powerDVD won't play .avi anymore?

My powerDVD install recently stopped playing any .AVI files after about 12 months of perfect performance.

I was using version 6

I tried an uninstall / reinstall but same problem.
I just installed version 7 and the same problem persists.

I go to launch an .avi movie with it, and it open the player, goes to black screen and hangs.

no audio, nothing

Anyone have any suggestions? the .avi's are fine and playback with other players but I was quite fond of powerDVD.

Thanks in advance.