Media PLayer no longer plays wmv files

Q

qdmcgraw

Member
I've been using windows movie maker for months now. no problem with it.

Recently, the WMplayer in the account where I've been using wmovie maker no longer plays wmv files- old or new. KM player will play all wmv files in this user account and the other user accounts. this user's winmedia player seems to play all other type of video files that it has been designed to play except wmv- old or new.

i've switched to other accounts and wmplayer will play wmv files in those accounts.

facts:

Sony laptop. 3 years old. Vista. Home computer. I am the administrator and have full access to all user accounts. Windows Media PLayer states that my computer is running the latest updates. The problem seems that the win media player in this user account has been broken. I looked at user's local data folders and don't see anything unusual or missing. Any suggestions (besides closing the account and open a new one)?

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
Thanks for the reply... but WMplayer was always the default player for .wmv files. I reset it in Default Programs just to be sure, but no go. So far, I've opened up a new user account and WMplayer handles .wmv files in the new user and the administrator accounts just fine. I may have to migrate all the stuff from the current user account with the broken WMplayer to the new user account and shut down the old account. This problem perplexes me because I thought that the basic core of codecs, permissions and updates of WMPlayer was universally shared to all user accounts. Why just that one account can not play .wmv but everything else it's suppose to play is a puzzle.

Anyways, thanks for the suggestion.

Any other ideas?

qd
 

My Computer

System One

So when you play or double click a video file (.wmv) it opens and plays in KM player?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    AMD/GIGABYTE
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (rev. 2.0)
    Memory
    2048MB RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SyncMaster T220/T220G,SyncMaster Magic T220/T220G(Digital)
    Screen Resolution
    1680 by 1050 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST310003 40AS SCSI Disk Device Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAJS-00YFA SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    Thermaltake 500W
    Internet Speed
    VERY FAST>>>>!!!!
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S SCSI CdRom Device
No matter how I try to open a .wmv file to play using WMPlayer, I get this error message:

"Windows Media Player cannot access the file. The file might be in use, you might not have access to the computer where the file is stored, or your proxy settings might not be correct."

KM Player is not the default player, I must choose it to play .wmv files. In order to play a .wmv file with KM Player I must either open the file with KM Player (KM PLayer is running) or right click on .wmv file and select Open With KM Player.

This problem exists only in one user account. In the other user accounts WM PLayer works as expected.

qd
 

My Computer

System One

qdmcgraw said:
No matter how I try to open a .wmv file to play using WMPlayer, I get this error message:

"Windows Media Player cannot access the file. The file might be in use, you might not have access to the computer where the file is stored, or your proxy settings might not be correct."

KM Player is not the default player, I must choose it to play .wmv files. In order to play a .wmv file with KM Player I must either open the file with KM Player (KM PLayer is running) or right click on .wmv file and select Open With KM Player.

This problem exists only in one user account. In the other user accounts WM PLayer works as expected.

qd
Click to expand...


There's no reset option for Windows Media Player without messing with the registry. It sounds like a secruity issue with the file itself but I can't be for sure. Where is the file located? Is it being used by another program, torrent. :mad:

If it just started happening, doing a system restore. If too much time has lapse since the problem started, my suggestion would be although its a pain, create a new user account and restore your files there.

Microsoft Fix it Solution Center
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    AMD/GIGABYTE
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (2 CPUs), ~3.
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 (rev. 2.0)
    Memory
    2048MB RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SyncMaster T220/T220G,SyncMaster Magic T220/T220G(Digital)
    Screen Resolution
    1680 by 1050 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Seagate ST310003 40AS SCSI Disk Device Western Digital WDC WD50 00AAJS-00YFA SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    Thermaltake 500W
    Internet Speed
    VERY FAST>>>>!!!!
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S SCSI CdRom Device
I've tried everything reasonable to fix the problem, inculding system restores, etc. I haven't fooled with the central registry. I won't go there because WMPLayer works in the other accounts except this one and I fear messing up the registry by poking around in it. I don't use bit torrent or go to any suspect websites or download anything that I don't know exactly what it is. I've looked for any problems in that user account's AppDate folders (Local and Roaming files) and everything looks all right. The problem occurred after I started using WMovie Maker extensively. Everything else works in this account except for this peculiar problem.

Last week, I've already started the process of migrating data from this user's account to a new user account, because I suspect that the solution is beyond solving without having to go into the registry.

Thanks for looking at this one, mate.

cheers-

qd
 

My Computer

System One

Why do you have Kmplayer installed? Do you need it?

Another thing you can try is a SFC scan:

SFC Scan:

1. Open the start menu
2. In the search box, type cmd
3. Right click on command prompt and select Run as administrator
4. In command prompt, type:

sfc /scannow

5. Let it run and let me know if it finds any Integrity Violations

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
Tom,

Good tip. I forgot about trying sfc /scannow.

I tried it and WRP did not find any integrity violations.

I've been using Kmplayer for almost 2 years now on two of my Vista machines and haven't had any problems with it. I use it to play various video files. Mostly I use WMPLayer and "WinDVD for Vaio" for my other mulitimedia needs. As an aside, Media Center plays .wmv files.

This current problem with WMplayer has appeared within the past 6 weeks and I think it is linked with my heavy usage of video editing with Windows Movie Maker. I noticed the problem one day when I published a video to the computer, as usual, and the option of 'Play movie when finished Publishing' opened up the WMPLayer- but WMPlayer could not play the .wmv file. After that WMPLayer couldn't play any .wmv files including the sample videos that come with Vista. So, my suspicions point to Window Movie Maker as the trouble maker.

Anyways, thanks for the suggestion.

qd
 

My Computer

System One

Ok, if you were able to play these "various video files" in WMP, would you?

If the answer is yes, can you download and install the K-lite codec pack please:

MajorGeeks.com - Download Freeware and Shareware Computer Utilities.

1. Download the above installer, and run it
2. Select Advanced Install
3. Click Next
4. Select Profile 8: Lots of stuff (without player)
5. Click Next
6. Select Windows Media Player and click Next
7. Tick every box and click Next
8. Tick every box and click Next again
9. Select 2.0 Stereo, unless you have better, and click Next
10. Click Install

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
Tom,

1. I downloaded and ran the K-Lite per your instructions.
2. During install K-Lite informed me that DirectShowFliter was broken in Reg Key, H-Key Classes-Root-CLSID-Instance\AVI Writer Filter. (I'm leaving out some letters and stuff)
3. K-Lite seemed to have installed with no problems.
4. I restarted the computer and tried to play a .wmv file with WMPLayer. No go. Not even the Vista Sample Videos.
5. I tried to play other vid files with WMPLayer: IFO, VBO, AVI. They all worked.

Fact: This "broken" user account is either the owner/ceator or has shared permission of the .wmv files. So, something is broken either in the registry or AppData. That's my guess.

I've known about the K-Lite pack for sometime and never tried it because of fear of it screwing up my OS. But I took a chance on your recommendation and the GeekMajor website.

Thanks for the info.

I am not willing to try any type of "registery cleaner." I used CC on my XP's and it helped run the XP's a bit faster, but I'm not gonna take the chance on this Vista machine because it's running "clean" except for this odd problem with this user account.

I don't think that even the Microsoft engineers could get this one.

Again, thanks for your efforts. This account will be eventually shut down, even though everything else works in it. At this point, I'm more curious as to what's causing the problem than expecting that we'll find a fix. Of course, it would be nice if Micrsoft had a "repair" option for its built-in programs.


cheers-

qd
 

My Computer

System One

Yes, well done about the registry cleaner point, because most times a registry cleaner/optimizer will do more damage than it fixes.

Do you have a Vista installation disc? (assuming that you have vista, if not, do you have the installation disc of your current OS?)

Tom
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Build #1
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770K @4.4GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz Low Profile (White)
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 (2GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Integrated on motherboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" LG LCD/LED IPS
    Screen Resolution
    1920*1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 128GB SSD Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm 2x500GB Seagate FreeAgent 5400rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX650W V2 (80+ Bronze)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 410
    Cooling
    Corsair H100 Water Cooler, 1x140mm and 1x120mm stock fans
    Mouse
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Desktop 2000 Wireless Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    95 Mb/s Download 70 Mb/s Upload
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