PPT97: Unable to Insert a Movie from the Selected File

• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 For Windows
• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to insert a movie (a .avi, .qt, .mov, .dat, .mpg, .mpa, .mpv, .enc, .m1v, .mp2, .mpe, .mpeg, .mpm, .au, .snd, .aif, .aiff, or .aifc file) into Microsoft PowerPoint, you may receive one of the following error messages:

MMSYSTEM281 This file could not be played. Check the file name or install a driver that supports this type of file.

or

MMSYSTEM348 This file could not be played. Check the file name or install a driver that supports this type of file.

or

MMSYSTEM296 This file could not be played. Check the file name or install a driver that supports this type of file.

or

PowerPoint couldn't insert a movie from the selected file.

or

Current display mode not suitable for DVD video

CAUSE

This problem may occur when you insert a movie file by pointing to Movies And Sounds on the Insert menu, and then clicking Movie From File.

The problem occurs if you install a third-party party program, such as Apple QuickTime for Windows, that modifies the [mci extensions] section ofthe Win.ini file. The [mci extensions] section determines which driver the movie file format uses. The native media player in PowerPoint 97 must use the MPEGVideo driver, which makes a call to the mciqtz.drv. If this setting has changed, the problem occurs.

NOTE: This problem may also occur if the mciqtz.drv file is missing from your system folder. The mciqtz.drv is a driver for ActiveMovie.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, follow these steps:

1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.



2. In the Open box, type Sysedit to display the System Configuration Editor.



3. Click the System.ini window, scroll to the [mci] section, and then look for the following lines of information:
   
   [mci]
   AVIVideo=mciavi.drv
   MPEGVideo=mciqtz.drv
   
   If any of the lines are missing, type the line as shown.



4. Click the Win.ini windows, scroll to the [mci extensions] section, and then look for the following lines of information:
   
   [mci extensions]
   avi=AVIVideo
   qt=MPEGVideo
   mov=MPEGVideo
   dat=MPEGVideo
   mpg=MPEGVideo
   mpa=MPEGVideo
   mpv=MPEGVideo
   enc=MPEGVideo
   m1v=MPEGVideo
   mp2=MPEGVideo
   mpe=MPEGVideo
   mpeg=MPEGVideo
   mpm=MPEGVideo
   au=MPEGVideo
   snd=MPEGVideo
   aif=MPEGVideo
   aiff=MPEGVideo
   aifc=MPEGVideo
   
   If any of the lines are missing, type the line as shown. If any of the extensions are duplicated, such as avi, mpg, or mov, comment out the duplicate line by placing a semi colon at the begining of the entry, as in the example below:
   
   mpg=ExmplVideo
   
   becomes:
   
   ;mpg=ExmplVideo



5. Click Save on the File menu, and then close the System Configuration Editor.



6. Start PowerPoint 97. Point to Movies And Sounds on the Insert menu, and then click Movies From File.



7. In the Insert Movie dialog box, locate the movie file you want to insert, and then click OK.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

Pre-Condition That Causes the Error Message

1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run, and then type Sysedit in the Open box to display the System Configuration Editor.



2. Click the Win.ini windows, go to the [mci extensions] section, and remark the following lines with a semicolon at the beginning of each of the lines:
   
   [mci extensions]
   ;avi=AVIVideo
   ;qt=MPEGVideo
   ;mov=MPEGVideo
   ;dat=MPEGVideo
   ;mpg=MPEGVideo
   ;mpa=MPEGVideo
   ;mpv=MPEGVideo
   ;enc=MPEGVideo
   ;m1v=MPEGVideo
   ;mp2=MPEGVideo
   ;mpe=MPEGVideo
   ;mpeg=MPEGVideo
   ;mpm=MPEGVideo
   ;au=MPEGVideo
   ;snd=MPEGVideo
   ;aif=MPEGVideo
   ;aiff=MPEGVideo
   ;aifc=MPEGVideo



3. Save your changes, and close the System Configuration Editor.

Additional query words: MMSYSTEM 296 348 281 ppt97 ppt_97 powerpt qt for win OFF2000

Keywords : kb3rdparty kbgraphic kbdta
Version : WINDOWS:95,97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb