*bump* Now I have this problem
 
 
any fixes?

Well from the sound of the original poster it sounded like a driver issue. That or a codec, issue. Other than uninstalling things and reinstalling or a reformat then im not sure. Your best bet is to reformat and try and recreate the problem or uninstalling anything you have recently installed or tweaked.

Sounds pretty bleak
I have recently installed the divx v5 codec, but I have also eradicated ANY trace of that whatsoever, files and registry wise, and it still happens.
 
It happens on my brother's win2k machine too, but that started much longer ago.

Well, I just formatted and the problem is still here.
 
I am now seriously worried about my computer.
 
If a complete wipe of the hard disk and reinstall doesn't fix it, that suggests a hardware problem, right?
Which is what makes me so worried
 
Any suggestions?

Hmm i have seen this problem A LONG time ago with certain nVidia driver builds. Try the 23.11 signed drivers or Hercules drivers for your video card and see if those help. Also try playing the movies without sound to rule out the soundcard. If you have an old sound and video card around try swapping out your new ones with the old ones.
 
 
So far we KNOW it is a hardware related issue. Now we just have to figure out what drivers are causing the problem. Also in the Startup and Recovery Options. Take off the Automatically Reboot option. That way when the BSOD comes up your computer won't reboot automatically letting you see what the specific error is.

I tried the 4in1 4.37a drivers
Tried the AGP 4.10 driver
reduced AGP to 2x
disabled ALL AGP options
reduced aperture to 32mb
Put ALL RAM timings to the most conservative
Basically set everything in the BIOS to it's slowest, most stable value
Tried 23.11, 27.20, 27.42 and 27.51 drivers
and of course, I have formatted as well.
 
So I am a bit stuck now. So either part of my hardware has gone bad (which seems a bit strange seeing as my problem only relates to video playback) or there is something I am missing.
 
Any ideas?
 
by the way, there is no BSOD, just a lockup. I can play sounds just fine...no problems there.
 
I seriously hope it's not my graphics card because I just bought it.

My fears became realised when I installed my old geforce back in. Worked like a dream, no problems at all.
 
So now I am left with a seemingly broken gf3ti200.
 
Unhappy me

thats odd, you said that that is the only aspect of the card that does not work, everything plays fine besides that. Have you tried anything else to play movie files in besides WMP?

To answer your question...yes, I had tried everything under the sun..
 
however, all now seems well (ish)
I took out the GF3 and cleaned it. Rubbed everything off it and blew duest out of the nooks and crannies.
 
I put it back in and it worked 1st time
So now my system works(ish). Shame I formatted though.
 
I am now, however, getting random lockups (possibly related to the infinite loop). I have just installed the latest 4in1s though, so we'll see how it develops.

NOOOOO
 
It's come back
Once again I can't open a video file without getting a lockup.
 
I tried to clean off my card again. Heck, I even re-applied arctic silver to it and all.
 
So now I am stuck.
Here is a list of events:
1) Discover I can't open any video files + certainb applications
2) Format to find the same thing happens
3) Test Geforce256 card. It works twice, and then the same thing happens to that too
4) Take geforce3 and clean it off, replace and find it works again
5) Reformat to fix some sound problems that were APIC related (Not ACPI)
6) Rediscover problem and get very annoyed
 
And here is a list of things I have tried:
Detonator 23.11, 27.20, 27.42, 27.51
Via 4in1 4.37a
Via 4.10 AGP GART
Via PFD patch
Increase I/O voltage
alter AGP driving values
Set all RAM and AGP options to the most conservative
Tried the infinite loop fix in nvmax (although I doubt this is 100% infinite loop related)
re-flashed BIOS
wiped CMOS
 
Don't forget the system has been 100% for at least a month until now.
 
Any ideas? This is beginning to seriously worry me

Is it possible to try that card of yours in another system?