Windows 7: Preview .mov, .wav, and other files in the Preview Pane

I do a great deal of video editing and special effects on my Windows 7 (home premium, 64bit) laptop. Many of the stock footage clips I use are .mov files and a lot of the sound files I use are .wav and .mp3. Unfortunately, these files do not preview (They don't play) in the preview pane in Windows Explorer. .mp4 videos do preview, but I have not tested anything else. All of the above mention files play just fine in the standalone WMP. Do I need to download extra codecs to make them work in the preview pane? Thanks in advance!

.wmv and .avi files do show. .mov files do show also. I have also tested .wav and .mp3. They both showed.

Additional codecs will not help - I have no codec pack on my system, just the standard Windows 7. There must be another problem on your system.

If it is a problem on my system, does anyone have an idea of how I could fix it? Just to make sure everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about, I'm not referring to thumbnails. I'm talking about the actual video and audio previews.

I would love to help you out, but I don't have the faintest idea as to the cause of the problem. But maybe some smarter than me can address the problem. Just wait a bit.

Hello ;

Hi,
Are you able to view the thumbnail preview of other type of media files?

Method 1: clear thumbnails cache and check for the issue.
a. Click Start, type cleanmgr and press ENTER.
b. Click My files only.
c. Select the system drive letter from the drop-down list.
d. Uncheck all the entries except Thumbnails.
e. Click OK.

Method 2: Installing the latest codec pack for has helped few in resolving similar issue. So try installing the latest codec and check if this helps.

Windows 7 Codec Pack - CNET Download.com

Hope this helps

I tried both of those solutions and neither worked. Avi and mp4 video files show thumbnails and play in the preview pane. Mov files do not.