Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file

Ret00lhy

New member
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Messages
49
Hello.
A year ago, a random day, I suddenly started to face a problem with playing sound files:

wmp-encountered-problem.png


This error message kept popping up when trying to play any type of sound file. (mp3, avi, m4a, you name it)
When trying it with another media player (VLC Media Player), no error appeared, but no sound either (just a blank screen and the play button doing nothing)
Playing video files (mp4, avi, flv, ...) did show the video, but no sound at all.
I tried numerous things like installing codec packs like K-Lite, with no positive results.
After some searching , I did find a "fix" by going into the settings of the Playback devices and checking disable all sound effects, however I think this isn't a significant fix and worse issues are behind this.
(I haven't actually thought about posting a thread about this the entire year :confused: )

I recently tried to find a better fix for this. The integrated Windows problem solvers does nothing productive in this situation. It never find any problems.
I did try to restore WMP settings to default, no difference either.

As far as I can remember, this issue arose a month or so after I updated my Realtek HD Audio drivers. That is why I blame that. I couldn't roll it back, but I managed to find the "stock" drivers for my PC model on the manufacturer's site (eMachines model ET1870; bought back in 2011), but that did not solve anything either.
Also, because of this I doubt if updating audio drivers is a very good idea... I think it destabilized my computer's audio system as my motherboard might not be 100% compatible with a later driver version. I could be completely wrong here and it'll be good if someone could prove me so :)

Thank you for your time and I'll appreciate any useful help!
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7
If it was a driver issue, you would have the issue as soon as you started the PC, not a month later. Create a manual System Restore point (http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/700-system-restore.html) and update your drivers.

If it gets worse, roll back the drivers or restore the system with the manual restore point you just created. After all, You can still try to install even an older driver.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
AMD Phenom 2 1090T
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5
Memory
2x8GB Kingston HyperX Fury Black 1600Mhz Unganged
Graphics Card(s)
MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
Sound Card
Realtek On-Board HD 7.1 Audio / Logitech G35
Monitor(s) Displays
3xAcer GD245HQ
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD - OS /
WD Caviar Black SATA 3 - 1 TBx2 - Dynamic RAID 0 /
WD Caviar Green SATA 2 - 640GBx2 - Dynamic RAID 0 /
WD Caviar Green SATA 2 - 640GB - Internal Backup /
Seagate Barracude SATA 3 - 3TB - External Backup/ Sync
PSU
HighPower 1000W
Case
Cooler Master HAF 932
Cooling
Noctua NH-D14
Keyboard
Logitech G19
Mouse
Logitech G500
Internet Speed
100/4 Mbit Cable (100GB quota)
Antivirus
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security / MBAM Pro / MBAE Free / SAS Free
Browser
IE 11 - Firefox - Chrome
Other Info
Logitech F710/ G27/ G940/ Z5500 // TrackIR 5 // Nvidia 3D Surround Vision
I have updated the drivers to the latest version. Nothing became worse, but nothing became better either, still the same error message.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7
It looks like it has been solved by upgrading to Windows 10... Strange, but relieving :) Hopefully it won't return.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 7
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