BleepingComputer.com: windows media player help

I make mix cds on windows media player which is never a problem. its afterwards that i have problems playing the disk that i made back in windows media.once i insert a mix cd i made and try to play it a message will show up and say: Windows Media Player cannot play the file. If the file is on another computer, verify that you are connected to the network. If you typed a path, verify that it is correct. If the problem persists, the server might not be available.

The cd will play in everything else:car,stereo,dvd player but never in computer.

also i forgot to mention that it will play in computers but the message comes up when i use just this computer. and it is not every burnt cd-r that i made. i don't what is causing this.the brand of the cd-r maybe.but that is kinda weird to me cause i try different cds i have. i only seem to notice this a lot when i am using my memorex discs.but that is still old cause i have more than one type of memorex cd-Rs and it will read one but not the other.

Hi there! Sorry for your missed topic, phew--Bleeping Computer is one very busy community!

Now on to your topic. For some types of recordable discs, like Maxell CD-Rs, etc. They cannot play in some car players. However, some types of discs will, maybe like Sony's or other types. You may want to experiment with different brands to see which ones work. It is a rough process, but you are bound to get through it easy!

This post has been edited by Jay-P VIP: 05 March 2009 - 10:16 PM

There are many, many factors that can cause a CD to play in some players but not in others -- and I've been nailed by all of them at one time or another!

One obvious cause could be the brand of the CD that's having problems -- but it could also be the speed at which the CD was recorded, whether some dust has accumulated in the drive, etc.

I have learned to burn audio CDs at low speed (personally, I burn audio CDs at 8x -- never faster). I have some CD-Rs that I burned at the maximum rated speed that won't play back reliably -- sometimes they do, sometimes they don't, even on the same player or computer. I have had much better and more consistent results at the low speed.

There are some players that have problems with specific CDs. About half of my players won't play back CDs that I burned using the "original" Verbatim Digital Vinyl brand, with metalized Azo dye (the recording side looks blue). And I have heard (but can't personally verify) that blank CD-Rs have a shelf life of a few years -- wait too long to burn them and the results will be inconsistent. Again, I have heard that from people I trust, but haven't encountered it myself.


Have you tried using anything other than WMP to play back the CDs? I don't like WMP, and haven't used it in years. There are several excellent free players available. It is possible that the problem lies with WMP, since the CDs seem to play well everywhere else.


Good luck!

This post has been edited by Capn Easy: 09 March 2009 - 02:15 AM

It may seem unoriginal now but...

1. Use higher quality CD's

2. Burn at low speeds (like 4x or 8x)

3. Use a common file format (like MP3)

i thought memorex is a high quality cd. but sometimes when i put the disk in my laptop...it doesn't read it at all.so how can i try it on another program when it doesn't even show there is a disk inside the tray.

Sorry for the delay.

Most Memorex CD-rs that I'm aware of are actually manufactured by CMC, in Taiwan. CMC manufactures CD-Rs for many consumer brands, to their customer's specs. Some are of higher quality than others.

But a player's incompatibility with a particular brand of CD-R does not necessarily indicate that the CD-R is poor quality -- it may simply be incompatible.


But you're right, if the computer cannot recognize the CD-R you won't be able to try different options to read it (this suggests hardware incompatibility). Use another computer that will read the CD-R to copy it to a different brand, at slow speed.

This post has been edited by Capn Easy: 01 April 2009 - 06:35 PM