as I get audio from sites such as youtube, etc. Also for some reason itunes will not play my Mp3's.

Can anybod help with this - any codecs (No Spyware ones) I could download that would help me play the avi files with full audio.

Thanks!!!

 

ffdshow will do the job.

 

1. If you really want a full codec pack (i.e. everything done for you, no need to tweak settings, etc.), try the Combined Community Codec Pack (CCCP). It's the best one out there for most purposes. You can and should uninstall all the random stuff you listed above and just install CCCP: www.cccp-project.net

2. VLC is self-contained. Those codecs won't affect it at all, and nor would they need to. VLC can handle just about anything by itself.

3. DivX - see CCCP above. The full DivX package actually has a lot of conflicts in general. This isn't what's causing your problems, but just something to be aware of.

4. Xvid - not bad, if a bit outdated, but CCCP above takes care of this.

5. CoreAVC Pro - this isn't freeware btw....

6. AC3 - one of the possible culprits for your sound problems - make sure your sound settings in here are correct. (better yet, uninstall it and install cccp)

7. AviCodec examiner - unnecessary - a better version is included in CCCP

8. This may sound stupid, but go into Volume Control in Windows, enable view of all channels and options, and make sure nothing is disabled or muted.

 

Thanks guys - I installed FFDshow but no go on the audio and getting Windows media player to work. Also checked audio settings - everything looks good. Windows Applications sounds are working as well. Just nothing with any of the avi files.

 

Follow what taelrak stated. Get the CCCP codec and MPC. Best combo possible that will not tax your system. Been using those two for the last four years. Very stable and uses extremely low resources. Just make sure all the other codecs are uninstalled.

VLC is a good stand alone but to me it fells heavy and sluggish at times.

 

Thanks Taelrak and QHS - I uninstalled all the codecs and installed CCCP. I get video on MPC / VLAN but no audio and WMP still refuses to work. Any suggestions short of reformat / reinstall vista. Thanks!

 

I would suggest getting the Kazaa MegaCodec Pack...that should fix everything.

After that, use VLC player, and it should work.

The Kazaa MegaCodec Pack has essentially every codec that you could use for nearly 95% of the videos that you'll ever watch.

 

Thanks but I think CCCP has all the codecs minus the bloatware that Kazaa would have - I think the issue is to remove some messed up seting with the audio codec that I suspect AC3 messed up. I wonder if I can fix this rather than reinstalling Vista with a reformat.

 

Can anyone help please? I really dont want to reinstall vista

 

I am so POed at vista right now. Last time I had to reinstall vista and my audio was working. I had kept my codecs very light by only having WMP and VLAN. I had no problem in playing all my audio and video. Now all of a sudden without installing / uinstalling any software / drivers; I get zero audio from MPC / VLAN or WMP!!!!!!! even Itunes will not play my MP3's. I can't keep reinstalling my OS every 2 months - This is ridiculous. Could someone please help me by telling me what I can do to get audio to work without reinstalling vista. Thanks!!!!

P.S. I installed CCCP after the audio stopped working but it has not helped and WMP gives me the stupid error "Windows Media Player cannot access the file. The file might be in use, you might not have access to the computer where the file is stored, or your proxy settings might not be correct."