Windows Media Player problem

I have a fairly new Dell XPS410 with Vista Home Premium. I have Windows Media Player 11. I received a WMA attachment from a family member and it won't play. The message I get is:

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.

I don't even know what is meant by codec. Can anyone help me? I wrote to Microsoft but no answer.

The same family member also sent me a WMV file and it wouldn't play either; then after about 6 attempts it finally did and I didn't change anything or do anything.

Thank you,
Nikilet

 

A Codec is a software that enCOdes and DECodes media files. I think sometimes the "easy-to-use, one-button-click" media converters create files that don't quite meet the exact standards of a specific format, such as WMA.

You could try one of the codec information tools to tell you what was used to create the file and whether you have that codec installed on your system.
I use GSpot, you can just drag & drop the file onto GSpot, and it will display a lot of information about your audio or video file.

For example, someone gave me some AVI files that I couldn't play. GSpot told me that they were created with Xvid codec, and that it was not installed. So I Googled and downloaded & installed the Xvid codec, and then Windows Media Player was able to play those videos.

there are other video-identifier tools as well:
http://www.videohelp.com/tools/sections/codec-video-identifiers


I hope your problem is as easy to fix as mine was.

 

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4844 Try KLite codec pack. It looks as though you maybe missing some codecs that wont allow your to play your video and this pack has all the ones you should need. MG's homepage also has all the programs you could need

 

I want to thank both of you who answered me.

I did download that GSpot, but presently I don't have any attachments to check it out. I finally tossed that WMA file I had.

I did check out that KLite codec deal, but there were two versions and since I didn't even know what codec was, I wasn't sure which one I should download so decided to wait and see if I got any answers. I don't want to do something to mess the whole works up.

Nikilet

 

With the KLite download you choose the link closest to your location.. Like Im in PA so I pick one of the ones for FL. It doesnt matter which one, its just incase one of them doesnt work.

 

dyamond

The site that I ended up on for the KLite listed two different packages. I'm not certain I remember but think one was KLite Standard and the other KLite Advanced -- or something like that. I never actually clicked on one to go to the download site.

Nikilet

 

The link I gave you (this one http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4844) is just for the K-Lite Codec Pack Full 3.5.0. So im not sure where you went? :confused

 

A note of caution --- my personal opinion, and of quite a few folks at Video enthusiast forums where I hang out sometimes --- Codec packs are not always a good thing. You can sometimes end up with conflicts and broken codecs.

I only install the specific codecs I need, and keep my system free of junk that will never be used and that might cause problems.

But, it IS your pc, and your dinosaur egg to hatch if something rears its ugly head.

Good luck, hope it works out well for you.

granny

 

Granny - I'm thankful to everyone who has replied and really appreciate all input, but I must tell you that even though I'm a real novice those same thoughts ran through my head. I did download that GSpot program that someone told me about which is supposed to tell you exactly what codec you need. And then I also downloaded the VLC media player which someone recommended. I thought I'd give those two things a try before I mess around too much. If these two things don't solve the problem then I might consider downloading the K-Lite. You know, I really do not like this Vista. I never had any problems like this at all with my XP and I really miss it.

Nikilet

 

I only used Vista for about 3 weeks, and didn't like it much either.

I think you will be happy with VLC player. (I hope it works ok on Vista, I use it on XP.) It has a lot of codecs built into its installation so you don't have to install them yourself.

Post back how it goes