Problem with Windows Explorer

[hoser]

Hi. Have just installed AU codec and WSP codec, but when I left or right click on files of these types, Windows Explorer restarts itself. I can still carry out the action I wanted (ie playing a file or converting it) as the PC doesn't reboot, but it's annoying having Explorer restarting every time. Searched the forums but can't find any instances of similar problems occurring, so any help with this would be great!

[LtData]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Right-clicking and crashing involves something besides dMC. I had this on a friends computer and forget exactly how I solved it.
Go into your event viewer (control panel --> administrative tools --> event viewer) and click System. Now, right-click on a file to make Windows crash. Hit F5 to make the Event viewer refresh itself. Take the error you get (0x0fd34 or something) and google it with "right-click crash" or something.

Moved to General.

[hoser]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Event Viewer's not really a help - just says the problem is in the au.dll module and wsp.dll module. Google doesn't come up with anything for the error code. Didn't have this problem until i installed the codecs - could click on AU and MOD files with no problems. Maybe a problem with the codecs?

[LtData]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Do you have the dMC pop-up tips enabled? Start --> Programs --> dBpowerAMP Music Converter --> Configuration --> dMC Configuration and see if the box is checked.

[ChristinaS]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Sounds like the problem I used to have in W2K with real media files (.ra and .rm) after installing the DirectShow codec and filters through Real Alternative while keeping Real Player installed without installing Media Player Classic itself. Every time I'd hover over one of those files, Windows Explorer would crash.

I also used to have frequent, random crashes when right-clicking once and then hovering over most types of media files playable by Windows Media Player 9 - just about all kinds, wav, mp3, wma.....

No such problems in Windows XP with WMP 10, but I've not installed Real Player, only Real Alternative (Media Player Classic), for now.

I no longer have Windows 2000 anywhere now.

[Spoon]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Windows Explorer shouldn't crash for a popup info, it should be GetPopupInfo.exe that crashes.

Are dBpowerAMP Explorer columns on?

[hoser]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

DMC Pop-Up Tips are enabled, but I've never had a problem with them before. In fact, they're very useful. Might try uninstalling the codecs once I've converted what I want to.

[ChristinaS]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Spoon, it used to be Windows Explorer that was crashing for me. Not GetPopUpInfo.exe.

But as I said, this is no longer happening in WIndows XP and the setup I have now, it was only in Windows 2000.

And yes, I have always had all the Explorer columns enabed.

But I was also saying it used to involve media files playable by WMP, if you click once on it and hover over it. The hover ought to execute Getpopupinfo. While the single click ought to connect the file with a program that can play it, so a second click might play it. (That's me explaining what I think is happening, sorry if it's totally technically incorrect :o )

If you recall, you can have a preview pane in Windows Explorer. This allows you to see a small preview of an image file or show a mini-player for a audio/visual file, where you can click the play button and start playing the file. I think that's what was causing Windows Explorer to crash. Maybe it was a combinaiton of GetPopUpInfo and the mini-payer preview that was causing WIndows Exploere rto crash. Two competing shell functions maybe?

So it was happening randomly on any media file that WMP could play. Then always on real media files after DirectShow and real Alterantive were installed.

I think that I'm actualy seeing the connection now better to the shell version of WMP. After DirectShow and the filters from Real Alternative are installed , real media can be played in WMP (not just Media Player Classic). There must be a shell WMP involved. Am I making any sense? Too many coincidences I should think. But I may have my premises wrong FAIK.

Now to get back to this problem in this thread, the file types involved are .au and wsp (no clue what wsp is). Could this be a similar situation of a shell version of a media player competing with getpopupinfo and crashing explorer?

[Spoon]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Shouldn't conflict, either it uses one or the other.

[gameplaya15143]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

explorer crashing when trying to preview a media file... well.. that doesn't suprise me.

the solution: stop windows from trying to preview it
start 'regedit' search for the file extention, there is a 'shell' subkey directory thing, delete it, and explorer won't try to preview it anymore

[ChristinaS]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Errr.... that's not what I want to do. I rather like my Explorer preview, thanks, I'd like to keep it. Especially since the crash is caused by interaction with directshow filters or real alternative or media palyer classic and Real Player.

Solved by getting rid of Real Alternative in that case. Unnfortunatelly this also gets rid of what made the direct show filters work.

[gameplaya15143]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

exactly!!

but its not a directshow filter problem, its a windows problem, it has issues with preview, it always has.

doing what i said will disable the preview (aka waste of cpu cycles) for only that filetype, not all files. most of the time the first frame in a video is black, so you wont be missing much

[ChristinaS]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

I expect it's because of how the directshow filters get to interact with WMP. If I didn't have directshow filters, WMP wouldn't know what to do with real media and would leave it alone to Real Player, end of story. But now that the directshow filters are in place, somehow it thinks it can play the file from the preview - which must a subset of a full WMP. Except not the full subset needed to actually be able to preview. Am I muddled? You bet :D

I don't' like playing in the registry for something like that. It will only revert to the default upon any Windows update I suspect.

But as I said, I don't have that problem if I don't install Real Player and keep only Real Alternative with it Media Player Classic. Except, darn it all, I hate Media Player Classic. It cannot even replay a file. I have to close it and launch it again. It has no proper controls to speak of either. Too basic. It cannot even tell proper information on the file it plays. It's a poor brother, it does just a basic job in my opinion.

[LtData]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

Actually, I like the source of the interface for MPC: Windows Media Player 6.4, called "mplayer2" in WinXP. Although I do have to say, I know where my files come from and mine replays files just fine.

[gameplaya15143]

Re: Problem with Windows Explorer

the 'preview' payne does not use WMP.. how do i know this you ask? because i removed wmplayer from my system (its just a bloated directshow gui anyways, mplayer2 is much much better)

if you dont like editing the registry.. well, preview can be disabled by unregistering the preview dll (i forget what its called), but then then if you right click on an avi, properties, wont tell you what codecs are used in it.... point being.. dont let the registry scare you, you can do a lot of nifty things with it