Hi, first step I’d recommend is to go into folder settings on vista. Open any folder and go to…
Tools>Folder Options
Then on the “view” tab, uncheck “hide extension for known file types”, then go to the top and “apply to folders”
Now you will correctly see that the file extension of this video is indeed “.avi”.
Now regarding your problem. It seems your file associations aren’t set properly, and both media players are attempting to open the file at the same time. In addition, your system codecs (decoding filters) don’t recognize the file, so windows media player can’t play it.
A very simple way to play the file would be to open your player of choice, then click on “file” and “open”, then browse to the video and open it that way. This will bypass windows attempt to decide which program to open the video with.
There is also a possibility that you have some conflicting codecs installed that are causing this error. If you have installed any without being exactly sure what you were doing, then you may have a problem that needs to be addressed. If your sure that you have never installed any codecs, then I’d recommend you get ONE codec pack and install it. When you do, make sure you don’t change the default settings unless you have a specific reason to. Making random changes, or installing all options on a codec pack is one sure way to corrupt your system.
I use “K-lite codec pack (full)”, and have never had a problem with it. Some feel the “CCCP codec pack” is safer for novice users. Either of these choices is free and can be found by doing a search on google or any other search engine.
They also include a media player “Media Player Classic”, which is much like MPCstar. It won’t hurt to install it, its my player of choice.
Another good option is VLC Player, a free player that doesn’t rely on external Codecs. You can get it free at Videolan.org.