Problem with Windows Media Player

sw_jay

Can any PC experts out there help me with a consistent problem I am having with my PC...

I have a 2 year old PC running Windows XP. It has a Pentium 4 2GHZ processor, 512mb of RAM, 64MB graphics card and has up to date anti virus and firewall etc...

The PC came loaded with WMP 9 which I understand I am unable to uninstall. Whenever I attempt to play a windows media or MPG file through WMP, my computer completely freezes and I have to re-boot. I went onto the Windows website and found out that there was a bug in WMP 9 which was resolved during the release of WMP 10. I downloaded WMP 10 in the hope that my problem would be resolved but unfortunately it still crashes everytime which is now becoming extremely frustrating.

I have been to several PC shops but no-one seems able to provide me with a reason as to why this might be happening. I have tested my PC for viruses, spyware and rogue programs and all appears fine. I also would seem to have enough memory to deal with most of the tasks I require so I don't believe this is the problem.

In addition, my son is complaining that whenever he plays certain games on the PC ( in particular, Age of Mythology and Age of Empires etc) it crashes in a similar manner. Do these games use WMP in any way, therefore causing the crashes?

Any advice would be greatly received.

Thanks

thespacecowboy

Have you ensured your codecs are up to date?

Try the basic pack first (1.29MB) and see if this helps. Remember to reboot first.

http://www.free-codecs.com/K_Lite_Codec_Pack_download.htm

sw_jay

Thanks, I'll give this a try

Toxteth_OGrady

Go to Start -> Run, type in dxdiag and OK. Click on the sound tab. Check h/w acceleration is fully enabled, and text box states 'No problems found.' Run Direct Sound tests. Repeat for the music tab and test Direct Music. Post results here.

TOG

sw_jay

Toxteth_OGrady wrote:

Go to Start -> Run, type in dxdiag and OK. Click on the sound tab. Check h/w acceleration is fully enabled, and text box states 'No problems found.' Run Direct Sound tests. Repeat for the music tab and test Direct Music. Post results here.

TOG

Thanks... I did this and it said all tests were successful

sw_jay

thespacecowboy wrote:

Have you ensured your codecs are up to date?

Try the basic pack first (1.29MB) and see if this helps. Remember to reboot first.

http://www.free-codecs.com/K_Lite_Codec_Pack_download.htm

I downloaded the basic codec last night and then ran a windows media file through WMP.... unfortunately, it still froze the PC.

Is it worth me downloading the full codec?

Thanks

NellyLock

is this a home built pc or a shop one. it could be the machine is overheating? the only quick way to see is if you take off the side and run ***iplease be aware that this could cause damage*** or if its in a cupboard take it out and run...otherwise it could be ram but unlikely...i think your machine is prob getting too hot...thats my £0.02 worth

NellyLock

thespacecowboy wrote:

Have you ensured your codecs are up to date?

Try the basic pack first (1.29MB) and see if this helps. Remember to reboot first.

http://www.free-codecs.com/K_Lite_Codec_Pack_download.htm

personally i would steer clear from codecs other than the wmp automatically downloads...if you want to watch divx/xvid etc i would advice VideoLan Client - this plays EVERYTHING without the need 2 install any codecs!

thespacecowboy

If the basic pack did not help, I doubt this is the problem.

I know this is not a solution, but try using videolan or winamp to play the file, personnaly I don't like using WMP for video files myself due to problems such as this.

opportunity_cost

WMP is notorious for this sort of issues and time and time again Microsoft has failed to provide any solutions to them. Personally, I have no doubt the WMP problems are down to the integration of the software in the operating system and its total dependency on it to function properly.

Given that you're experiencing problems with games too, it could be down to a corrupted operating system (missing files, conflicts, etc) and/or video card issues.

I'd reinstall Windows. Just install over the current Windows install (no need for uninstalling first).

Then use the video card info dxdiag gives you (Display tab) and download and install the latest drivers for that video card make and model from the manufacturer's website. Also, get DirectX 9.0c (latest version) if you have a previous DirectX version. (DirectX won't help with WMP issues but it's recommended that you use the latest DirectX version for playing games).

thespacecowboy

I think a re-install is a bit overkill. I would use one of the other proggies above, or media player classic (free, stable, unofficial cut down version of WMP)

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_players/media_player_classic.cfm