My AVI files crash explorer.exe

June 13, 2007 at 8:05 pm · Filed under Rants, Software, Windows

Often when I am browsing files using explorer I will come across a file that is an avi, when I move my cursor over the file or click on it, explorer will crash with the following message (or similar):

explorer.exe – Application Error

The instruction at “0×04080db8″ referenced memory at “0×00000000″. The memory could not be “written”.

Click on OK to terminate the program
Click on CANCEL to debug the program

OK/CANCEL

There are very limited solutions to this problem, but one of the simpliest is as follows:

  • Download a copy of ShellExView
  • Find the “Avi Property Handler” extention name
  • Right click on it and select Disable Selected Item (F7)

This does fix the problem, however it just disables the issue, the method below should totally fix it.
For more advanced users you could try the following:

Go to Start, then Run.
Type in regedit and press enter.
Then navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\
If there is a key in there with the name DivX in it, delete it.
Now navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\
If there is a key called PropertyHandler in there, delete the value (Default). Then it will appear as an empty value. Finally close the registry editor and reboot the computer.
Now .avi files should not cause explorer.exe to crash anymore.

I believe this problem can also affect Winamp, when shifting quickly though avi files.

Also see Windows Crashing on moviecodec.com

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63 Comments »

  1. Leen said,

    July 27, 2007 @ 10:37 am

    The registry edit didn’t work for me. If seen a lot of outright stupid programming errors in
    windows, but having explorer crash on icons is definitely one of my favorites.

  2. KT said,

    August 31, 2007 @ 1:30 am

    I found it!!!!

    I have had this problem for AGES….

    All I had to do was UNINSTALL K-Lite Codecs… When it was uninstalling… It prompted me saying there was missing codec files that it could not uninstal, and do I want to remove the registry entry? One was divx.dll in the windows32 dir, and there were some cucusoft ones too.

    Now Explorer isn’t crashing…. Wow! So easy! I suggest if anyone else has this problem, uninstall ALL your video codec programs first, then reinstall one good one (like vlc!)

  3. KT said,

    August 31, 2007 @ 1:32 am

    One more thing… I chose YES to remove all the registry entries it prompted me for…

    I had to post this somewhere on the net. If this works for you and you’re searching for the answer, spread it around! I searched forever and couldn’t find the answer anywhere.

  4. Pete said,

    September 7, 2007 @ 1:00 pm

    Rock on KT I’ll be sure to spread the word and you be sure to tell some of the less experienced that if it doesn’t prompt for the removal of registry entries to search the xvid.dll in the windows system 32 folder. Thanks alot bro that was really starting to bug me.

  5. Daz said,

    September 19, 2007 @ 4:38 am

    Hello KT and all!

    Thank you sooooo much KT for posting the fix. I had the same problem where I would open a file containing video files to only have explorer.exe crash, forcing the closure of the folder and having the computer refresh the icons on the desktop. (I am using XPSP2). Since I did not have K-Lite Codecs installed in my computer in the first place, I downloaded the full version of K-Lite Codecs from http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm. I had planned to install then uninstall K-Lite so I could use the fix you suggested. However, when I installed K-Lite it told me that there were broken codecs and asked me if I wanted them removed. I selected “yes” to each message. Then I opened my folder with the video files … and NO MORE CRASHES!!!! :) So, just to add to KT’s wonderful suggestion, if you have explorer.exe crashing and do not have K-Lite Codecs installed, then install K-Lite Codecs and it will get rid of the broken codecs and stop the crashing.

    Thank you again KT for sharing. It is people like you that bring us back to what the Internet should be about. I hope the goodness gets returned to you double-fold! :)

  6. Daz said,

    September 19, 2007 @ 5:31 am

    PS. Because I put a full-stop after the K-Lite Codec URL, you get an error when clicking the link. Here is the link that should take you there:

    http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Codec_Pack.htm

  7. beattie said,

    September 21, 2007 @ 5:24 pm

    omfg m8 nice one for this mine was the thorix codexs i think or how eva ya spell it lol anyway nice one for tha its bin pissin me off for a gd few months now i kinda got used it tho :P haha thanks agen m8 gd job

  8. schweinebrot said,

    September 23, 2007 @ 11:21 am

    I had the same problem, sometimes it was “0×03a1415b”, then “0×017d415b” or “0×0297415b” or something like this, always “415b” at the end. After reading some 20 entrys like this that google found, my solution was to upgrade my divx-codec to the newest version. voila – no crashing! Everything started, after I installed pinnacle studio 9 quickstart, that came with the divx 5.1.1 codec that had to be installed (I do not know if I had divx before that installed at all – I was always using the xvid that comes with autogk – great program by the way!)

  9. SteveTee said,

    October 22, 2007 @ 8:05 pm

    I have tried this and it doesn’t work for me at all !
    I didn’t have the K-Lite codes installed (that I am aware of) but I nevertheless downloaded and unstalled the full version but it hasn’t made a squiddly jot of a difference !
    Still getting the explorer abend whenever I open any folder with an .AVI file extension in it !!!!

    This is so frustrating, exspecially as it seems to wotrk for you all !

    Win XP home SP2 – all fixes applied.

    Any idea’s why it may not be working ? – have even tried de-installing and re-installing but still no joy !!

    any suggestions gratefully received and tried :-)

  10. Ber said,

    November 3, 2007 @ 10:58 pm

    I removed all original divx codec, the player, etc… and without installing them again VLC is now playing it all without crashing my explorer, don’t ask me how this is working but it is :)

  11. Tim said,

    November 9, 2007 @ 4:03 pm

    THanks,

    Uninstalled K Lite and no more problems.

    THanks again.

  12. Bushferret said,

    November 16, 2007 @ 11:30 pm

    I too have had this problem for months now (running xp-sp2) and it has been p*ssing me off badly. I installed the k-lite pack and it detected problems with the Nero gubbins. Let it fix the problems and all is now well. Cheers chaps

  13. JAMIE1 said,

    November 23, 2007 @ 12:56 am

    Thanks so much. I was about to refomat my PC. This was great advice and worked perfectly. A lifesaver

  14. Ulvio said,

    November 25, 2007 @ 12:44 pm

    Sweeeeeeeeeeet!!! Now I can enjoy browsing my files
    Thx guys!!

  15. Ricky said,

    November 27, 2007 @ 2:59 am

    Thank you sooo much for this, ive had this problem for ages just uninstalled k-lite codecs and now its better. ;)

  16. SmaRkieS said,

    December 4, 2007 @ 5:48 am

    The registry fix doesnt work for me, and also the codec thing… What I did is remove it from the File type option.

    1. Open windows explorer
    2. Click Tools -> Folder Option
    3. Click tab File Types
    4. Locate the file extension that crashes ex. AVI just Delete that extension.
    5. Click OK and your done.

    enjoy!

  17. Patrik said,

    December 5, 2007 @ 4:51 am

    Thanks so much. This problem had me seriously worried. I dl’d K-Lite and it fixed everything! YES!

  18. Mike said,

    December 8, 2007 @ 10:42 pm

    THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!

  19. Mike Something said,

    December 18, 2007 @ 8:05 pm

    YES YES YES. IT WORKED. PRAISE THE LORD. and than you for posting

  20. D-Man said,

    December 20, 2007 @ 2:28 am

    YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! I had similar problem with WMP saying – The enumerator has become invalid – when I played Mpegs that I knew worked recently. Downloading and installing k-lite codecs worked!!!!!

    Thanks!

  21. Dlux said,

    December 24, 2007 @ 4:53 am

    I Have had this problem for months….and its been pissing me off. i had windows codec pack (or something like that) installed. i just unistalled it about 10 minutes ago, and know its fine. (actually, i just had a folder full of movies, and whenever i opened that folder, explorer.exe would crash)

  22. Canadian_Brit said,

    December 28, 2007 @ 6:15 pm

    Thank you so much for this fix!!!! I have been two days trying to get rid of the problem. I downloaded the K-Lite and it did exactly what you said.
    Happy New Year!!!!!

  23. Airwolf said,

    January 6, 2008 @ 7:09 am

    Thanks!!! Awesome fix, I’m glad I stumbled upon this page!

  24. CPTcarter1st said,

    March 9, 2008 @ 1:37 am

    wow, i have been searching for 2 days to fix this bug. everytime i open a folder with avi file, and play it. my windows would crash and blame xvid.dll.
    i dled that codec you suggested. and it found about 18 broken codecs. i have a lot of video programs. so i deleted them like suggested. then went into
    the my folder and played 3 videos, and no crash.
    you are a life saver thankyou

    CPTcarter1st

  25. Val_T said,

    March 24, 2008 @ 1:50 am

    OMG, I’ve been looking for this solution for about a month….thx God it’s here! Couple of my avi files were destroying my explorer everytime I tried to open it….
    I’ll try to download the new K-lte ( I’ve already installed the old ones, but I think this one ’caused the problems )
    Thx..

  26. Easy response said,

    April 2, 2008 @ 7:45 pm

    I know by experience that Windows XP doesnt like folder in FAT32 partition in many big files (like divxs video) My solution: format a partition in NTFS file format. Easier way: don’t use windows explorer to browse this directory and use, for example, Total Commander (or free commander) !

  27. fab54 said,

    April 23, 2008 @ 6:15 pm

    I could kiss you!!!!
    Installing K-Lite I removed all the broken links in the registry and now it works perfectly!
    Thanx

  28. R-Dub said,

    May 1, 2008 @ 5:13 am

    Dude awesome fix…. that freakin K-Lite codec pack was messing up my damn avi explorering you wouldn’t believe how many files that crashed my computer and I just thought they were some kind of virus or buggy avi file…..nope finally find the issue…its not windows it our own stupidity for downloading crappy software. I guess it is good for fixing issues that it either created or other software created…. Thank KT… you da man!!

  29. Brad73 said,

    May 7, 2008 @ 10:20 am

    KT – thanks for the fix. I installed K-Lite uninstalling all existing codecs and removing broken codecs from the registry and presto problem resolved! This issue was a massve pain in the backside for me so very happy it’s now resolved. Cheers…

  30. Paul said,

    May 7, 2008 @ 5:09 pm

    Fantastic! Fixed my problem.

  31. Jeffrey said,

    June 17, 2008 @ 3:03 am

    Thank you so much for all your advice! Installing K-lite fixed whatever broken file I had. I can now open folders with AVI extensions… and to think I was going to do a destructive recovery.

  32. Anthony said,

    July 6, 2008 @ 8:39 am

    Thanks this solution worked for me. This bug has been annoying me for the last few months. I cant tell you how much I appreciate you posting this.

    :D

  33. Lisa said,

    July 11, 2008 @ 6:38 pm

    I am just another happy camper now too!! I had thought it was a software issue all along…but would never have known what to look for first. Can’t express how annoying it was to have explorer crash each time I looked at an avi folder, never mind trying to open said folder. Great save to all concerned, I went for the k-lite codec fix myself, & am now in avi heaven. :D

  34. Rick said,

    August 1, 2008 @ 12:25 pm

    I’m piling on with the love, KT and Daz. I only had the trouble for a day, and didn’t have to search long before I found this page. Thanks!

  35. Hector said,

    August 9, 2008 @ 4:07 am

    Just a quick note to say thanks a lot! (yes, I know the posts are almost a year old, but I’m so happy right now for having fixed this annoying problem I hope some of the guys still read this :) )

  36. Mike said,

    August 30, 2008 @ 5:45 pm

    Thank you 1000x

    I spent hours trying to fix this problem.. nothing worked until I did your registry fix:

    this is what fixed it for me:

    Now navigate to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\
    If there is a key called PropertyHandler in there, delete the value (Default). Then it will appear as an empty value. Finally close the registry editor and reboot the computer.

  37. Ola said,

    September 11, 2008 @ 9:27 am

    Thanks for the fix KT! This problem has bugged me for AGES!

  38. Paul said,

    September 18, 2008 @ 2:07 am

    Very Cool! I have K-Lite Codecs installed on my computer. Luckily I haven’t had any issues yet so far, but glad that I came across this now before the problem started in mine. Lord knows I don’t have a lot of hair left to pull out anymore!

    Computers are annoying at times. LOL

    Paul
    Cucusoft Converter Review

  39. Ghetto_uk said,

    September 25, 2008 @ 11:39 pm

    I have fixed it so easy. use search and search for xvid, it will find xvid.dll, and xvid.ax, remove both these files into a folder to back them up should you have any problems, i have not had any yet. You also need to remove Glzw.dll

    so remove :

    xvid.dll
    xvid.ax
    Glzw.dll

    I done that and everything is normal now. Ghetto_uk

  40. Piña said,

    October 23, 2008 @ 8:18 am

    THANK YOU! I dowloaded and installed K-Lite Codec – removed the corrupted files – and evertyhing FINALLY works! Hallelujah!

  41. nemoW said,

    November 6, 2008 @ 12:05 am

    Best solution:
    regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll

  42. Rajesh said,

    December 1, 2008 @ 5:55 pm

    KT Thank u Very much my dear

  43. Kenny said,

    December 29, 2008 @ 6:25 pm

    Thankyou KT, I just uninstalled “k- lite” and now everything works without crashing.

  44. Christian C said,

    January 12, 2009 @ 10:10 am

    None of the options above worked except for SmaRkieS’ Lovely! Thanks a lot!

  45. Michael said,

    January 24, 2009 @ 12:13 am

    I had the very same problem and was given alot of useless info which did not help i.e. regedit/regcure/stopzillia patches and the list goes one. One day I sent one of many error report to microsoft and they said it was linked to an Xvid problem I have attached this message.

    Problem caused by Xvid
    This problem was caused by Xvid, which was created by The Xvid Team. There is no solution for this problem at this time.
    Recommendation
    ________________________________________
    A newer version of Xvid is available for download that might address this problem. The Xvid Team recommends updating to the latest version of Xvid to take advantage of security and stability improvements.
    Go online to the following website to update Xvid:
    The Xvid Team
    —————————————-

    This was the link that it gave me I used it and my problems are solved
    http://www.xvid.org/Downloads.15.0.html

  46. Lucy said,

    February 8, 2009 @ 12:06 pm

    I have exactly the same problem with explorer.exe crashing each time I want to open a file with avi-videos !! :(
    I’ve read this thread, but as I’m not exactly a computer expert, I don’t understand what I should do… I don’t even know where the codecs are on my computer or how I can access them to delete them :S
    Could anyone explain how to fix this irritating problem step by step?

    thank you so much !
    xxx

  47. Andrea Clunes V. said,

    February 21, 2009 @ 3:39 pm

    Ahh, I’ve been having this problem for a few days now and I thought it was just corrupted avis or something like that. Today I tried this solution and it seems it worked. I could finally browse over some avi files without having explorer.exe crashing on my face. Thank you! :D Even though it was scary to delete something from the registry. ^^U

    Thank you very much for your help. <3

  48. Martin said,

    March 12, 2009 @ 6:41 pm

    Problem: In Windows 2000 Professional & Windows XP, Windows Explorer will sometimes crash when a large .AVI file is selected.

    Cause: By default when certain file types are selected (music and video files) Windows Explorer will load them into a preview utility (which will be visible on the left side of the folder pane [the right pane]). If the file is large/abnormal then it may cause Windows Explorer to crash. This can often happen with large .AVI files.

    Work around: The Windows Explorer file preview utility [in the right pane] can be switched off (customised) in 2000 & XP. Any folder which may contain large/abnormal .AVI files should be customized not to use the file preview utility. To do this just right click in a folder/file pane that might contain abnormal/large .AVI files [the right hand pane]. Then left click on ‘Customize this folder…’. Then use a template/view format which does not use the image preview utility.

  49. Johny said,

    March 26, 2009 @ 1:13 pm

    Thanks KT. I followed your advice and its not crashing Windows Explorer anymore. All I did is uninstall XviD codec which I assume is conflicting with VLC codecs already installed.

  50. rUKA said,

    April 17, 2009 @ 8:38 am

    I start to have those problems when i open some movie folders cpu start to working 100% and explorer.exe crashes, I never see this in years a i think i found the problem, it calls (winamp5551_full) after testing some codecs divx,xvid, nero codecs everithing ok without new winamp (back to winamp 2.78 without movie options and winamp codecs/stuff, only for music mp3, everithing fine now ;)

  51. Hon said,

    June 7, 2009 @ 4:07 am

    T My Window Explorer crashes when accessing .avi files. Exported registry file to a folder. Navigated to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\
    If and did not find a key in there with the name DivX in it – nothing to delete. Navigated to: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.avi\shellex\
    If there was a key called PropertyHandler in there , deleted the value (Default) and appeared as an empty value. Closed the registry editor and reboot the computer. My Window Explorer does not crash when accessing .avi files. Thanks very much for the fix.

  52. SmaRkieS said,

    July 18, 2009 @ 9:54 am

    The registry fix doesnt work for me, and also the codec thing… What I did is remove it from the File type option.

    1. Open windows explorer
    2. Click Tools -> Folder Option
    3. Click tab File Types
    4. Locate the file extension that crashes ex. AVI just Delete that extension.
    5. Click OK and your done.

    enjoy!

  53. L said,

    August 8, 2009 @ 8:31 pm

    It worked for me on winxp 32 sp3! ty so much!

  54. Honey said,

    August 15, 2009 @ 2:07 am

    I have seen many solutions and answers but I have had this happen to me twice, both times it was the h264codec ! 1st time it was from avs converter and today it came from my pinnacle software. pinnacle was fine TILL i disconnected it and then it gave problems on the codec.
    So everyone having these problems, do a search on your computer for the codec and uninstall that program or if possible just the codec.

  55. Denis said,

    August 26, 2009 @ 8:44 pm

    worked for me, many thanks for taking the trouble to write it up.

    The software looks like a good tool for future tasks too.

    I also disabled the Video properties handler and another video option near the bottom of the list just to be sure and all is good now. :)

  56. Cpt. Hedin said,

    November 18, 2009 @ 10:36 am

    Best solution:
    regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll

    worked perfect!

  57. Paul said,

    November 26, 2009 @ 6:39 am

    Had the same problem, open a folder full of video files and explorer would crash with icons refreshing. None of the suggested options worked. In the end I just changed the folder view to list instead of thumnails, and the problem was gone. Think it has something to do with the amount of ram you have as other folders with a smaller number of videos in them will display fine in thumbnail mode.

  58. Maged F said,

    December 20, 2009 @ 11:00 pm

    The K-lite thing worked….seemed stupid at the beginning BUT WORKED!…
    thanx man…a lot

  59. Narada Dilshan said,

    January 17, 2010 @ 6:20 am

    Hi all

    just go start > run

    then paste this command and press enter key

    then cmd window will displayed and ask about to delete windows registry key?
    press “y” .
    then restart and check again whether it’s happen?

    enjoy

  60. Narada Dilshan said,

    January 17, 2010 @ 6:23 am

    Open the the Run box and enter:

    reg delete HKCR\CLSID\{87D62D94-71B3-4b9a-9489-5FE6850DC73E}

    Restart your computer.

  61. Elef said,

    January 21, 2010 @ 2:38 pm

    Regarding K-Lite codec and AVI files crashes. It worked for me. THANK YOU!

  62. Deb M said,

    February 12, 2010 @ 8:42 pm

    thanks..I had the same problem .Apparently it was K-lite which was messing things up.So i have got rid of it .

    Vlc Rules !!

  63. yo said,

    March 4, 2010 @ 4:46 pm

    hey guys
    had same problem
    tried few things [disable avi handler, through “ShellExView” – didnt help, unistalled divx- didnt help
    downloaded klite- didnt install yet- but solved my problem by tryin sth i noticed: on ShellExView i searched for items that has to do with AVI etc… and i found this: Video Thumbnail Extractor – i disabled it, and IT WORKS!!!!! u guys should try it too, before installing\uninstallin other stuf :)
    i think it’ll work for u too!
    NOTE: if i try playin these crashin files through double-click media player- i get the crash!!!
    so, i just use VLC to watch the files and thats it!!!
    worked like charm, worth a try, and raelly easy- if it works for u too- spread the word like ppl already said, thanks for the help and team cooporation guys :D enjoy watchin them movies :D

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