Vista thumbnail creation crash on .mpg files

[OldAmateur]

In a Vista folder that is set to display thumbnails, Vista creates a thumbnail for each video file by extracting a frame (the first frame, I think) from the video. On my system, when the video is an .MPG file, Vista gives an error message that Rundll32 has crashed, with the fault module name StackHash_1703. When I click on "Close the Program" in the error dialogue, Vista then creates the expected thumbnail and moves on.

Thumbnails for other videos, such as .AVI, are created without any error.

It's not a fatal problem, but it can be a real annoyance, especially when dealing with a folder that has a large number of "new" .MPG files (that is, ones without previously-created thumbnails).

Can anyone help me figure out what's going on and what I can do to fix it?

Many thanks.

[romi7519]

seems like a codec conflict.

can you list installed codecs/packs pls?

[redwudz]

That type of behavior is usually because Windows Explorer is having problems displaying the thumbnails, hence the crash. You can drop one of your MPEGs into Gspot and try rendering it to see what process is used.

[OldAmateur]

seems like a codec conflict.

can you list installed codecs/packs pls?

Well, let's see. I will try to attach the list that Gspot shows for a typical .MPG file.

[SCDVD]

You system is suffering from codec confusion. You have six MPEG codecs.

[OldAmateur]

You system is suffering from codec confusion. You have six MPEG codecs.

Yes. I expect that's so of nearly any system that has several video applications . . . but what to do about it? That's where I need help.

(Of the codecs listed above, ffdshow is the only one that I consciously installed. The others came with Vista or with various viewers or editors, apparently.)

[OldAmateur]

Below is the Gspot output after clicking on button 1 under "MS A/V". I notice that it uses the Mainconcept splitter instead of the PDR. Button 2 under this heading renders and plays the file successfully. Button 2 under "Gspot Vid" gives "Failed to connect output pin" error message for each of the six splitter/codec combinations.


snap0011.bmp

[OldAmateur]

Oops, forgot to convert the capture to .jpg. Sorry about that.

[SCDVD]

There are those that are more expert than I with respect to dealing with codec problems but I do have some thoughts. You might try removing all codecs from your system and reinstalling only the ones that you need. Codec conflict can sometimes be better described as "codec damage". Installing one codec can in some cases damage previously installed codecs or create ambiguous OS links and registry entries that creates hard to diagnose problems. That's the biggest reason that codec packs are considered to be a bad thing.

[Baldrick]

Advanced video conversion? I don't think so. Moving you. .

[OldAmateur]

Advanced video conversion? I don't think so. Moving you. .

You're the boss, but . . . you're substantially reducing the chance that this thread will be noticed by one of the few people who know enough to give productive advice.

Sigh.

[Squash]

OldAmateur,

I'm running Vista and don't have a problem with thumbnails on mpg files. Comparing my Gspot to yours, the main difference I see is in the splitter. (Mine, like yours, does not like the PDR splitter. I don't have Mainconcept). My computer is using Microsoft's built-in MPEG-2 Splitter, mpg2splt.ax, which isn't showing up on your screenshot for some reason. Maybe your Mainconcept is choking on something, I don't know.

You might try re-registering the MS splitter by typing "regsvr32 mpg2splt.ax" into an administrator command prompt (type cmd into the search box, then hit shift+ctrl+enter; it'll say administrator in the title bar of the window). You may need to raise its merit versus Mainconcept. I'm foggy on that stuff, I haven't had to mess with it in a long time.

Be careful. I'd do a quick backup of the registry first just in case. ERUNT is good and free and only takes a few seconds.

If you can't get it worked out, the people at LEAD say they have a solution:
http://support.leadtools.com/SupportPortal/cs/forums/20238/ShowPost.aspx

Costs $10, but they have a free evaluation version.

My screens:

[OldAmateur]

Squash:

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, none of them has stopped the 'thumbnail' crash. Re-registering the MS splitter had no immediately noticeable effect. Unregistering the PDR splitter makes Gspot try to use the Cyberlink MPEG-2 splitter, which may well be essentailly the same as the PDR module. It did allow Gspot to render successfully using the Mainconcept splitter, but that seems to be irrelevant. I may try uninstalling Cyberlink PowerDirector (source of the PDR modules) anyway, since I never use it.

Since I have no problem running .MPG files as videos, I am trying to think of something that would affect only the process of extracting a single frame, but I really know too little about how Vista processes these files. Can anyone point me to a good source for some basic education in that area?