Installing default codecs on Windows 98/ME

Codecs are used to play compressed files by decompressing them in memory. Adding a specific codec lets you play files compressed in that file format. Removing and reinstalling a codec may solve problems playing a particular audio or video format.

1. Adding All Default Codecs:

- In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- On the Windows Setup tab, click Multimedia or Sounds and Multimedia, and then click Details.
- Click the Audio Compression and Video Compression check boxes to select them, and then click OK.
- Click OK.

2. Adding a Specific Codec:

- In Control Panel, double-click Add New Hardware.
- Click Next, click No, and then click Next.
- In the Hardware Types box, click Sound, Video, And Game Controllers.
- Click a manufacturer in the Manufacturers box and a model in the Models box, and then click Next.
- Click the Finish button.

The following table lists the codecs included with Windows:

Manufacturer	Model
DSP Group	TrueSpeech Software Audio Codec
Intel	Indeo R3.1 Video Codec Indeo R3.2 Video Codec
Microsoft Audio codecs	ADPCM Audio Codec CCITT G.711 A-Law and u-Law Audio Codec GSM 6.10 Audio Codec IMA ADPCM Audio Codec
Microsoft Video codecs	RLE Video Codec Video 1 Video Codec
SuperMatch	Cinepak Video Codec

NOTE: Microsoft PCM Converter is installed by default.

3. Removing the Default Codecs:

- In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
- On the Windows Setup tab, click Multimedia, and then click Details.
- Click the Audio Compression and Video Compression check boxes to clear them, and then click OK.
- Click OK.
The default codecs, with the exception of the Microsoft PCM converter, are removed. You cannot remove the Microsoft PCM converter.

4. Removing a Specific Codec:

- In Control Panel, double-click Multimedia.
- Click the Advanced or the Devices tab.
- To remove an audio codec, double-click Audio Compression Codecs, double-click the codec you want to remove, and then click Remove.
- To remove a video codec, double-click Video Compression Codecs, double-click the codec you want to remove, and then click Remove.