Windows Media Player Hangs PC when playing MPEG

[jfebus]

Hi All,

I am having a really strange problem. I can't use windows media player (any version) to play MPEG files. But I am able to view them usong PowerDVD.

I notice that even Ulead DVD Workshop is habging when using the MPEG files.

Any advise?

Thanks,

[dcsos]

Windows Media Player doesn't natively play MPEG-2
It waits for you to install athird party app (in your case POWER DVD)
so MEDIA PLAYER may be using the same codec to try to play your MPEG files.. To find out for sure go in the folder where WMP resides and find alittle icon called MPLAYER2.exe. Launch it and drag an MPEG-2 file to it..
Now (if you can befor it hangs please)--go to properties of the file you've loaded...this is on the FILE menu drop down
NOW WHAT DOES IT SAY...
IT should show which stuff in your system is being used by the MEDIA PLAYER to play MPEG...ideally this should be yourPOWER DVD codecs..
If not, and this is what i suspect...You installed some free-ware app whose codecs WENT TO THE MEDIA PLAYER AND SCREWED THE power dvd CODECS UP..... sO IF THER IS NO WAY TO REINSTALLOR DINSTALL THE FREEWARE (typical) YOU JUST NEED TO REMOVE THE BAD CODECS FROM THE SYSTEM AND REEBOOT

go to control panel>either MULTIMEDIA in98 or sounds and multimedia in XP and2k>expand out the hardware tab>properties of VIDEO CODECS >
remove the bad ones...reboot

otherwise..RE-INSTALL power dvd...it'll write over the bad codec with any luck...
If all this fails..get another third party MPEG decoder..LIGOS, MAINCONCEPT come to mind..

Good Luck

[jfebus]

Thanks a lot for the help...I will try it tonight!

[jfebus]

HI All!

THANKS dcsos THANKS THANKS THANKS!!!

I just installed the new drivers for my video card and everything is working as expected!

Regards and THANKS!!!

[donpedro]

jfebus, Did you reinstall codec or drivers for video card ? What dcsos was suggesting was play around with codecs.

dcsos, Great simple guide for checking of file and codecs in WMP. Thanks.

[jfebus]

Hi,

I just installed the new drivers for the card. When he pointed to me the need to install again the software, I decided to install the new drivers too and after installing them everything is working as expected...

Regards,