Chris Pirillo » codec

What is COM Surrogate Crash Error?

Chris — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 02:57:45 +0000

What is COM Surrogate Crash Error? is a post from Chris Pirillo

Chris | Live Tech Support | Video Help | Add to iTunes

http://live.pirillo.com/ – When I used to use Vista, I would have random crashes that were related to a COM Surrogate error. What the heck? I thought I owned my computer? You mean it’s a surrogate?.

A COM Surrogate error is caused by video codec that is not Vista compatible and when Vista tries to bring up the first frame of the video file it causes the Com Surrogate .dll extension to shut down. As we’ve discussed before, a .dll is a software component that an application links to at run time.

There are a couple of solutions that I’ve found for this problem:

Check DivX If this program isn’t updated to the newest version, it can cause the COM Surrogate error.
Check Nero Again, check out what version you have. Older versions have been known to throw out this error. Always make sure you’re updated.

Now that I’m back on XP, I’ve had the same problem once. I went through and uninstalled all of the Codecs on my system, and I haven’t encountered the problem again. If you recall, a codec is a device or program capable of performing encoding and decoding on a digital data stream or signal. So that’s something else to look into.

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Windows Movie Maker Problem

Chris — Wed, 02 May 2007 19:51:22 +0000

Windows Movie Maker Problem is a post from Chris Pirillo

From Lockergnome reader Scott Holder:

I think I should have started with you instead of the lame support people from the manufacturer or MS. I need help with Windows Movie Maker. I have a Gateway laptop (MX6445) with a Turion 64 processor, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB HD, DVDRW, ATI Radeon Xpress 200M graphics, running XP MCE 2002. I’m having trouble with Windows Movie Maker reading and working with MPEG files. These files work fine on all my other PCs and laptops. If I import an MPEG file for editing, I can see it fine. It shows in the preview pane on the right too. However, if I drag more than one clip to the storyboard/timeline at the bottom and then press PLAY, nothing happens. The button changes indicating it “should” be playing but nothing is happening.
I contacted Gateway support twice. Both times they suggested removing Windows Movie Maker and reinstalling it. Duh! It’s part of SP2. It’s not a separate download. I use this laptop for work with video presentations through PowerPoint. Right now I’m having to create the WMV files on a different PC and transfer them to this laptop to use them. Can you provide any help? I would greatly appreciate it.

First, I’ve already established that Gateway support is beyond pathetic. Your first mistake was believing in what Gateway used to be rather than what they are today (don’t worry, I made the same mistake).

Second, I believe your problem is tied directly to codecs. Select Options from the Tools menu, then flip to the Compatibility tab. From there, remove the checkmarks from every box. Restart Windows Movie Maker (for good measure). Now, are those MPEGs happy campers? If not, you might consider converting them or editing them in another video tool altogether.

Welcome to the hell of video production.

MP4 Support in WMP11

Chris — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 20:02:25 +0000

MP4 Support in WMP11 is a post from Chris Pirillo

Don’t count on MP4 playback out of the box in the next version of the Windows Media Player. I filed this “bug” a few months ago, but apparently not supporting MP4 (by default) in WMP11 is a feature: “Spend the money. Pre-install the codec. The PSP relies on it, the iPod relies on it, and Microsoft should have had its hands in one MP4 spec or another. Drop the political bullsh*t and just do it for the sake of your users who don’t know what’s going on.” Their response this morning was simple: “This is currently expected behavior.” Expected behavior? Language barrier. Perhaps Microsoft is hoping that more people install and use iTunes. I’m not sure why? Meanwhile, I’m looking at my iRiver Clix and wondering… why can’t it support the leading video format?

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

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chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

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chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

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