Upgraded to IE7 & WMP11, now videos download instead of stream

[DVantrease]

I just upgraded from Internet Explorer 6 to version 7, and at the same time I upgraded Windows Media Player 9 to version 11. Before upgrading, whenever I clicked on a WMV file on a website, it would start to stream and play immediately, which is what I want. But now, after upgrading, whenever I click on a WMV file, instead of streaming & playing right away, it wants to download the file. Which means I have to download the entire huge file before I can start playing it.

Can anyone tell me how to fix this so it streams again?

Thanks!

[DVantrease]

Update (sorta)... When I checked WMP11 options, under File Types, the box next to 'WMV' was checked, but it was also grayed out. I unchecked it, then checked it, now it's checked and not grayed out (not sure what grayed out meant). Anyways, now when I click on a WMV file, WMP DOES launch and attempts to play it, but then I get "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file. For additional assistance, click Web Help". Sigh. Clicking Web Help takes me to a MS page which doesn't give too much detail about the cause of the problem, most suggestions point to sound card problems. I know it's not that, because I can play all downloaded files just fine. Arrgghh.

[DVantrease]

Haha ok... I got this fixed! What I had to do was go through the 'Set Windows Media Player 11 as Your Default Digital Media Player' routine, here's the link in case anyone else needs it. I don't know why I had to do this though... as far as I know, WMP was already my default player. Anyways, it did fix the problem!

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/knowledgecenter/howto/mp11/defaultplayer.aspx

[Krispy Kritter]

Greyed out typically means it is supported, but it is not the default player (as you already figured out).

[DVantrease]

I spoke too soon. Now, on SOME websites, clicking on a WMV file starts the video streaming & playing. But on OTHER websites, clicking on a WMV file launches Media Player (11), but I get I get the same 'encountered an error' message as before. I thought about downgrading back to WMP 9, but it won't allow me to remove 11, because it's needed for my Zune. Sigh.

Any ideas? I even thought maybe it's a codec problem, but when I download the video first then play it, it plays fine. Arrgghh.

[Krispy Kritter]

I would start from scratch, testing along the way. Reinstall IE7 first. If that doesn't work, ensure you have WMP 11 set as the default player for all video types, then proceed to reinstall WMP 11. Lastly, you could try installing the latest wmv codec pack from MS.

[Nitemare]

You may also want to check your IE security settings. If it is blocking activeX controls and you need those controls for the video to stream....

I use this method to KEEP videos from streaming so you might be able to use them to go the other way.