How can I repair stuck movie frames?

You can use either AVI Defreezer (which doesn't appear to have a home page associated with it) or DivX Anti Freeze. AVI Defreezer fixes troublesome movie files by editing them and DivX Anti Freeze provides a background workaround without tampering with the original files. The latter 'patch' requires you to do nothing more than install the program so don't waste your time looking for its GUI - it doesn't have one.

To fix files using AVI Defreezer you will first need to find out exactly which frames are frozen - this detective work can be carried out using Virtual Dub. What you need to do is scan through your movie using the tracking controls until you reach the point just before the frozen frame occurs and press the play button. Wait until Virtual Dub displays an error message, click on the 'previous keyframe' button and note down its frame number (see the status bar at the bottom of the program). Now click on the 'next keyframe' button and again note down the frame number.

Open AVI Defreezer and enter these frame numbers in the boxes provided in the order they appeared in the movie i.e. chronologically and click on the 'add frames' button. Repeat this procedure for all the frozen frames, choose a new filename for the repaired file and then click the 'defreeze' button.

Now when you open the new movie file it should play smoothly through the previously frozen scenes, although some errors may still be evident - these cannot be fixed using AVI Defreezer, but can be cut out completely using Virtual Dub if they bother you that much.