PPT97: Unable to Insert a Movie from the Selected File

When you attempt to insert a movie (an .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:

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 of the 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 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 file is a driver for ActiveMovie.

Method 1: Install ActiveMovie

To install ActiveMovie, follow these steps:

1. Insert the PowerPoint 97 or Office 97 CD-ROM in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
2. On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.
3. Open the \ValuePack\Amovie folder on the CD-ROM.
4. Double-click the Amovie.exe file to install Microsoft ActiveMovie.

If ActiveMovie is already installed, you must first uninstall ActiveMovie. Follow the steps above, but when you are prompted to remove ActiveMovie and its components, click Yes. After ActiveMovie is removed, repeat the steps above one more time, and install ActiveMovie.

NOTE: If you have Internet Explorer 4.01 or later, or DirectShow installed, you cannot uninstall ActiveMovie. Use Method 2 instead.

Method 2: Check the MCI Settings

To resolve this behavior, follow these steps:

1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.
2. In the Open box, type sysedit and click OK to display the System Configuration Editor.
3. Click the System.ini window, scroll down 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 window; scroll down 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 typing a semicolon at the beginning of the line, 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.

If all the references are correct in the System.ini and the Win.ini files, you can insert a movie correctly into PowerPoint 97. By default, the installation of PowerPoint 97 modifies the System.ini and the Win.ini files with the previous information.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows.

Pre-Condition That Causes the Error Message

To see an example of the problem, prepare your computer. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run. Type sysedit in the Open box and click OK to display the System Configuration Editor.
2. Click the Win.ini window; scroll down to the [mci extensions] section, and comment out the following lines, by typing a semicolon at the beginning of each line:

   [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.