Why won't my mp3s and videos play?

October 31, 2007 9:48 PM

Why won't my mp3s and videos play on my computer...at all?

The other day, I load up Winamp to listen to an mp3, except nothing happens. It still stays at the 00:00 mark. I figure maybe it's because I need to update to the new Winamp so I upgrade but still, nothing happens and the mp3 won't play.

I try playing the mp3 in VLC, Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic, and iTunes but no luck in any of them. In Windows Media Center (I'm running Vista), I got an error message saying it's an "unknown audio error." I have a similar problem with videos as they won't play in Winamp or Media Player.

There's nothing wrong with my speakers or anything like that, as I still get sound just fine (like I have no problem getting sound from Flash video).

I haven't toyed around with any of my codecs and frankly, I'm not sure what the problem is, especially since they won't play on any program, and frankly, I'm out of ideas.

posted by champthom to Computers & Internet (12 answers total)

Upgrade to Windows XP? Vista has some weird DRM issues, but I've not heard of it going quite that far.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 10:14 PM on October 31, 2007

I'd try one of those Ubuntu disks, if Ubuntu can play videos / mp3s, then you know its Vista or Vista drivers. If not, well, it might be a failed hardware component.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 10:16 PM on October 31, 2007

Response by poster: Just to clarify, I've been using Vista for a while and this is the first time I've had any problems like this.
posted by champthom at 10:29 PM on October 31, 2007

Best answer: Any flags in the device manager? What happens when you uninstall and reinstall your sound card drivers?

This most certainly is not a DRM issue, unless those files were DRM protected in the first place.
posted by tracert at 11:22 PM on October 31, 2007

Is it always the same mp3 that won't play? It might be damaged.
posted by Bonzai at 11:49 PM on October 31, 2007

I'd try one of those Ubuntu disks, if Ubuntu can play videos / mp3s, then you know its Vista or Vista drivers. If not, well, it might be a failed hardware component.

Can Ubuntu live-cd version play mp3s at all? This may not be a valid test.
posted by inigo2 at 7:20 AM on November 1, 2007

Yeah, sounds like a corrupt mp3.
posted by almostmanda at 7:44 AM on November 1, 2007

Response by poster: Err, one more clarification - this is happening to ALL my mp3s and videos, not just one unless somehow all of my mp3s and videos became corrupted.

I can't try it now but I'll check the device manager and uninstall and reinstall sound card driver.
posted by champthom at 8:58 AM on November 1, 2007

I've seen very similar behavior to this under Vista - all my audio/video froze up, even VLC. I sort of assumed that some program or another had locked the audio card and anything that tried to access it was freezing up. In my case, a reboot fixed the problem, though as a more long-term solution I'm planning to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows XP. I would maybe check for updated audio drivers for your machine.
posted by whir at 11:33 AM on November 1, 2007

Response by poster: Errgh, I tried updating my sound drivers and now I'm getting no audio at all. Even after I roll it back, got the driver from the official Realtek site, I still get no audio.

Sigh, hopefully I'll get this fixed.
posted by champthom at 6:47 PM on November 1, 2007

Best answer: Okay, that's no good. I think what you want to do here is get a clean slate and then try again. Assuming no hardware problems, things should work.

First, look in Programs and Features (formally Add/Remove programs) and get rid of any sound related items there. Next, completely uninstall the device (via device manager, not physically!), then restart and let Windows find it again. Then feed it the right drivers. Don't use a setup program, just put the drivers into a folder and then point the driver install wizard at it.

If it doesn't find anything, then those are not the right drivers. If it does find something, restart after installation is complete. Check to make sure your speakers are plugged in all the way and turned on. Can you hear operating system sounds now?
posted by tracert at 8:14 PM on November 1, 2007

(To see if you can hear stuff, go to control panel, click Sound, then right click your playback device and click Test.)
posted by tracert at 8:18 PM on November 1, 2007