The fix for Windows XP not letting you delete .avi

[RiG]

I've seen this coming up more and more all over the place so I figured I'd stick it here.

Avi files (divx) can be trouble in xp. there is a fix to let xp behave much better so it's possible to move or delete large avi files. The obnoxious bug in XP that causes Explorer to read the entire contents of broken AVI files before allowing any access to them is caused by bad behavior of shmedia.dll.

To correct this misbehavior in Windows XP, remove the following
registry key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{87D62D9 4-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}\InProcServer32

This will prevent Explorer from loading shmedia.dll in response to file property queries on these files.

Just an extra note, if you do a "search" for this key it will not be found, look for it manually it is very easy to find. As always newbie or not, if you FUBAR your registry its your own fault. This fix does work, I use it and have applied it to many XP machines. Now go ahead and fix this royal pain in the ass!


RiG

[weeyoo]

Thank you, this worked perfectly in xp pro

[Mirror_Image]

When deleting a registry key, it is not a bad idea to export that key (to your desktop or wherever; it makes a little text file with a .reg extension) and then delete the key from your registry - for an easy double-click to put the key back if you change your mind.

[hardrock]

that's really great
thank you

[lee mu bai]

if you want to delete AVIs without the registry hack, try this: bring up the task manager, end the Explorer process, then restart it (using New Task) to bring up your desktop again. immediately open up a DOS prompt and delete the AVI file.

[RiG]

@Mirror_Image

Thanks for the tip! I'll keep that in mind next time I need to play in the registry. I was slammed with 70 gig of avi files that I couldn't delete and it took me almost a month before I came across a fix that actually worked. See what we can accomplish if we all work together!


RiG

[Bounty Hunter]

OR...If you have a P2P file sharing program (Grokster is what i use).

Open the program and PLace the file in the "My ______" (for instance the

media directory forgrokster is called, My Grokster, so you would put the

file in "MyGrokster") and just delete it from there. That's how I usually do

it.

[leebo]

Anyone know if this fixes the problem of Explorer crashing when you try to select an mpeg2 file?

[FiEND]

the only problem with this is -

first it has nothing to do with broken avi files in particular, it has to do with the avi info being at the arse of the video and not the beginning... has to scan the video to get the info (for the popup or status bar info).

if and when you do this, you will not be able to read the info/properties for the video anymore.. not even when playing it, ie if you want to see the bitrates/compression/audio parameters/etc of the divx/avi file, you would have to use an external program.

all you really have to do for a quick delete is right click the avi, select properties, wait a couple seconds till it pops up the info, then close the info box and delete the file. or you can double click, when the file starts to play, close the playback and then it is free to delete. but you must delete asap - if you move around explorer, it will have to re-read the info.

so if you want to keep the quick info/properties availability for avi files, don't delete the registry.

[Tommyknocker]

Dear Rig:
I was going to tell you to "put the crack pipe down", until I rebooted and your woprocedure worked like a charm. Thanks a lot! I was beginning to worry about what would happen if I got too many of those files on my computer. You're great!

[RiG]

@ Tommyknocker

LOL, thought by the first sentence we were going to get into a knockdown dragout slobberknocker , it apparently is not a perfect fix, you lose the "Windows properties" function, but its the only fix that is not a pain in the ass ie. do this then that then wait then quick do this!! I don't have the time to delete 90 divx that way as I'm sure everybody else has better things to do as well.

I'm glad I could help some people as this site has been a wealth of knowledge and experience in the last 3 years for me. Thanks for making me feel welcome on this board people!


RiG

[ktron]

simple method.

Go to

http://download.com.com/3000-2092-9572443.html

download prog and use to remove offending artucle...

[mnmubin]

Delete shmedia in registry makes viewing avi properties not possible in file explorer - which is very useful. My problem of deleting `undeleteable avis' instead solved by just remove/ unreg frameserving/ reinstall Virtualdub.

[Allan55]

Hi,

I just searched for "87D62D94" which is part of the key and I found it (3rd key with same value on my machine). This should make it easier to find.

Allan

[Goggy]

Another method to allow access to those AVIs without playing with the registry is to simply right click on the file and go to properties (may take a minute) and then cancel out of properties and delete the file.

[shiningmonk]

If you can't delete an AVI file in Win XP, you can do so in a command prompt box. However, it then gets deleted completely rather than being transferred to the recycle bin.

[Tommyknocker]

Sorry, we tried that, and it did not work. Altering the registry worked best.

[Trepalium]

There's a better way to unregister shmedia.dll from the system. All you have to do is run "REGSVR32 /U SHMEDIA.DLL", and it'll be removed from the system. No potentially dangerous registry editing required. If you need it back in, just run "REGSVR32 SHMEDIA.DLL", and next login, it should be active again.

[hughv]

I found this issue quite puzzling, and am glad to see an explanation.
Having started my computing career in the days of DOS, I used the DOS method first and it works perfectly for me.
Caveat: The 8x3 file naming convention seems to apply here, so I had to rename the files to conform.
E.G. Del Scorpion King.avi doesn't work.
Rename sk.avi
Del sk.avi works.
This has the advantage stated above: No hack or loss of functionality, no kludge to make things work.
Great forum-This is my first adventure into VCD and I appreciate the help.

[RoMeRz]

RiG i could kiss you ! (i wont 8) ) This helps soo much hehe.

[a]

Caveat: The 8x3 file naming convention seems to apply here, so I had to rename the files to conform.
E.G. Del Scorpion King.avi doesn't work.
Rename sk.avi
Del sk.avi works.

Umm, N:\> del scorpion king.avi would try to delete "scorpion", king.avi would be irrevelant as far as the command is concerned. next time try N:\>del "scorpion king.avi" .)

[ebus]

Xp will happily delete if the offending file is inside a folder and you delete that instead

[rockin granny]

when I went to regedit and followed the instructions when I get as far as classes\clsid there is nothing with the number {87D62D94-71B3-4698-9489-5FE6850DC73E}Actualy I had to go from classes to .avi1to clsid. Did I do something improper? Is there an easier way to delete the avi files? When I right click I do not get a properties option. Just open play explore and delete

[kayfam]

I've run into this problem a couple of times myself and never had to resort to either removing registry entries or going into a command prompt. I simply right clicked on it, dragged it out onto my desktop and deleted it from there. I'm not saying the other ways won't work, but I think a little overthinking went into this problem. I've been running XP for 13 months now and it's worked everytime.

[bapski]

anybody tried cutting the .avi file and pasting it on the recycle bin and then emptying it?

[Tor]

Or, you just select the file, wait a few seconds, and when the status bar text pops up, delete the file.

[kuranuk]

Being a mac user gone XP, this whole concept makes me want to simultaneously laugh and cry...

[kayfam]

Being a mac user gone XP, this whole concept makes me want to simultaneously laugh and cry...

To be sure this is an oddball glitch in XP, but let me assure you in the end you'll be happier you made the switch.

[BJ_M]

the problem with XP -- is that it is always trying to help you to much ..

like opening a unknown file type always opens that stupid first window were it thinks its going to search on the internet for something to open it or you select select from a list ..

THEN you get the list of software avaiable which doesnt always show everything anyway so you have to browse

a lot of extra steps ..

the same with massive files -- or in my case also with dir. with 100,s of thousands of files in them ...

XP wants to read through the whole thing first or index them or find out its properties before you can do anything ...

so either you sit and wait or you defeat soem of XP's "features"

[GiantRobo]

Never did this reg fix and never had an AVI that I couldn't delete. Hmm...
But I DO have a problem with capped MPEG2 files that are a couple Gigs. If I select them in explorer, Explorer will crash. Anyone know how to stop explorer acting this way other than the obvious "don't do it"?