MPC-HC open file dialog bug

[pseprodux]

So, I've been happily running a perfectly fine installation of MPC-HC build 1264 (included as part of an installation of the latest CCCP) for a while, and everything is good. Now suddenly(*), for some reason, I can't seem to type a file path directly into the MPC-HC open (ctrl+o > browse) or quick open (ctrl+q) dialog box anymore.

More specifically the strange behaviors are:

1. I can no longer type a file path in to navigate to a folder within the open dialog - the dialog box closes after I hit enter, goes back to MPC-HC logo screen (only if the current folder in the dialog box does not have any media files in it).

2. If I am not currently within a folder containing a media file, and I enter the full file path to a media file, again nothing happens, and I'm brought back to the logo.

3. If I am currently within a folder containing a media file, and I directly type the name of a media file within that folder, it instead plays the first media file that is in the folder (by alphabetical order) - likely not what I typed, unless it was the first file, or the only file in that folder. Furthermore, it seems that I can type in anything I want, and it'll just play the first media file instead, instead of a "file not found" error.

4. Clicking a file to select it in the open dialog box and then hitting enter does work, though.

I've done a complete uninstall-reboot-reinstall of CCCP, as well as deleting the MPC registry key (don't use .ini file). I've also tried out the latest svn build, and still the same. This problem doesn't happen on another machine I've tried, with the same version of MPC-HC. I don't think the rest of the troubleshooting steps are particularly relevant, because it's not video problems I'm having.

So, has anyone had something like this happen before? I'm finding how this suddenly stopped working particularly strange.


(* "suddenly" meaning that I have installed a few pieces of software since the last time I opened up MPC-HC to play something and before anything was broken. I don't think any of them should have any obvious effect on MPC-HC, nor are any of them currently running.)

[tetsuo55]

I cannot reproduce.
Looks like one of those applications has altered your PATH= settings or some part of explorer.

Also its probably best if you list your system vitals and the programs you installed

[pseprodux]

OK, I'm running Windows XP SP3 32-bit, fully updated via Windows Update. My system is a laptop running on a Core 2 Duo, with an Mobile Intel 945GM Express chipset. It seems I have the VC2008 redistributable version 9.0.21022 and 9.0.30729.17 listed in Add/Remove Programs. I'm not using DXVA, but I'm on the latest DirectX runtimes.

My PATH variable is currently: %SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\System32\Wbem;c:\windows\run;C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2007b\bin;C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2007b\bin\win32;C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\binn\;C:\PROGRA~1\DISKEE~1\DISKEE~1\;c:\mingw\bin

I actually just did a fresh install of XP last weekend, and everything was working fine til sometime mid-week, where I guess I could've installed something that managed to muck something up.

Things I installed mid-week:
Aegisub
mIRC
7-zip
SysTool (http://www.techpowerup.com/systool/ )
(those above things seem pretty standalone to me)
Adobe CS4 Suite (ok, probably the most major thing here)
Everything search engine (name of a tool, and something I haven't tried before: http://www.voidtools.com/ )

..and some stuff I installed after I had alread noticed the problem. I suppose CS4 is probably the biggest possibility, but I'd like to see if that's even a possibility for having screwed something on my system, before I go through the hassle of un/reinstalling that.

I'd like to point out that I don't experience this with any other program using these common Windows dialog boxes (open/save/etc). I also understand that this not being reproducible doesn't help (doesn't happen on my other system either, though I suppose I could try installing everything I installed here to see whether something is affected). Can't say I'm dying to do another complete system wipe this soon either, but I could try it as a last resort. It's not a dealbreaker-sort of problem either, but just an annoyance, since I often type stuff in directly into the open dialog box.

[tetsuo55]

I don't really see why any of those programs would cause the problem.
I use everything and mirc too, so on the surface those 2 shouldn't be the culprit.

i suggest you uninstall those programs one by one, rebooting and retrying after each one.

I suggest you do mirc and everything last.

[stax76]

File dialogs are one of many shell services applications can use. The shell is highly extensible and customizable. Every once in a while users report problems with features that rely on shell services. I don't know good ways to help and don't have much time for such issues so I just recommend using the system recovery.

Shell extensions for instance are COM+ servers so modules get loaded dynamically so you could use applications like Process Explorer to find out which modules are loaded when you use certain shell services. Another application that might help is ShellExView.