Missing Codec?

[perihelio]

Hi-

Happy Thanksgiving.

I've just discovered that .mp3 files in any of my .ppt files on my machine
no longer play. The sound files have not been moved. I would think that
maybe my machine lost the codec that allows the music files to run.
Any thoughts? Running Windows XP Home.

Thanks.

[John Wilson]

Did you install a sound or video player / editor that may have changed the
file associations?

I would reinstall Windows Media Player and see if that fixes things.

--
john ATSIGN PPTAlchemy.co.uk

Free PPT Hints, Tips and Tutorials
http://www.pptalchemy.co.uk/powerpoint_hints_and_tips_tutorials.html

"perihelio" wrote:

> .
>

[perihelio]

John: Thanks for the reply.

No joy on the below process. I uninstalled Realplayer and reinstalled it.
As before the .mp3 files do not play in PowerPoint (they did at time of
creation)...no sound files have been moved to new directories...the .mp3's
play fine outside of the PP environment...and the .wav files within the
presentation, where they exist....play fine in the shows. Oh, I tried
deleting and reinstalling an .mp3 file or two with no change.
Do you have any other thoughts?

Thanks.

"John Wilson" <john AT technologytrish.co DOT uk> wrote in message
news:FF9CDE0C-FB15-411F...@microsoft.com...

[Michael Koerner]

You need to do as John suggested, and reinstall Windows Media Player. Make sure that the default program for playing MP3 files is Windows Media Player and not Realplayer.

--
  Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint

 

 

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message news:Ov$qQo7bK...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[perihelio]

My mistake.  I "read" Media Player and "thought." Realplayer.  Ok, I uninstalled Windows Media Player and reloaded Windows Media Player 11 for XP but still have the same problem.  It is:  the .mp3 files within any of my existing .ppt files do not play (.wav files do play).  The files play when they are opened from within the show directories or in the general computer environment, outside of the PowerPoint program.  When I try to "preview" the sound file inside a show I get the following dropdown....."MCI Error-The specified file can not be played on the specified MCI device.  The file may be corrupt, not in the correct format, or no FIL".

Thank you.

---

"Michael Koerner" <iam...@home.com> wrote in message news:e8v8xYCc...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Michael Koerner]

If you have Real Player on your system it might be that the mp3 files in
your presentation got associated with Real Player. I would make sure that
the file association for mp3 files is Windows Media Player and go as far as
re inserting them into your presentation

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:Obtmc2Qc...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

My mistake. I "read" Media Player and "thought." Realplayer. Ok, I
uninstalled Windows Media Player and reloaded Windows Media Player 11 for XP
but still have the same problem. It is: the .mp3 files within any of my
existing .ppt files do not play (.wav files do play). The files play when
they are opened from within the show directories or in the general computer
environment, outside of the PowerPoint program. When I try to "preview" the
sound file inside a show I get the following dropdown....."MCI Error-The
specified file can not be played on the specified MCI device. The file may
be corrupt, not in the correct format, or no FIL".
Thank you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[perihelio]

Michael:

Within Media Player, Tools, Options, File Types, .mp3 is one of the file
types checked to use WMP as the default player. I'm not aware of a setting
inside PowerPoint 2007. There may be one there that I can't find, so please
let me know.

I created a new PowerPoint show as a test and when I insert an .mp3 I get
the same error message as stated earlier......"MCI Error-The

specified file can not be played on the specified MCI device. The file may
be corrupt, not in the correct format, or no FIL".

I HAVE tried reinserting in existing shows with no change.

I'm not a PowerPoint expert for sure, but I've been working with it for
seven or eight years and am really stumped on this one.

"Michael Koerner" <iam...@home.com> wrote in message

news:eIVgaBSc...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Michael Koerner]

There is no setting within PowerPoint to make this change. You are doing it
correctly I just wanted to make sure that nothing was staying attached to
your audio files.

Can you play your files using mplay32.exe? You may also want to check here
for a solution http://www.playsforcertain.com/

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:eHs%23HsVcK...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[perihelio]

No. The .mp3 files do not play using mplay32.exe. Other file types do.
I get a warning..."A problem occurred in initializing MCI"

"Michael Koerner" <iam...@home.com> wrote in message

news:%23v2irfb...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Michael Koerner]

The player file may have been corrupted. I found this using Google and
inserting your error message.

You may have a backup on your system, look in
C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386. Copy the file to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:OMex%23nccK...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[perihelio]

Michael:

�No go� on your last suggestion. Thank you for sticking with me on this.
Let me recap what had occurred thus far:

My original problem:

?In my existing PowerPoint 2007 .ppt presentations, .mp3 music files will
not play from within the program

?the location of the sound files have not changed since time of creation

?the files WILL PLAY outside of the PowerPoint program

?.wav files DO PLAY within the PP program.

What�s been done to try to fix the problem:

?I deleted and reinserted .mp3 files which still DID NOT PLAY.

?I uninstalled then reinstalled Windows Media Player with NO CHANGE

?I created a new test show and inserted .mp3 files. They DID NOT PLAY in
running the show or in Preview. In that situation I got this error
message....."MCI Error-The specified file cannot be played on the specified

MCI device. The file may be corrupt, not in the correct format, or no FIL".

?I went into Media Player, Tools, Options, File Types, .mp3 is one of the
file
types checked to use WMP as the default player. Like I said, though, in
the general environment, WMP works fine on an .mp3.

?The .mp3 files do not play using mplay32.exe. Other file types do. I get

a warning..."A problem occurred in initializing MCI"

?I found mplay32.exe in C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386. I copied it to
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32. It was the same creation date, time and size

?I did a search for mplay32 exe. And found and earlier version. I copied it
to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32.

?No change in the end. Still get the error message: ..."A problem occurred
in initializing MCI"

?I inserted a PowerPoint Show that I have on a CD in my drive. The show
ran�.WITHOUT SOUND!

?I attempted to do a System Restore for a few available dates and
inexplicably, System Restore doesn�t fly(!!!) After reboot I get a message
that the system has not been changed.

It seems like the only problem is something within MY PowerPoint as WMP
works fine stand-alone.

Thanks.

"Michael Koerner" <iam...@home.com> wrote in message

news:eZaTS2cc...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Echo S]

PowerPoint uses the MCI Media Player (mplay32.exe) to play media files. If
the file won't play in mplay32.exe, then it's not going to play in PPT.

You said other types of files will play in the MCI Media Player, right? My
guess is that Real Player mucked up the system somehow -- but I'm not sure
how to fix it. I'd probably uninstall Real Player and reinstall Windows
Media Player. If I could reinstall the MCI Media Player, I'd do that, but I
don't know if there's a way to do it other than a system restore or Windows
reinstall.

I suppose it could be DRM (digital rights management) issues with the files
in question. Where did the MP3 files come from?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:OpuamHec...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> ran..WITHOUT SOUND!

[perihelio]

When I open Windows Media Player from my desk top icon, it will play any of
my music files including .mp3, .wma, and .wav.perfectly. It looks like the
executable that is run when opened like that is wmplayer.exe.

Yes, .wav & .wma files will play with mplay32.exe. Just not the .mp3's.

Per your suggestion below, I deleted both Real Player and Windows media
player and re-installed only Windows Media Player. No change.

The files have come from various sources including my own CDs and the WWW.
Do note, however, that the files have been playing in some of these .ppt
shows since 2001 and became inoperable at some unknown time in the past two
weeks or so.

As it stands now, PowerPoint is belly up since I can neither play old shows
nor add music to newly created ones.

Thank you.

"Echo S" <msnews...@echosvoiceUGHSPAM.com> wrote in message
news:%23YJdnKg...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Echo S]

Whether they play in Windows Media Player is pretty much irrelevant. You
need the codecs and other stuff, but mplay32.exe is the key.

I don't think it's actually PPT that's messed up -- I think it's the MCI
Media Player that's messed up. I know that really just sounds like semantics
since the goal is to get the sounds to play in PPT.

If you used RM or WMP to rip the MP3s from your CD, it could still be a DRM
issue. Same with the MP3s that come from "various places on the web." But
the errors you're getting with mplay32.exe lead me to believe it's something
screwy with the MCI Media Player on your system. I'm guessing some
multimedia software mucked something up.

I guess the ultimate test would be to try to insert the MP3s into a new,
blank presentation on another computer.

Unfortunately, I don't have any answers for you because I don't know how to
repair the MCI Media Player. I guess at this point it's time to call MS
Product Support.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:uDYORZic...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Michael Koerner]

Did you reinstall mplay32.exe like I suggested in my previous reply?

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:uDYORZic...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[perihelio]

Yes, Michael, I did. This is from a little earlier in the thread......

?I found mplay32.exe in C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386. I copied it to
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32. It was the same creation date, time and size

?I did a search for mplay32 exe. And found and earlier version. I copied it

to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32?No change in the end. Still get the error message:
..."A problem occurred
in initializing MCI"......

I have done everything you suggested.

"Michael Koerner" <iam...@home.com> wrote in message

news:etfQ4Tq...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

[perihelio]

Echo:

I inserted a cd which has one of my PowerPoint shows thereon into my laptop.
It ran perfectly including the music files.

I created a NEW PP show on the laptop, inserted the same .mp3 files that I
have been using in shows on my desktop computer and the shows play
perfectly, including the music files.

Thanks.

"Echo S" <msnews...@echosvoiceUGHSPAM.com> wrote in message

news:O3gR49oc...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[perihelio]

Michael/Echo:

Thanks for trying.

So, then, would you think that my only option at this point is to re-load
Windows XP?

JV

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:uQryczsc...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

[Echo S]

That's my only suggestion, yes. Michael might know better, though -- he's
better at that stuff than I am!

MS Product Support might know a way to restore the MCI Media Player that
wouldn't be as drastic, I don't know.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:eB%23uiP3c...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

[Echo S]

I'm glad to hear that, at least! To me, that points to an issue on the
particular system. It's not a problem with the music files, so that's at
least some good news.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx

"perihelio" <pin...@ec.rr.com> wrote in message

news:OgQ8wWt...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

[Michael Koerner]

I agree with you Echo (not about the better part <g>). I like to take the
path of least problems even though it may take a little longer. Might try
Round Tripping. This often cleans up a lot of unsolvable problems. check out
Glen's site http://www.pptworkbench.com/html/round_trip.htm for the
procedure.

--
Michael Koerner
MS MVP - PowerPoint

"Echo S" <msnews...@echosvoiceUGHSPAM.com> wrote in message

news:uQk1t23c...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...