9 replies to this topic

[DaffyDick]

I can use WMP 12 to open files such as wmv and others that are on my HDD. However, when I try to open them on a flash drive, I get the message WMP has stopped working and I get the Shutdown WMP button showing.
I cannot play files on my HDD either after that. I remove the flash drive and WMP will start working of its own accord and I can play files on my HDD without any problems.
This happens with all my flash drives. The files play off of them just fine on other computers. I've tried them on several different units, including my laptop.
The unit giving me trouble has Win 7 Pro 32 bit w/SP1 on it. The mobo is an ASUS M4A87TD EVO w/4Gigs of ROM and an AMD Phenom II X4 970 CPU.
So far I have used the Control Panel to uninstall WMP, rebooted and used the CP to install again.
I have run sfc /scannow (nothing found). I have run checkdisk with fix files enabled and rebooted to do that (no errors found). I downloaded a FixWMP app that reregisters all WMP dll files. None of this made any difference.
I also removed SP1 and that didn't help either.
I have a workaround that works called FinalMediaPlayer which plays all the files correctly on the HDD and the flash drives and have set it to be the default player.
However, I feel like I shouldn't need to do that and the M$ stuff should work.
So the question is; what do I need to try to fix the problem with the M$ version that came with the OS? I will say that at one time about a month or so ago all was well. I can't think of anything that may have been done that changed things, so I can't help with any info there. I also found that System Restore had been turned off so I had nothing to go back to there. I have since turned it back on and it does stay on, so I don't believe anything is lurking behind the scenes turning it off or preventing it from doing its job.
I ran Malwarebytes through its paces and it came up clean.
Any other ideas?
Dick

[drmsucks]

Daffy - What BIOS version do you have?

I have the same board, 4 GB RAM and Phenom x 2. From the moment it was built, I had more blue screens than I had had with all previous versions of Windows combined - and anything USB was likely to cause a blue screen.

I won't bore you with my (fruitless) troubleshooting but after I updated the BIOS to 1102, I've been rock solid. As I recall, the 1102 BIOS was billed as a stability update which leads me to believe that ASUS had something out of whack. I know that a BIOS upgrade to fix a media player issue seems a bit out of the ordinary but it can't hurt to try - especially if you've had any stability issues in the past.

Best of luck!

[DaffyDick]

drmsucks;
Thanks. I'll look into that. My BiOS version is 1101. I never even thought of the idea that a BIOS problem may be the cause.
Now that you mention it, the problem didn't start until I built this unit with the board. I've not had any BSOD problems.
I had looked into a BIOS update at ASUS's site but it didn't seem necessary to update.
Will do so and let all know what's going on.
Dick

[DaffyDick]

Well so much for that noble attempt.
ASUS is up to 2001 on their BIOS updates.
That one didn't fix the problem either.
Dick

[drmsucks]

Sorry that didn't work out. I couldn't get to the ASUS site last night but when I went today and looked over the BIOS versions, I think that it was probably the changes in the 1101 BIOS that helped me. I must have had an older board than you unless you updated your out of the box version to 1101. By the time I thought that I'd update the BIOS before getting a new board they were up to 1102.

I'm sure that your PSU is good quality and adequately sized...

I'm sure that you've tried several USB ports...

Is your MB i/o grounded against the i/o case insert? Mine (and many others, from reading the comments on Newegg) was an "uncomfortable" fit and I bent several of the prongs when I installed the MB. Easy to see that a misplaced prong could get into USB or other port and wreak havoc!

For what it's worth, based on my own experience, it sounds like a hardware issue to me.

Best of luck!

[DaffyDick]

drmsucks;
Thanks for that thought about grounding.
Prior to purchasing the board from NewEgg, I had read the reviews and saw what you mentioned about the rear cover, so I was prepared for that.
I didn't like the way those prongs lined up so I bent them out of the way.
However, I got concerned after reading your post and bent them back out and adjusted as necessary until the prongs weren't a problem.
That didn't make a difference. Still same problem with the flash drives.
BTW, if I run any other app for a file on the drive, like a doc, a jpg, a WordPerfect file, they all open and the app runs just fine. It's only the files that normally run via WMP that cause WMP to stop working.
Since I can use another player and it works fine, I'm not going to reinstall the OS.
I've decided to use the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" method of working. If I use Final Media Player, it "ain't broke".
Like I said at the beginning of this thread, it would be nice if the media player that came with the OS worked. It shouldn't be necessary to have to use third party software to accomplish a task such as this one.
Thanks for your help. It is appreciated that you took the time to try and assist me. What was really great was the fact that you had the same mobo. So, your experiences were of vital interest to me.
Dick

[drmsucks]

Daffy - After a little Googleing, I withdraw my comment that it's most likely a hardware issue. Based on what I saw, it may be a DRM issue (you'll never guess my feelings on that one!), a "sync" issue or something else. I did not see your exact issue where WMP quits responding when you try to open a file from the USB drive but did see several complaints that were close.

What file format(s) are you trying to open? Are they copy protected?

For what it's worth, I use VLC Player instead of WMP. Has most all of the codecs and just plain works.

[Man'n'Black-4xp]

Quote

What file format(s) are you trying to open? Are they copy protected?
For what it's worth, I use VLC Player instead of WMP. Has most all of the codecs and just plain works.

I think KMPlayer is better than vlc...if anyone cares.

[DaffyDick]

drmsucks;
I don't think there's any problem with copy protection or the like. Any of the file tyoes that play in WMP play just fine when they are on the HDD. If I copy file that is playabel with WMP on the HDD to a flash drive and take it to any other computer, it will open just fine. The only problem I have is with playing files off of a flash drive connected to any of the USB ports on my desktop.
There may be this sync issue that you speak of. As soon as I plug the flash drive in and try to sync it, it disappears from the sync window and I get the WMP has stopped working, and the drive letter for the flash drive changes.
I haven't tried using Disk Management to change the drive letter ahead of time so as to avoind any possible conflicts. Will have to try that.
Like I said Final Media Player is working for me and so far so good.
Dick

[ProblemsRBad]

drmsucks, on 11 April 2011 - 02:12 AM, said:

Daffy - After a little Googleing, I withdraw my comment that it's most likely a hardware issue. Based on what I saw, it may be a DRM issue (you'll never guess my feelings on that one!), a "sync" issue or something else. I did not see your exact issue where WMP quits responding when you try to open a file from the USB drive but did see several complaints that were close.

What file format(s) are you trying to open? Are they copy protected?

For what it's worth, I use VLC Player instead of WMP. Has most all of the codecs and just plain works.

What drmsucks said. vlc media is one of the most open sourced unique media players I have ever used. Work's with anything!