OT:Cannot stream video now

mel58i wrote on 2/10/2005, 3:41 AM
I know that this is probably the wrong place to ask for help, but there is so much knowledge here that I will try.
I used to be able to click on links on wmv files etc from the net and the video would buffer then play in WMP and the like, but now it just closes my brower and signs me off (AOL b/b).
If I download the files, then they all play ok - it's just the streaming.
I've done all to cure (no virus's, no adware, registry ok , reloaded aol etc). I thought if re-loaded windows (new copy over old) all would be ok - but no!
One sure way, I suppose, would be to wipe the disc clean and reload again, but having that much stuff on the disc and the thoughts of having find and re-load all the progs far from excites me!
Can anyone suggest anyway to fix the streaming problem, or suggest another site that I may ask the question of?
(o/s win XP home)
Hope for some response - thanks
Mel.

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 2/10/2005, 3:48 AM
Are you using AOL's browser? They may have slipped you an update recently that caused the problem. Try using MSIE or some other browser instead. In fact, you should always minimize AOL's browser and use something else since AOL's browser is pretty much brain-dead.
mel58i wrote on 2/10/2005, 3:54 AM
If I use the aol broswer then it signs me off if I try to stream. If I minimise it then use IE, it closes down (but does not lose connection).
Have tried to use an old dial-up account and that behaves the same.
Something has got at my system, but I am stumped.
Re-formating is the last resort for just a very annoying problem.
Mel.
Chienworks wrote on 2/10/2005, 4:14 AM
Well, not that this solves your problem, but my typical flow is to launch Media Player, then right-mouse-button click on the link and copy it, then paste the link into Media Player's File / Open URL dialog. This is often faster than waiting for the browser to figure out that it needs to launch media player.
mel58i wrote on 2/10/2005, 4:25 AM
Afraid this don't work either - it justs shuts down media player!
Mel.
mel58i wrote on 2/10/2005, 4:57 AM
Also discovered that even when I am offline and type in a URL, media player shuts down. This is same for WMP and Real player. Should expect to see an error saying "cannot find - offline" or something similar.
Mel.
Chienworks wrote on 2/10/2005, 5:17 AM
Sounds like your Media Player installation got hosed. You might try going to Windows Update and seeing if there is a newer version available. If so, it will install and replace your current one automatically. If not, you may have to uninstall Media Player and then reinstall it.
mel58i wrote on 2/10/2005, 6:01 AM
Have tried that one with no luck.
Seems to be something in IE or "system" since all media players close down.
Probably a bad system file not linking media player to IE.
Mel.
Mandk wrote on 2/10/2005, 7:03 AM
I had an issue with spyware causing a similar problem (I do not remember if the media player specifically shut down but many other components of IE had issues).

In the end I had to wipe the disk and reinstall windows xp.
scdragracing wrote on 2/10/2005, 3:00 PM
there is a cure for nearly every kind of spyware there is, even if it means editing the registry manually... you should practically never have to re-format a drive to get rid of spyware.

try some of the fixes on this website: http://www.michaelhorowitz.com/protecting.html
theceo wrote on 2/10/2005, 3:40 PM
WMP needs correct proxy settings in IE

If you used a proxy program, it might have changed your proxy info

Open up IE and check your proxy settings, use auto detect

If it's not that, there's a couple of more settings in WMP that could cause this, such as port settings and such