Removing codecs

[Jump]

I've been trying to completely remove codecs from my WinXP computer. But it seems that after uninstalling everything there are a ton of junk files messing everything up for my codecs that i can't find and remove. Is there a way to start with a "clean slate" so to speak? No codecs in my add/remove software, and none in my Program files or any other obvious places.

All that's left is sys32 i think, which i found tons of and can't figure out which is codecs, which is not, which is needed and what is not, etc. Something to magically flush all the files out or a list of "what to keep" I guess, would help. Thanks.

[NoSanninWa]

There is one way to start with a clean slate. It is called reinstalling Windows. Honestly it will get rid of all junk files, all adware, all codecs. You can finally be 100% certain that no spyware is lurking hidden in your system somewhere. Everyone does it eventually, it just happens to be a real pain to back up all your files and reinstall all your programs.

Still... you will be amazed at how quickly your PC will boot up.

In case you're curious: Yes, I am serious. :D

[_Sin_]

I've been trying to completely remove codecs from my WinXP computer. But it seems that after uninstalling everything there are a ton of junk files messing everything up for my codecs that i can't find and remove. Is there a way to start with a "clean slate" so to speak? No codecs in my add/remove software, and none in my Program files or any other obvious places.

All that's left is sys32 i think, which i found tons of and can't figure out which is codecs, which is not, which is needed and what is not, etc. Something to magically flush all the files out or a list of "what to keep" I guess, would help. Thanks.

Just remove the codecs from the "Add/Remove Software" program in the Control Panel. After that install the new codecs and that's it. The new codecs will register themselves automatically to the media files, meaning they will decode the video. No need to delete the files of the codec manually, just make sure that you uninstall every unwanted codec before you install the new ones.


There is one way to start with a clean slate. It is called reinstalling Windows. Honestly it will get rid of all junk files, all adware, all codecs. You can finally be 100% certain that no spyware is lurking hidden in your system somewhere. Everyone does it eventually, it just happens to be a real pain to back up all your files and reinstall all your programs.

Still... you will be amazed at how quickly your PC will boot up.

In case you're curious: Yes, I am serious. :D

There are programs to create images of your HDD to burn onto a bootable CD/DVD so that reinstalling a clean Windows (if you made the image after installing drivers and essential files only) will take less time.
(I did not try any of those programs but I intend to do sometime because it saves you a lot of time that would be better wasted in these forums ;) )

[Jump]

Originally Posted by Jump
I've been trying to completely remove codecs from my WinXP computer. But it seems that after uninstalling everything there are a ton of junk files messing everything up for my codecs that i can't find and remove. Is there a way to start with a "clean slate" so to speak? No codecs in my add/remove software, and none in my Program files or any other obvious places.

All that's left is sys32 i think, which i found tons of and can't figure out which is codecs, which is not, which is needed and what is not, etc. Something to magically flush all the files out or a list of "what to keep" I guess, would help. Thanks.

I already mentioned removing codecs from there. Reinstalling them does nothing. I am aware that I can reinstall windows, but I have no spyware, adware, viruses, etc on my computer, I keep it very up to date. I was hoping for an alternate method of doing it that did not involve reinstalling windows. For the time being, VLC player is working well so I don't feel the need to reinstall windows, but I'm going to have to get around to it eventually, I guess, since I want to get back to re-encoding my anime for use on DVD with TMPGEnc.

What a pain. Ah, well, nothing I can do about it, it seems.

[_Sin_]

I already mentioned removing codecs from there. Reinstalling them does nothing. I am aware that I can reinstall windows, but I have no spyware, adware, viruses, etc on my computer, I keep it very up to date. I was hoping for an alternate method of doing it that did not involve reinstalling windows. For the time being, VLC player is working well so I don't feel the need to reinstall windows, but I'm going to have to get around to it eventually, I guess, since I want to get back to re-encoding my anime for use on DVD with TMPGEnc.

What a pain. Ah, well, nothing I can do about it, it seems.

I really don't understand what you are getting at. You will need codecs sooner or later (you said it yourself), so what speaks against reinstalling some codecs after uninstall the unwanted ones?

[Jump]

One day, after installing a bad codec, I could not play any video file of any type. After uninstalling that troublesome codec, I still could not play anything. So I uninstalled all the codecs I had, and STILL, I could not play anything. In hopes of overwriting it somehow, I reinstalled the appropiate codecs, and the problem still was there. I did this uninstall/reinstall process multiple times. That does not help at all. Hopefully I explained it clear enough, now. :)

(which is why I was looking for a way to remove all the random codecs that were still remaining in the computer that seem to not get removed with the uninstall, or overwritten.)

[Draikan7]

i have the same problem as you so i know what you mean. i have uninstalled many codecs from add/remove and reinstalled new ones and there is still conflict with old files that have not been completely removed so it creates problems when watching anime. i believe the only way you can fix this is to reinstall windows.

[KeinikuSuki]

i believe the only way you can fix this is to reinstall windows. There is another, not widely known, way to veiw the codecs you have installed. And other, well know, super difficult, way to view the codecs you have installed.

The easy, nearly foolproof method:
1. Open your start menu and choose "Run".
2. Type "mmsys.cpl"
3. Hit Enter
4. Choose the Hardware Tab.
5. Select Video Codecs from the list.
6. Choose Properties.
7. In the new window, choose Properties.

http://web.utk.edu/%7Eicampbe2/mmsys.gif

This shows a list of video codecs you have installed. However, this doesn't include all of the Direct Show Filters. Obviously, you can select one and click Remove.

The second, hard, finds everything way:
1. Download and install AVIcodec (http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/mediainfo/AVIcodec_1.1.0.4.exe?use_mirror=unc).
2. Run the program and choose the Codec & Filters tab.

Here's a little sample of how many filters you may have:
http://web.utk.edu/%7Eicampbe2/AVIcodec.gif

You can manually uninstall these codecs one by one, but in doing so you might inadvertantly unregister something important and irreplacable.

To unregister dll's and other registered codecs, open your run box and type:

regsvr32 -u <path><file>.<extension>

Example:
regsvr32 -u %windir%\system32\xvidvfw.dll

This command would unregister the Xvid codec. You can similarly register files by runing the command without the -u switch.

regsvr32 <path><file>.<extension>

That being said, unless you know exactly what you're doing, or just don't care. You should stick to using the first method.

[Yamano667]

Well thats the solution to a beginner from a beginner :) but with a little patience you can clear all the junk and adware from your system manually.

There is one way to start with a clean slate. It is called reinstalling Windows. Honestly it will get rid of all junk files, all adware, all codecs. You can finally be 100% certain that no spyware is lurking hidden in your system somewhere. Everyone does it eventually, it just happens to be a real pain to back up all your files and reinstall all your programs.

Still... you will be amazed at how quickly your PC will boot up.

In case you're curious: Yes, I am serious. :D

[Imazul]

http://www.inmatrix.com/articles/mediasetup3.shtml

Check the section called "The Last resort", its basicly the same thing KeinikuSuki but easily explain and done for the casual user.

The media guide at that site is also well done and its not zoom player only. Its actually my favorite media guide ^^ .

[Jump]

http://www.inmatrix.com/articles/mediasetup3.shtml

Check the section called "The Last resort", its basicly the same thing KeinikuSuki but easily explain and done for the casual user.

The media guide at that site is also well done and its not zoom player only. Its actually my favorite media guide ^^ .

Thanks a lot guys, Imazul's guide solved my problems. I highly recommend it as a last-resort.

[KeinikuSuki]

Well thats the solution to a beginner from a beginner :) but with a little patience you can clear all the junk and adware from your system manually.
Im not whether you're calling me a "beginner" or NoSanninWa, but either way, it's not very nice.

Its basicly the same thing KeinikuSuki but easily explain and done for the casual user.
I don't know, that seems 10 times better than what I suggested, since it'd take forever to unregister every filter. Very usefull link, thanks.

[NoSanninWa]

Im not whether you're calling me a "beginner" or NoSanninWa, but either way, it's not very nice.
Especially since neither one of us is. It's actually pretty decent advice to follow once in a while. Particularly for a beginner, since it was for a beginner even though it wasn't from one.