How to remove codecs

To remove a specific codec or MCI device in Windows versions prior to XP, follow these steps:

1. In Control Panel , double-click Multimedia .
2. Click the Advanced or the Devices tab.
3. To remove an audio codec, double-click Audio Compression Codecs , double-click the codec you want to remove, and then click Remove .
4. To remove a video codec, double-click Video Compression Codecs , double-click the codec you want to remove, and then click Remove .

The process is a bit different in XP:

Go to Control Panel | System then click on the Hardware tab | Device Manager click on Sound, Video and Game Controllers then select the audio code (and video codecs) to look for wayward codecs. See the screen dumps below for step-by-step:

Sometimes, if the codec is stubborn, you will need to search your registry and remove the references to the codec by name. If you are not familiar with editing your system registry do not attempt this or serious problems including rendering your computer unusable can result.

To remove the default Windows codecs, follow these steps:

1. In Control Panel , double-click Add/Remove Programs .
2. On the Windows Setup tab, click Multimedia , and then click Details .
3. Click the Audio Compression and Video Compression check boxes to clear them, and then click OK .
4. Click OK .