BleepingComputer.com: Can you tell me why a video file would only play audio, no video?

I’m running Windows XP, and my default media player is Windows Media Player 11. After I downloaded a video clip (properties: audio format MPEG Layer-3) and played it, widows media player opened, and at the bottom it says “acquiring codec” then “codec acquired” but all I get is sound, no video. A friend of mine downloaded the same file from the same link, and they didn’t have any problems (but I don’t know what operating system or media player they’re using). However, after I downloaded Media Player Codec Pack, the video played back just fine.

My question is: how do I know if it’s a problem with the FILE or with my SYSTEM (possibly my media player)? I wanted to burn the file onto a CD, but I’d like to know up front if the file is going to play correctly on my friend’s PC or not. This is the first time I’ve ever encountered this problem, and admittedly don’t know a great deal about the ins and outs of video files, codecs and players.

Thanks!
Fred

You may be not happy with my reply, but I'd dump WMP and start using VLC Player: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
It has all necessary codecs built in.

I agree another option is ALShow. It is more similar to WMP and has all the needed codecs built in as well. http://www.altools.com/