[arkoenig]

I've seen a problem similar to this reported on other occasions, but no obvious consensus about the cause.

I'm using Windows XP SP3. When I visit any folder with .AVI files in it, Windows Explorer dies with a message bout "data execution prevention." This problem has started occurring since March, 2009, because I have a folder with an AVI file that I was able to visit at the time, and now I cannot do it.

I assume that there is something wrong with one of my codecs. Is there an easy to find out which codec Windows is trying to use? I've attached a list of the codecs I have.

 

[blah789]

Note that that window only shows VfW (video for windows) codecs, not directshow ones.
The list looks pretty standard for any Windows XP installation, except for the Morgan Motion JPEG decoder.
Do you have any codec pack installed?

If I recall, earlier versions of DivX (circa version 5) had many DEP problems, but they fixed it eventually.

Does the folder in question have a lot of files?
Does the folder you visit have thumbnail view enabled? If not, how long can you stay in the folder without the DEP error? If long enough, try hovering your mouse over the files one by one until you get the error.
Once you identify the file that triggers error, open it with gspot and find out what codec it uses. For further diagnostics, click on the little 1-2-3 under MS A/V. Get the list of filters and codecs used to render the file (click on the -> arrows for the intermediate pins).

If you are unable to get into the folder at all, right-click it, and pick search. It will list your files. Then you can hover over each until you find the one that causes the problem, and proceed as mentioned above.

 

[arkoenig]

Note that that window only shows VfW (video for windows) codecs, not directshow ones.
The list looks pretty standard for any Windows XP installation, except for the Morgan Motion JPEG decoder.
Do you have any codec pack installed?

Not to my knowledge.

Does the folder in question have a lot of files?

No, only a handful.

Does the folder you visit have thumbnail view enabled?

Yes. Moreover, it displays the thumbnail correctly--then hangs, and the process manager shows dumprep.exe running.

If not, how long can you stay in the folder without the DEP error? If long enough, try hovering your mouse over the files one by one until you get the error.
Once you identify the file that triggers error, open it with gspot and find out what codec it uses. For further diagnostics, click on the little 1-2-3 under MS A/V. Get the list of filters and codecs used to render the file (click on the -> arrows for the intermediate pins).

As far as I can tell, the problem occurs whenever I use any AVI file. All of the AVI files I have were generated by my Canon SD800 camera. So I pointed gspot at a folder that contains only a single AVI file -- one that used to preview correctly and now does not. Here's what it says about codecs:

Render OK. The following combination of filters was used:
(Src)-->>--(A)-->[AVI Splitter ]>--(B)-->[AVI Decompressor ]>--(C)-->[Video Renderer ]
(Src)-->>--(A)-->[AVI Splitter ]>--(B)-->[Default DirectSound Device ]

If I click the purple box with 2 in it, the video plays.

More generally, I can play the video just fine -- I just can't preview it.

 

[blah789]

Correction: in my post above I said morgan motion jpeg codec - that should be pegasus! (picvideo is pegasus imaging - I always confuse all the various mjpeg manufacturers - pegasus/morgan/mainconcept).

Canon AVI files are Motion JPEG. Is there a reason why you need the Pegasus PicVideo Motion JPEG decoder? If not, uninstall it, reboot, and see if it makes a difference.
Windows has a built-in MJPEG decoder already (it's directshow-only, but that's enough for most purposes).

 

[arkoenig]

Canon AVI files are Motion JPEG. Is there a reason why you need the Pegasus PicVideo Motion JPEG decoder? If not, uninstall it, reboot, and see if it makes a difference.

The only product I have from Pegasus is something called JPEG Wizard. I have no idea whether they use the codec for that product. However, I do know that I have not done anything with JPEG Wizard's configuration since a time when the AVI preview stuff worked.

However, if I want to try it, how do I go about uninstalling a codec?

 

[Stevie C]

The codec should probably appear in thew add/remove programs section of the control panel, if it does not then download revo uninstaller, this program is slightly better than add/remove programs. Or it might be if you go to your start menu/applications the pegasus software might be there and may have an option to uninstall it form there.

 

[arkoenig]

Pegasus PicVideo does not appear in my Add/Remove Programs menu, nor in my start menu. Before I go uninstalling it, it would be nice to know how it got there in the first place. I presume it was part of something else I installed, which will break if I uninstall just the coded.

 

[blah789]

Like Stevie said it could be in add/remove programs.
If you don't see a specific entry for Pegasus PICVideo/Motion JPEG, look up the entry for JPEG Wizard. When you click on it, see if there's an option to change (in addition to uninstall). If so, click it and see if there's a separate entry for the PICVideo Motion JPEG codec.

If that doesn't work out (or it does not uninstall properly), try dereferencing the codec in the registry.
Start the registry editor (start, run, regedit). Navigate to the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers32
Make sure Drivers32 is highlighted on the left. Find the entry named VIDC.MJPG (case doesn't matter). Make a note of what it says (for example, double-click it, and copy and paste the info into a text file - just a backup). Then delete the VIDC.MJPG entry (right-click and pick delete). Reboot and try navigating the folder with problems.
If it didn't work and you want to recreate the entry, navigate to the key. Click on edit, new string value, and named it whatever it was before. Double-click it, and for value enter whatever it was before.

 

[arkoenig]

OK, I found the program that installed Pegasus PICVideo: It's something called Pixela ImageMixer that was installed along with the software suite for a digital camera that I no longer use much. So far as I know, I have never explicitly used the ImageMixer software at all.

So I uninstalled it. After doing so, I found that trying to play a video file still crashes, and now if I try to open the file inside Windows Media Player, the playback is watermarked with "www.jpg.com"

I believe that what is happening is that uninstalling Pixela removed the product registration from the codec but did not uninstall it, because when I right-click the codec and select "Properties", a registration code that had formerly been there is no longer there.

So now I tried going into Device Manager, opening "Sound, video, and game controllers," right-clicking "Video Codecs," and clicking "Properties," and found that "PicVideo MJPEG Codec" was still listed. So I clicked it and selected "Remove." It went away.

However, almost anything I do causes it to come right back.

Renaming the Pvmjpg21.dll file to something else causes right-clicking the codec to come up with a dialog box saying "Cannot load the PicVideo MJPEG Codec Driver. The driver file may be missing," so it's clearly this file that is the culprit.

With the file missing, the watermarks go away from my video playback (as I expected), and navigating to a folder with videos no longer crashes.

So I am pretty certain that I should just install the codec. But I can't!

Any idea how to install it? Should I just remove the VIDC.MJPG entry and be done with it?

 

[blah789]

That's a a really bad uninstallation if it removes only the registration but leaves the codec! And yes, without registration the picvideo codec leaves a watermark.
Well you'll have to do two things. Delete all the files, and delete the VIDC.MJPG entry.
This should have a list of relevant files: http://www.moviecodec.com/conversion/picvideo-wwwjpgcom-logo-on-captures-23562/

The rest is for in case you have an editor that can't read the file.
Now Windows already has a built-in Motion JPEG decoder. It's part of DirectX 8 and higher (XP SP2 and higher have DirectX 9c). The only slight downside is it's DirectShow only (which is fine if you're just playing it back). Some editors work fine with DirectShow codecs, but some will require Video for Windows (VfW) codecs. If that's the case, get ffdshow-tryouts.
During installation, be sure to check the box for VfW. If you don't need anything except Motion JPEG decoding in VfW, uncheck all the boxes on the page where it says which codecs it should decode (for example H.264, DivX and so on will be listed on that page - uncheck them all). At the end, check the box run VfW configuration; or go to your start menu, ffdshow, VfW configuration. Under the decoder tab, click on codecs on the left pane. In the right pane, find the MJPEG entry in the left column, and set the middle entry to libavcodec.

 

[arkoenig]

That's a a really bad uninstallation if it removes only the registration but leaves the codec!

Yup. But that's what it does.
VIDC.MJPG entry.

This should have a list of relevant files: http://www.moviecodec.com/conversion/picvideo-wwwjpgcom-logo-on-captures-23562/
Indeed -- that matches what PicVideo says as well.

I did it and it seems to work.

The rest is for in case you have an editor that can't read the file.
Now Windows already has a built-in Motion JPEG decoder. It's part of DirectX 8 and higher (XP SP2 and higher have DirectX 9c). The only slight downside is it's DirectShow only (which is fine if you're just playing it back).

I guess that when I get to the point that something screams about a missing codec, I'll look around for an appropriate one