system 32 .dll problems

I have XP Pro. At this point I have problems playing some DVD's & CD's. (This has been an ongoing development [preceding problems] that I'm trying to get fixed but at this latest point I'm stuck)
When trying to play a DVD I get a message to install a 'compatible decoder'. I found a decoder download (xp code pack 2.3.8) at codecs.com. I downloaded it but, can't install it because of this error message -
"C:\windows\system32\pncrt.dll can't be updated please reboot your pc before install to avoid this problem".
I rebooted but no change. I found a decoder utility check on MSFT search, thinking it might help but it only told me I have 3 decoders on my pc and all are not compatible with Win Media Player.
Does anyone know what the download problem is and how to fix it ? ? ? ?
thanks in advance
dave w
:confused

 

Welcome to Major Geeks!

I did a bit of research, and it appears that pncrt.dll is commonly related to Windows Media Player and, to some extent, Real Player. Some people have fixed problems similar to yours by uninstalling Real Player, and re-installing Real Player, or just by installing a new version of Real Player. Your error can also be caused by a codec issue (but you already knew that). There are some sites where you can download clean copies of pncrt.dll so maybe installing a new copy of the file (rename the current one to "pncrt-old.dll" or something in case you need it later) will fix the problem. I didn't have much time to read up on your issue, and the Microsoft Knowledge Base had only 6 references and all of them were for Win98 or IE5 or WMP5.x; in other words, really old stuff, so it wasn't of much help other than getting general knowledge about the file. It also has something to do with online mulitmedia (and multimedia in general). When I have more time, I'll look into this a bit more deeply, in the meantime, I'm sure someone else will come along with some better advice for you.

Good luck!