Regina writes:

<<I got this digital camera for christmas 2003.  I took pictures and movies
with it at my Grandparents 72d wedding
anniversary.  I downloaded and played them on my computer.  They ran
wonderfully!
Last month I went in to play them again and they would not play.>>

As Toomas says, it's probable that the correct codec (coder/decoder) is not
properly installed. But finding the "correct" one is far easier said than
done. Codecs seem to be the bane of us computer movie-goers! There seem to
be dozens of them, all with differing standards. Most of them use similar
audio standards, but different video standards. That's why you get sound
but no picture.

First, look up your camera manual and tell us exactly what format these
files are in. Also tell us what file extension they show on your computer.
Most likely they'll be .avi, but possibly .mov or .mpg/mpeg. In the latter
case, we need to know whether it's .mpeg 1, 2, or 4. Only your camera
manual will tell you that.

You'll also need to tell us what program you're trying to play them in.

You could, as Al says, try playing them in Irfanview (which I don't think
can handle .mpg 2 or later) or MediaPlayer (which is included in XP and can
play .mpg2, but is rather limited in other codecs). If they are in .mov
format, then you'll need to play them with Quicktime or something that has
a Quicktime plugin.

You might again try uninstalling, then reinstalling the programs that came
with your camera, which is presumably what you used previously. Be careful
when you reinstall that you turn everything off first, including antivirus,
screensavers, and particularly any Nortons or other similar "protection"
utilities. These can be the death of movie codecs, it seems.

Finally, you could open Control Panel/system/hardware/device manager/sound
video and game controllers/video codecs/properties.  There you will see
which video codecs are actually installed but you probably won't be any the
wiser for knowing.  Mine currently shows about 12 different video codecs,
probably because I've tried numerous video players/recorders, but I
wouldn't have a clue which ones are important--I suspect most of them are
rarely or never used. Maybe you might see some indication there that
something is not properly installed. Double-clicking each one will tell you
if it properly functioning.

Optimistically (but unlikely) your camera manual or its software Help
"might" tell you which codec is required.

Don Penlington

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