Need a little help from someone a little(ok,a LOT!!!) smarter than me when it comes to computers. Seems like something has hijacked my windows media player. when I try to play a cd or dvd,or even a downloaded song,and click on the play with media player option.a full screen preview of the newest movies pops up and lasts about 10 seconds,then closes. after that it asks me if I want to install this skin,which I always reply no to. and then it just closes without playing the song/dvd/cd. My music match jukebox works fine for playing music for some reason. I was going to just delete the media player and re-install it,but I looked at all my application and driver cd's that came with my computer,and i couldn't find it on any of them. I have scanned for viruses,used ad-aware and spybot to get rid of anything I didn't need,still the same problem. I also went to add/delete programs to look for anything out of place there,didn't see anything that looked like it didn't belong. any body have any suggestions? thanks,Ben

 

Which one is set as your default player ?

 

windows media player is my default player. wouldn't mind using music match,but I don't think you can play movies with it. Ben

 

If I couldn't figure out what was wrong and the trouble was recent, I'd think about doing a system restore to a date before the trouble started. That's just me though, and I doubt I know anymore about PC's than you do. My first thought was spyware though. Of course you said you already checked for that. Good luck.

 

How about a alternate media player that can be downloaded or something? I don't have to use windows media player if I can find something else to take it's place

 

There's always Winamp

 

where is a reputable place to get winamp from?

 

Just do a search for Winamp. I can't remember where I got it from, I hardly ever use it. I don't much like Windows Media Player anyway. I also have RealPlayer, in fact I think I have way too many different media playing programs. -TD

 

ok,simple question time. I did download winamp,now how do I make it my default media player? thanks again,Ben

 

If I remember right it the install program asks when you install the program. There is also a configuration item that sets Winamp as the default for certain types of files.

 

you can got to Microsoft and download the media player, it is up to version ten.

 

well,I was going to try the new version of windows media player like crash687 said,but I thought it would be a good idea to delete my old version 1st. But,I can't delete it. It says this program is in use by another program or person and cannot be deleted. I even restarted my computer to see if maybe it would let me do it then,no luck.how do I figure out what is using media player,or is there a way around this to get it deleted? I went to the windows media file itself,tried deleting it there,but it just kept showing up within seconds after I deleted it. so i went to program files,and that is where I get the message about the program being in use.....what gives?

 

It sounds like you have some sort of hijacker or worm. Go here and run the scan.

Edit:

Actually, Hijack this will probably be better.

 

I have had this happen to me before (windows media was hijacked), just download a new version and it will rewrite over the old.

You should also use Hijack this, always just as a precaution.

 

Media player 10 is a very good player compared to the last few versions. I like it better than my musicmatch. If u can straighten out the mess on your PC, I recommend using it as your default.

Don't focus too hard on why the Win MP isn't working, I think you may need to do a little bit of (or a lot)PC clean-up. There might be multiple problems on your PC. There are alot of magazines( 5to8bucks) that offer Win XP and PC clean up ideas and how to's. It is good to sit down and calmly read( until you understand) how to manage your PC. Changing multiple programs and settings, downloading mysterious software, and deleting entire programs every time you get a glitch is not necessary. Do not attack this problem wildly!!! Maybe you need to read up. That is, do not expect to use your computer as you have been doing for a couple weeks. I suggest sitting down and studying your computer for two weeks. Read articles about updates, spam, spyware, and everything you can get from secure microsoft sites or your PC manufacturers website. Any user of the latest generation of PC's hooked to a network or internet needs to pull their head out of the sand to keep the computer running smooth. There is still no such thing as worry-free, user friendly PC, and the latest wave of internet attacks from spammers and hackers is really complicating things. Good Luck!!!!HNY!!!

P.S. I went downstairs and noticed the latest version of PC World (Jan 2005).Inside is an article on what I have been writing to you about. The cover says "5 minute fixes..how to clean up windows, tame hardware, control e-mail, and stop crashes". These are the kind of articles you would benefit from. I haven't read this issue yet, but most PC mags, will usually have a few "PC improvement" articles in every issue. I know the mags cost money, and you should be able to find everything you need in your PC handbook, and the internet, but I like to read third party experts advice about such things.