Not-Playing File Problems

[Jantra]

All of my files played, but suddenly, out of no where, a whole lot of them stopped working. All the WMVs, almost all of the mpg/mpeg, even some of the AVIs! I've tried all sorts of things but I still can't get them to play! Any ideas? Thanks - Jantra

[Nunzio390]

Still using Winamp3, hmmm?

OK. If you want to continue using Winamp3 then check to see if another player (eg: Windows Media Player) hasn't "stolen" the file associations from Winamp3. Unassociate those file types from the "culprit" media player...

And then reassign them back to Winamp3...
CTRL+P to open preferences > Media
In the right pane, under "Preferred Media" make sure all file types you want to play with Winamp3 are selected. Close Winamp3 for the settings to take effect. Then reopen it.

BUT... you really shouldn't be using Winamp3 right now. Winamp3 v1.0 hasn't been officially updated since Dec 2002 (although there have been internal developer builds). Since then, we've had Winamp 2.81, 2.90, 2.91 plus a leaked and unsupported 2.92 & 2.95. Then came 5.0 Beta 1 and Beta 2, and the current release candidate. Also, Winamp3 is effectively dead. Winamp 5.0 (the direct upgrade from 2.xx) is the latest and greatest Nullsoft product.

To avoid confusion, Winamp and Winamp3 are and always have been two different Nullsoft media players / products)...

Winamp = Winamp 0.x | Winamp 1.x | Winamp 2.x | Winamp 5.x
Winamp3 = Winamp3

1. The name of one product is Winamp
2. The name of the other product is Winamp3 (note that there is no "space" between Winamp and 3 and there is no mention of a version number)

You may not be aware of it (especially if you had not been reading through and participating in these forums), but Winamp3 is now effectively dead (although Wasabi development will continue) and will be removed from Winamp.com very soon. There will be no further support for Winamp3. All Winamp3 forums (including this one) will be locked and archived for read-only purposes (legacy support). We will no longer actively support Winamp3.

All development has been and will continue to go into Winamp 5.0 (the direct upgrade from Winamp 2.x). Winamp 5.0 supports both Winamp 2.x skins and Winamp3 skins (now referred to as "modern" skins), along with many other great features that Winamp3 had.

So, my suggestion to you is to uninstall Winamp3 and instead install the latest release candidate of Winamp 5.0.

When you download Winamp 5.0, go ahead and download the latest release candidate of Winamp 5.0 linked to in this discussion thread and also read through and perhaps participate in the thread.
Keep it until the final public release comes out, at which time you can upgrade.
Put ALL Winamp 5.0 RC Bugs In HERE!

*Note: If you are a Winamp3 "die-hard" and decide to keep Winamp3 installed and you also want to install Winamp 5.0, make certain that you do not install Winamp 5.0 within your current Winamp3 directory. Winamp 5.0 is a direct upgrade from Winamp 2.xx and is a separate program requiring installation within its own folder (or within your existing Winamp 2.xx folder if you just want to upgrade).

[Jantra]

Actually

Ummm actually, I *AM* using 5.0 ^_^;; I just was ALSO having the problem under 3.0, and figured maybe I could get a little more help here since there is no 5.0 boards. Nothing else has 'stolen' the files, not even WMP can run wmv files. I'm really stuck here.

[Nunzio390]

Well, you posted in the "soon-to-be-trashed-and-archived" Winamp3 Tech Support forum, so naturally I offered a solution for Winamp3 and not Winamp 5.0 (different solution).

Regardless, now that you've said you are already using Winamp 5.0, I'll address it accordingly....

You also said, "figured maybe I could get a little more help here since there is no 5.0 boards"

Not true, as currently indicated on the main forums index page, in bold lettering, and also indicated in this screenshot...

... all Winamp 5 related posts (like this one) belong in the Winamp 2 Discussion forum, and all Winamp 5 bugs are limited to the appropriate thread in the Winamp 2 Bug Reports forum.

*Note: Winamp 5.0 is the direct upgrade to Winamp 2.xx, hence, all discussions concerning it belong in the Winamp 2 Discussion forum (both forums will probably later be named to simply Winamp Discussion and Winamp Bug Reports, once Winamp 5.0 Final is released and Winamp3 is trashed)

You also said, "Nothing else has 'stolen' the files, not even WMP can run wmv files"

Now that you have said that, it is plainly evident that your problem is not Winamp related at all, but rather a system-wide problem. So, I will approach this differently now.

Try reassigning all media file types that no longer play by using the Windows interface itself. Start by browsing to and right-clicking on any "problem" media file (eg: a WMV file in the following screenshot), and selecting "Open With", and then "Choose Program...". Then in the resulting "Open With" dialog box, scroll to and locate the program of your choice (in this case Winamp), highlight it and then make sure you CHECK the checkbox to the left of "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file".

See the following screenshot...



That "should" clear up your problem.

In the meantime, now that I know that you were really talking about Winamp 5.0 and not Winamp3, I will now move this thread to the appropriate Winamp 2 Discussion forum.

[DJ Egg]

What's your Windows OS, DirectX version & WMP version?

Try reinstalling Windows Media Player v7/8/9 codecs
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...ad/default.asp -> select: Codecs Download Package from drop-down menu

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/format/codecdownload.aspx

[Jantra]

Running Windows XP, DX v.9.0, WMP v.9.0, downloading the codec and 'open with' didnt help... still wont run the problem ones, and wont even run the ones that had worked a week or so ago

[DJ Egg]

As Micro$oft would say,
"you have encountered a problem that this troubleshooter cannot resolve"

If WMP9 can't play them, then no other player will be able to play them either.
What error message do you get from WMP?
Does it attempt to download codecs?
Have you tried reinstalling it?

Sad to say, but to me it sounds like those video files have been corrupted...

[kempo]

Didn't he maybe uninstall his DivX/XVid codecs? Or never installed them again after redoing his machine last time? (You do do that at least once every three months don't you?!)

The way he talks in his last post, "still won't run the problem ones" sounds to me like just such a problem. One AVI file will run smoothly without a hitch if it's encoded in the normal AVI format with the WMP codecs and such installed. The next AVI file won't do nothing if it's encoded in say DivX and you don't have any DivX codecs installed...

If those codecs aren't there, he won't see any such encoded movies/clips even if he installs WMP codecs until he's blue in the face...

[DJ Egg]

Maybe. But Jantra mentioned WMV, MPEG (and AVI) in the first post.

Latest DivX codec
Latest Xvid codec

Also, use G-Spot to determine which codecs are required.

[kempo]

Could still be some (unsupported/uninstalled) codec that just uses .MPG or .WMV as a wrapper in much the same way as DivX does with .AVI ?!

Just a thought

[Jantra]

dear gods

Alright... I've uninstalled and reinstalled my DivX XivD codec, installed all the WMP codec, and have still gotten no where.

Since then, I have figured out that I can play the 'not working' files on my DivX player, but not in Winamp OR WMP