[howardpatrick]

I downloaded some music, which I have done many times over the years. I store my music in Media Player, the updated one.

I have played them many times. One day, I was trying to play, click on one of the song icons a small box appeared: "Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file. "

What happened? What can I do to fix this? Please help . I thank you

[mphenterprises]

Hi HowardPatrick. Have you downloaded the latest codecs? If not K-Lite Codec Pack is what I use. You can download it here.

[howardpatrick]

It offers many options, which one should I use?



No virus I hope with this download?

Why do I need to download the codes, they all played on my system last week?? Now they do not?

[mphenterprises]

Any one of the downloads are valid, and no....no viruses. If you are concerned, use this link instead, which is one of the mirror download sites from the original lnk:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/K-LiteCodecPackFulld4844.html





To answer your question, there is no explanation for why the tracks will not play. However, if they will not play within Windows Media Player and you have already tried to play them within other applications, the first suggestion would be to confirm that you have the latest codecs.

[howardpatrick]

Thank you for your continued help.. I downloaded from Major Geeks, set it up. Tyied to play one of my songs, same messgae came up again.....any other suggestions?

[mphenterprises]

howardpatrick said:

>

Quote

I store my music in Media Player, the updated one.

>
>



Just for clarification. the music files are not stored in any application. The files are stored within your computer and then accessed via Windows Media Player or another player.

Have you recently made any changes to your computer? (added or removed a hard drive, reinstalled Windows, moved folder files around, etc.)

The reason I ask is that Windows Media Player may be trying to access a location of a previously stored file. For example, if you normally store your music in the My Music folder, and then point Windows Media Player to access that folder to play the music, it will always look for the file in that folder. If you ever were to move the files to another folder, Windows Media Player will no longer know where to find that file.

One suggestion would be to do a search for a specific file in Windows Explorer. When you find the file within Windows Explorer, you can either drag the file into Windows Media Player or double click on the file to play it in the default player (presumably Windows Media Player).

To test this suggestion, please follow these steps:

- Click Start -> Search...

- Click "Pictures, Music, or Video"

- Put a check mark next to Music

- Type in the full name of the music file or a partial name

- Click Search


Once the computer finds the file, either double click on it to play it within the default player or drag it into Windows Media Player and see if it plays.

[howardpatrick]

Well that did not seem to wok either. I did not change anything on my computer.....I worked well last week. Now this problem.

Can I uninstall media player, than install it again, or any other suggestions?

[mphenterprises]

Depending on the version of Windows Media Player and the version of Windows, probably not but again, the problem is not the player. The player is only a conduit. The music file plays through Windows Media Player.

Let's try this. What is the type of file that you are trying to play? (.mp3, .flac, .wav, etc.)

[howardpatrick]

The files are all MP3 that I downloaded removed last month. No Virus, all scaned..........


They worked fine, played nicely, now that message. I am so pissed off and confused......

[mphenterprises]

Take a breath. It will be fine. Have you at least tried to play these files within another player?




This could be a simple file association issue. Try the following:

- Click Start -> My Computer

- From with My Computer (officially called Windows Explorer), click on Tools -> Folder Options

- Click on the File Types tab

- Once the list populates, scroll down to MP3 and select it

- At the bottom of that window, you will see the Details for 'MP3' extension. It should say "Open with Windows Media Player." If it does not say that, click Change...

- Within the new window, you will see a list of Recommended Programs. Find Windows Media Player and select it

- Make sure there is a check mark next to "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file

- Click OK to close that window

- Click Apply (if applicable) and OK to close the other window

- Try to play the file within Windows Media Player again






As a side note, I would recommend you do not mention from where you download music files. That is not something we can discuss within this Community. Since you are not asking how to download music, we can continue.

[howardpatrick]

I cannot open tools, folder options on my computer, it des not show that

[mphenterprises]

Are you running Windows Vista or Windows XP?

[howardpatrick]

Vista on a laptop with Home Premuim, all updates applied

[mphenterprises]

Ahh, okay...it's a bit easier then. However, to go back to your previous question, since you are running Windows Vista, Windows Media Player 11 cannot be uninstalled and then reinstalled.

I am currently using Windows XP. Let me switch over to Windows Vista and get some steps for you. I would like to add some snippets as well.

[mphenterprises]

Okay, as I mentioned, it is a bit easier to associate a particular application to a file type in Windows Vista. Please follow these steps:

- Open Windows Explorer (Start -> Computer )

- Navigate to the folder where your music files are stored

- Right Click on one of the music files and select "Open With..." and then select "Choose Default Program..." Here is a snippet of this: (Click on the image to enlarge it.)





- If Windows Media Player is in the Recommended Programs sections, select it

- Make sure there is a check mark next to "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file"

- Click OK

- Try to play the file in Windows Media Player again




You still have not indicated if you tried to play these files within another player...

[howardpatrick]

Ok I did that what you suggested....It did the same thing, same message.

Than I tried to play it in Media Center. It said that it cannot play the file, that it is either missing, corrupt, or in a location that cannot be accessed???



Now what, lol!!???????????????????????

[mphenterprises]

Okay, I have never used Windows Media Center but I ran a test to see if some of my music files can play in there and they did, with no problem.

howardpatrick said:

...either missing, corrupt, or in a location that cannot be accessed

At this point, you basically get the same message in two different players. My opinion is that the files are corrupted. Even though they may have worked last week, for whatever reason, they do not work now. Additionally, based on the source of the music, you really may want to investigate whether or not your computer has been compromised. What security applications did you use to scan the files? Also, I gather you ran what's called a "shell extension test" before you played the music for the first time, correct?

Short of you emailing one of the files so I can test it, I am not sure what other option you can take.

[howardpatrick]

I scanned the files with VIpre, which is my antivirus, I have a firewall also. I did not do a shell extension test, I do not know how to that?

Should I delete all the music files, they all say the same thing when i try to run them.

I have done a complete virus scan on my computer several times , no problems..



Thank you for your help, I guess ther is nothing else I can do??

[mphenterprises]

I personally have never heard of Vlpre and cannot speak on its credibility. This is the official definition from AVG:

"'Shell extension' means integrating the AVG scanning feature into your file manager (Windows Explorer, Total Commander, and many others). It allows you to easily and instantly scan any file or folder in your computer without having to open the AVG interface."

Yes, I would advise deleting those files. Be very careful when getting music in the method you mentioned earlier. You are opening up your computer to a host of problems that way. To be on the safe side, I would suggest you download, install, and run an application called SuperAntiSpyware which is accessible here.

[bbvammy]

VLC player always work for me.

I have not use any Microsoft product for awhile.

You might want to give VLC player a try