[Chelsea Volz]

All of the clips are in .avi or .wmv format.
I’m trying to render to a wmv format.

These are the specs I got from the system part of the “computer” tab:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 @ 1.50 GHz
RAM: 2038
And I’m operating on a 32 bit system with Windows Vista Home Premium.

And, I’m not sure if this matters but all of my projects get saved onto an external hard drive.

[Chelsea Volz]

Thats odd about Handbrake. I wonder why that is? Hmm…
But, thank you soo much for that codec recommendation! It seemed to have fixed the issue! All of the .AVI files now load up correctly and everything! Thank you so much! Truly!
Did you still want to see a screen shot of the video tab?

Now, would you still recommend wiping out the computer and starting from scratch? I don’t mind, if you think it’s what I should do. But, would I still have to reinstall the codec to fix the .avi’s again, or would it be okay without it?

Just let me know what you think is best, as now that I have my projects back, and I’ve experienced something this close to a loss, I am willing to do whatever you think I should. 🙂
Again, thank you so much! 😀
And thank you VERY, VERY much to everyone else who responded to this point! All of this help is very much appreciated and really put things into perspective for me! 😀

[Chelsea Volz]

Thanks for responding everyone. 🙂

And okay. I am okay with re-formating my computer and starting from scratch. The only issue is that I am not sure how. Do I need to go purchase Windows Vista (even though I’d probably buy Windows 7) because I no longer have the disk?

And also, once I do this reinstall/reformat, my .avi files will work once I reinstall Vegas and everything?
I don’t have a virus, and it seems as if the Daemon program is what caused the mix up, so once I redo everything and start from scratch, when I plug in my external, it’ll be recognized in the correct drive?

Finally, is there some sort of tutorial that I can follow on the internet? I have a Gateway but the instructions for their “restore” options seem to be incomplete on their website.

Thanks again.

-Chelsea

[Chelsea Volz]

I downloaded the codecs that Ken recommended, but it didn’t seem to solve the problem. Unless, maybe, I didn’t install them correctly. But I extracted them all and let them automatically install. And I restarted my system afterwards.

Also, I uninstalled Daemon Pro Tools.
And, I discovered that I downloaded the Daemon program on January 2nd, 2010 so I just tried doing the system restore. However, the system restore only goes back to 1/21/2010 and I can’t figure out how to create a manual restore point that goes back far enough.
Any advice?

[Chelsea Volz]

I did a virus scan last night and it came up with nothing. I don’t think a virus is what is causing the issue. I mean, yes, it definitely might be, but I also think that there is a good possibility that it is just a combination of the drive letter changing me not having the right codec. But, again, I’m not sure. In a week or so, I could bring my computer to an Office Depot or something of the sort and get a professional virus scan before I do the restore. But until then, how would I about re-downloading those two codecs you said are most commonly used for .avi? I would like to try that option and see if it will fix the issue of my .avi clips not working. And if that doesn’t solve the problem, I will do the system restore. Also, is there a place where I can go online that will give me a walkthrough of how to go about doing the system restore? 🙂
Thanks so much! 😀

[Chelsea Volz]

This definitely sounds like a good option to at least try. Do you know where I can re-download those two codecs?

Thank you so much! 😀

[Chelsea Volz]

This is what changed your drive letter! DAEMON Pro Tools is software that creates virtual drives. It took the drive letter that you were using for your hard drive for itself. That explains it.

Is there any way to reverse that effect? As in, uninstalling it or just doing the system restore back to the point before I downloaded that program?

As I said, AVI is just a container. It’s like a paper bag to put groceries in. We need to know what groceries you put in the bag. Since you created the AVI in handbrake you should be able to select a codec to use. What did you select? In the future, try using a codec that edits well in Vegas (Huffyuv, Lararith, DV, MJPEG, etc.)

I didn’t select any settings other than the output settings > format: avi.
Here is a screenshot.

[IMG]https://i46.tinypic.com/29tusm.jpg%5B/IMG%5D

Personally, I think it’s time format your PC and start over. Who knows what you have downloaded to mess things up. You should seriously consider finding the restore DVD that came with your computer. Take inventory of all the applications that you really use (find their install disc and license codes, etc.) and restore your PC to it’s original state and re-install only the programs you really need. Then stop downloading things.

I don’t mind doing this at all. However, I no longer have any of the programs/discs/booklets that came with my laptop. I’ve moved quite a few times since I bought it and the box that everything initially came in has been lost in the shuffle. 🙁

It’s impossible for us (and you) to know what caused this because of the many downloads (DAEMON Pro Tools being the latest thing that messed you up). I wish I had a better reply. System Restore might help if you only could remember when it started going wrong then pick an earlier date.

I think, of all of my options, this is the best one, other than finding the codecs that Handbrake uses, which I am unsure of how to do. Is there some place online that could walk me through how to do a system restore back to the point before I downloaded Daemon?

And again, I know that this must be really trying, so thank you so much for helping. 🙂

[Chelsea Volz]

Okay, I definitely don’t mind doing that, the only issue I see is because I am unsure when the issue occurred or exactly what caused it. How will I know when to.. per say, “stop” the undo?
I don’t want to go back too far, I don’t think, but it’s difficult because I’m not sure how far back to go.

Also, before this error occurred where ALL of my .avi clips were unrecognizable, it was only happening to a select few .avi clips(clips that I downloaded from torrents – some of them, anyway) but the ripped clips were still able to work correctly. So, I do believe that it could just be a codec issue and maybe that would solve those things that were happening before, and more importantly, this huge issue now.
Is there another program that can be used just as GSpot is or should I just google and see if there is a way I could get it to work?

[Chelsea Volz]

Thanks again Joe and John for responding. 🙂
About the letter drive changing… I think it had something to do with the fact that I unplugged my harddrive and used it in a different port for a day or two and then when I plugged it back in to the original port, it had changed letter drives. Could that be the issue?

Hi Chelsea, (I remember helping you the last time) 😉

Hi again. 🙂

AVI is just a video container that can contain any one of many, many codecs. That’s why I said to use GSpot. The fact that GSpot cannot run at all on your computer is concerning and probably related to your Vegas problem as the first thing GSpot does it look for what codecs are installed. Where did the AVI files come from? Maybe we can figure out the codec from that?

The avi files came from using Handbrake and AnyDVD software and ripping the clips from DVDs. I just ripped them as avi files.
Is there another program, aside from GSpot that I can use?

What changed about your computer? Did you download anything and installed any software? Are you using any peer-to-peer sharing software like Limewire? These are very dangerous and should never be used. Is it possible that your computer got a virus or spyware/malware that has changed settings on your PC?

I dont think I have. But, I’m not sure. I download alot of things and then never use them. One of the most recent was a program called DAEMON Pro Tools, but I only tried using it once and it wouldn’t work so I have just left it alone. Also, I do have Windows Live One Care for viruses, and I scan my computer often so I don’t think I have any viruses. But, I’ll scan again just to be sure. And, I do have Limewire but I don’t use it anymore. I will uninstall it.

Something has changed to 1) make your external drive change letters, 2) make Vegas not recognize your AVI files 3) cause GSpot not to run. You need to figure out what this is and fix it and my guess is that it has nothing to do with Vegas.

Can you use System Restore to restore your PC back to a time when the videos worked?

I wouldn’t mind doing this, as long as it didn’t mess anything up permanently. What does it do, exactly?

[Chelsea Volz]

Thank you for responding Joe! I’ve already tried that. Numerous times. I’ve right clicked every single media clip then went to “select in project media list” and then “replace” then i went to where the file was and clicked it, but nothing happened. I even tried restarting the project numerous times, and searching for the files with Vegas’ automated option, but it only recovers the mv4 files.

And about some files working and other not working, I’m not really sure. It seems as if the mv4 files are able to be recovered by manually right clicking and replacing the clips, while the .avi files are not. And then, if I try to go back and manually import the individual clips, only the audio shows up on the timeline.
However, I did not move or rename any of the files. But it seems as if the letter of my external harddrive changed and I think that’s when the issue began. It used to be “Drive G” and then it was suddenly “Drive I”.

John – Can you explain how I’d reinstall the .avi codec, as I’m assuming thats the issue? It might not be though, thats just what I gathered from what you posted. 😀