Problems viewing video in media player

Hehe, forgive my ignorance. I just wanted to know, if this codec doesn't work I will know something else is wrong.

Forget/uninstall other codecs, install the x64Components addon and the 32bit Win7codecs
After installation, open both Settings Applications and select the checkbox for [x] SUGGESTED settings

All your files will be playable in whatever player you choose to use.

I am fairly certain this is not a codec issue. WMP and VLC constantly crash irrespective of which codecs are installed.

I have tried the diagnostic tools as you suggested: they flagged up a couple of things and applied fixes but my problem still persists; I no longer get the message from wmp saying can't play dvd, try changing screen res etc. The Program simply stops working immediately after I tell it to play a dvd or video file. Same for VLC. Audio works fine (can play cd's, mp3's etc). I am going to install VLC on my ubuntu VM and see if that works .

I have taken your advice Shark and installed your codecs, used recommended settings. No dice. I also used windows features to remove WMP and then re-install it. Again, no joy. All the advice is much appreciated, perhaps my efforts in this are destined to fail.

If my software failed, you are down to 2 possible causes.

The most likely cause, you have disabled UAC.
If this is your case, uninstall the codecs, set UAC to its 'Default' position,
reboot the computer and re-install the codecs.

The 2nd possible cause, you need to install drivers from the graphics chipset manufacturer, not the PC manufacturer

Thanks for all your help Shark.

The UAC settings are correct, and the graphics driver was from the nvidia site.

Maybe it has something to do with a conflict between the nvidia card and the intel hd graphics. I tried to uninstall the intel hd driver but the screen just went black and I had to do a hard reset. When I powered back on the intel driver was still there.

now you're getting somewhere.

you need to enter the BIOS setup (usually accessed by pressing del during the boot sequence)
and set the PCI graphics to innitialize before the iGPU (integrated graphics)

you will also need to physically move the monitor connection away from the motherboard connection and onto the graphics card connection.