Vista - Cannot use Windows Movie and DVD Maker at all

We all know about the "Windows .... has stopped working" then it says something about Data Execution and there is a problem. I cannot import .avi files into movie maker nor can I save files. I can import .wmv files and a few others but I get the error
whenever I try to import .avi files. For DVD Maker, everything works fine until I try to burn and encode. It'll remain on "0.0 for encoding" and then the error will come up. It's not just .avi. I can't publish any videos. I've read everywhere that Nero can cause problems and DivX. I do not have Nero and I have the latest version of DivX which I've uninstalled before. I've also tried removing filters from movie maker's tool options. Nothing has worked. If anyone is familiar with the matter, I would gladly appreciate help. Thanks.

Surely a codec problem.
Download GSPOT (search on google) and open your avi files in it to check if the right codec is present.

I ran GSPOT (had to change some settings so it would show the status) and the files
I was using ran under XVID codec. Under status it says "Ready: 9 codecs loaded." But I got this when I first opened up GSPOT

Warning: DirectShow crashed while GSpot was attempting to obtain information about a codec.

This is usually due to damaged, misconfigured, conflicting, or poorly written codec drivers. It is possible, perhaps even likely, that other media players will crash when they attempt to play this file as well, as most of them will also use DirectShow. GSpot was able to intercept the crash, and has attempted to identify the codec or filter involved; uninstalling or reinstalling this codec or filter may solve the problem.

The codec was tentatively identified as:

Unknown video codec #9

I think I uninstalled XVID some time ago. GSPOT also crashes when I attempt to close the program.

You have to identify the "bad" codec.
To list the codecs installed on your machine, open Windows Media Player, then in the help menu, click on "About" and in the box click on Infos Tech Support or something like that. The complete list will appear in your browser.

How can I tell which ones are the "bad" ones?

Video Codecs


Audio Codecs


Mpeg/DVD filters

Humm,
Could come from some codec packs you have installed.
Sonic avc decoder (either cyberlink or riva)

IMHO Pinnacle can be in conflict with movie maker.
So, deinstalling Pinnacle would probably resolve the problem if the Sonic codec is not responsible, i guess it could be a dilemma

Well, I had installed Pinnacle Studio 9.4 on this system a few months back and it wasn't compatible with vista. I tried to install it but I got an error about the wrong OS and I couldn't uninstall. But I'll try out the others

Yep, but the filters are still in your computer, so you've got to clean them even they're broken.

Honestly, I'm just going to disable data execution because I removed the Pinnacle filters and the Sonic ones. No change. I think the anti-virus softwares I have can protect my PC. Thanks for the help though.