Member Avatar for frazzed

The media player will move and the visualizations work, but no sound emerges. This happens off and on for no apparent reason. I can play (and hear) the same files with MusicMatch Jukebox, RealPlayer, etc. I have not installed any new sound cards or done anything differently. I checked to make sure all of my drivers and codecs were updated. They were. I've rebooted about fourteen times. I've just spent about 2 hours on the Microsoft site and can find nothing. I was hoping to find some kind of patch for the bugs in this player. Any ideas?

You know how sometimes your audio files play in a PowerPoint presentation and then sometimes they don't? I wonder if this is related to the quirky media player?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by prof.thakur

Dani AI

Generated

This looks like a Windows Media Player–specific problem rather than a system-wide audio failure. and raised a couple of quick checks; below are additional, targeted diagnostics and safe fixes to try (in order) that address WMP-specific paths and filters that other players don’t use.

  1. Verify DirectSound/DirectShow path
    Run the DirectX Diagnostic (Start -> Run -> dxdiag) and use the Sound tab to test DirectSound and note the device name/driver. That confirms whether the OS/DirectX audio path WMP uses is healthy.

  2. Disable WMP plug‑ins
    Temporarily move everything out of:
    Program Files\Windows Media Player\Plugins
    Restart WMP and test. A bad visualization/DSP plug‑in can stop audio even while visuals still run.

  3. Rebuild WMP user database (safe, per‑user fix)
    If the player behaves differently under another account (as suggested), rename the folder:
    C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player
    WMP will rebuild its database on next start. Note: playlists/ratings are rebuilt — back up anything important first.

  4. Third‑party filters/codecs and renderer conflicts
    Uninstall any non‑Microsoft codec packs or DirectShow filters you installed recently (ffdshow, AC3Filter, codec packs). If comfortable, inspect the audio renderer with a DirectShow tool; otherwise uninstall the codec pack and retest.

  5. If none of the above works
    Repair or reinstall Windows Media Player (use the official installer/Windows Update), and test again. Make a system restore point before major changes.

Caution: avoid registry edits unless experienced. Test after each step to isolate the cause; the sequence above tends to identify whether the issue is per‑user data, a bad WMP plug‑in, or a DirectShow/codec conflict.

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Member Avatar for gemini4

You've done a lot of stuff and I think you might have checked that already but it sound to me like it's muted. That or the default playback device for Windows Media Player it's not your sound card.

Try creating a new user profile on your computer and see if WMPlayer has sound in there.

Member Avatar for prof.thakur

exactly what u say is correct if u have muted the playing song

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