Windows Media Player cannot play the file Windows 7
Get ready to play a video on Windows 11 or 10, only to find that the Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The Windows Media Player is playing only sound not video with a black screen. Sometimes, it’s not able to play MP4, MKV, MPEG, and some other videos it should play. If your Windows Media Player (12) won’t play videos with error messages including but not limited to the following, you can find a fix in this post. Play any Video on Windows Media Player without ErrorsNo extra codecs required. WinX Video Converter [100% free and clean] will convert videos from various different formats to Windows Media Player compatible WMV, AVI, MP4, MPEG, MOV, etc. No clueless troubleshooting. Play video with audio on Windows Media Player smoothly immediately. Solutions to Windows Media Player Video Playback Errors
Solution 1. Download Codecs AutomaticallyIf there is no picture only sound on Windows Media Player with error messages reminding that it lacks a certain codec, for example, you need to download the HEVC codec on Windows 11 to get the player work. First, try to download the codec using Windows Media Player:
Solution 2. Download Codecs ManuallyIf there is no option in the Windows Media Player to let you download the codec, you can get an extra codec for it. Here is a slew of codecs you can download to help Windows Media Player plays the video it can't, including CCCP, K-Lite Codec Pack, Media Player Codec Pack, ffdshow, LAV Filters, etc. Below we'll take K-Lite Codec Pack as an example to show you how:
Solution 3. Convert the Video to Another FormatIf the Windows Media Player cannot play a certain file, for example, Windows Media Player won’t play MP4 (HEVC) videos, you can convert the video to a format which is more friendly to WMP. In fact, Windows Media Player supports only a slew of formats, including WMV, AVI, MP4, MPEG, MOV, etc. Some newer codecs are not supported. For example, Windows Media Player is not able to play MKV, MP4 with HEVC codec, VP9/8, AV1, VVC. (Note that Windows Media Player won’t play DVD since Windows 10.) Then you can convert the problem video to another format with a video converter. Here we use the free tool WinX Video Converter to show you how:
Solution 4. Enable Windows Media PlayerIf the media player feature is not enabled in the Windows Feature settings, the Windows Media Player cannot play the videos, of course. So you need to make sure if the media player is enabled in the settings. Here is how to check it:
Solution 5. Set Proper Audio DeviceSome of the Windows Media Player video playback errors can be caused by wrong audio settings. For example, you may see errors like "Windows Media Player cannot play the file because there is a problem with the audio device. It might not be a sound device installed on your computer". If you see that error, try to:
Solution 6. Update the Video and Audio DriversWhen the Windows Media Player cannot play the file on Windows 11, it's possible that the installed video or audio driver is not up to date. An outdated video or audio driver can cause Windows Media Player playing only sound not video with MP4, MKV, etc. or vice versa. In this case, you need to update your video or audio driver.
Solution 7. Try a Different Media PlayerIf the Windows Media Player still won't play video or it's playing only sound with black screen or whatever, and you don't want to bother with the troubleshooting, here is an no-brainer workaround: try another video player. Below we have a list of the best free video players for Windows 11/10 that works as good as Windows Media Player:
Other Useful How-to GuidesNo Audio in Windows Media Player MKV MP4 Video? Fixed!Check volume settings first if no audio in Windows media player plays in MKV, MP4 video. Check more solutions if WMP still doesn't play audio. ABOUT THE AUTHORKaley Torres Kaley Torres is a self-motivated, creative editor with eight years of marketing and SEO experience, specializing in writing on DVD, video, audio, images, new digital contents etc. With a partiality DVD collection, Kaley also enjoys digitizing DVD and is keen to share her DVD video conversion solutions as well as video sharing tips on social media. Why won't Windows Media Player play my files?Windows Media Player cannot play the file because the required video codec is not installed on your computer. Windows Media Player cannot play, burn, rip, or sync the file because a required audio codec is not installed on your computer. A codec is required to play this file.
Why are videos not playing on Windows 7?There are reasons that Windows Media Player might have trouble playing a video other than a missing or broken codec—namely, problems with the video file itself. First, make sure your video file is complete; if you downloaded it from the Web, try clearing your browser cache and downloading the file again.
Can't play this file isn't playable 0xc00d36c4?Error code 0xc00d36c4 while playing videos is either due to unsupported video format or codec or corruption in the video file. It could also occur because of computer conflict with USB devices. Troubleshooting the error should begin by installing the supporting codec or converting the video file format to another.
Why Windows Media Player Cannot play MP4?Here are some common reasons why you can't open MP4 files on Windows 10 or Windows 11: Media player doesn't support MP4 format. Windows media player doesn't have necessary codecs. MP4 file is corrupt or damaged due to virus infection, bad sectors in the drive, etc.
|