I'm running Vista and Windows Media Player Version 11 (2006). Everything worked perfectly up until yesterday, when I tried to open a movie file I had saved on my computer. The following error message 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."
The thing is, I have played the same file MANY times on this computer in the past. I've tried opening any and every ".wmv" file I have saved, and every single one of them react the same way. I also tried opening various .wmv files off the internet, and they also cause the error message to appear. I also notice that "Media Changing" appears in the lower left hand pane of the player while it's attempting to open a file. The error message pops up a few seconds after that.
Vista and WMP are completely up to date, and I have scanned all my drives for viruses and spyware... with a clean bill of health. Does anyone have any idea what the problem could be? This really frustrates me because I use the player on a regular basis. Thanks!
Posts: 402 | Location: VA, USA | Registered: 06-11-02
Because the file has worked before, my first guess would be that the file has become damaged or corrupted somehow. Is the file one that you can reload or download again? If I would suggest that you rename the file and then download a new copy.
If the new download works correctly you can delete the original. If there is no change (the new file gives the same error) then you can uninstall/reinstall the Windows Media Player program.
You can also copy the original file over to a removable device or burn it to a CD and try running it on another computer. If it won't run there, either then the problem is the file itself. If the file runs OK, then we'll know the problem is the the Windows Media Player program.
I have seen some complaints about Vista and media player, so this may be the problem. If neither of these suggestions help, repost and we'll go through the Vista Media Player problems.
Dwight
Posts: 4285 | Location: Anchorage, AK | Registered: 06-05-02
Check to see if you have the XvID codec in your computer... It is used by WMP 10 to play some movie files... The latest version is xvidcore 1.1.3 available HERE Good Luck...
I don't think it's the files that have become damaged or corrupted, because they ALL worked perfectly before. That leads me to believe that the problem is the Media Player itself. I will try to copy the files to my flash drive and play them on my desktop... I hadn't thought of that. Good idea!
From what I understand there is no way to uninstall WMP on Vista. I've done exhaustive interet searches on the topic, and apparently it is built into the operating system itself... there is no way to get rid of it.
Cswchan--- I'm running Version 11, not 10.
Thanks for your suggestions guys!
Posts: 402 | Location: VA, USA | Registered: 06-11-02
Yes, I think that you're right, you can't uninstall WMP from Vista according to what I'm finding.
It looks to me like this is a problem that you're going need to deal with the computer maker's technical support. I'm assuming that Windows Vista was preinstalled on the computer when you bought it.
I find I have had better luck with technical support people when I use the online chat method. The language barrier seems to be less of a problem.
Good luck with this!
Dwight
Posts: 4285 | Location: Anchorage, AK | Registered: 06-05-02
I have Vista Home Premium Edition installed in my AMD 5200+ 2x64 & I just checked... WMP 11 & XvID 1.1.2 installed... I was having some issues with it & I remembered that I had the codec still... installed & no problem after that.
Does much the same Job and is Vista Friendly
