Explorer Crash on MPEG2 Thumbnails

DavidPJ wrote on 11/20/2004, 7:09 PM

My new XP SP2 PC has a problem viewing MPEG2 files in thumbnail view in Explorer. Once the folder is opened with the MPEG2 file or files, Explorer crashes. The MPEG2 files were created by Vegas 5b. MPEG1, MOV, and AVIs seem to be OK, at least for the time being.

Based on some older posts on this forum and others, it appears this is a known issue. Does anyone know of a solution other than viewing the files in list mode?

Thanks.

Comments

Blues_Jam wrote on 11/20/2004, 9:59 PM

You might want to try putting a check in the box for "Do not cache thumbnails" under START/CONTROL PANEL/FOLDER OPTIONS/VIEW/Advanced settings: Files and Folders.

I don't know if this will solve the problem but it's worth a shot. It also saves on disk space and newer computers can create the thumbnails quickly enough on the fly.

Blues

Steve Mann wrote on 11/20/2004, 10:22 PM

I am sure glad you asked here, too. I have been unable to post on the other forum for more than a week.

I had exactly the same problem when I installed XP-Pro (SP1) in a new computer.

Exactly!

The problem turned out that the filespec was too long. I haven't completely verified it, but when I got it under 128 characters total, Windows was happy.

Note, I said the Filespec - not the filename.

That means every character and every foldername from the C: to the .jpg has to be less than 128 characters.

In my case, I was nested deeply into a folder organization, something like: "MyDocuments\Projects\2004\Presentation High School\Scanner Files\images\Stage Crew.jpg"

Don't bother counting the characters, I don't recall the exact path.

Note that in Windows, "MyDocuments" is not at the root.

To verify this solution...
First, shorten some of the folder names.
Open the command prompt to navigate to your images folder and rename one of the suspect images to a shorter name.

Please let me know if this fixes your problem.

Steve Mann

DavidPJ wrote on 11/21/2004, 6:43 AM

SonyEPM, have you any suggestions regarding this problem?

Thanks guys. I tried turning off cache folders, deleted all temp files, rebooted, but it didn't help.

Regarding the filespec, it sounds like a good theory. I saw a similar comment on a non-Vegas forum. However, my file spec is far less than 128 characters. My MPEG2 files are in a folder at the drive's root level.

When I get some more time to play with this I'm going to attempt to log a case with Microsoft. I'll post again if I get a reasonable answer. For now, I created a new folder with list view and rendered a new MPEG2 directly to that folder. This works for now.

SonyTSW wrote on 11/21/2004, 10:12 AM

Do you have Photoshop installed? There is a known issue with a file named PSICON.DLL that it installs, check out my post near the end this thread for the workaround. Or search our Knowledge Base for PSICON.DLL (in the Support Menu above)

http://mediasoftware.sonypictures.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=12&MessageID=262458

DavidPJ wrote on 11/21/2004, 11:37 AM

Thanks SonyTSW, but no Photoshop.

DavidPJ wrote on 11/22/2004, 12:27 PM

I've since found that even if explorer didn't crash while mpg2s were viewed in list mode, it would crash as soon as I clicked on a file. Which meant I could not copy, move, delete or even view properties of a mpg. Many people are having the same problem with slight variations. Some have it with AVIs. I read many comments on Microsoft's XP Forum and nobody has found a universal fix. A fix may work for someone but not another.

Thankfully, I found one that worked for me. Here it is:

Open Registry Editor (click Start | Run | regedit.exe)
Goto this location:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mpg\ShellEx
Delete "ShellEx" entry.

If you're not familiar with Registry editing, you should backup the registry first or export the key before changing it.

No guarantees, but this worked for me and I hope it works for you too. I'm so relieved.