non-functioning media players

thrival · 04-01-2009, 11:16 AM

Hi,

I have an HP Pavillion 7920 running Win98SE. That model came with ME
but I migrated another HD with my critical documents and '98 to it when
other computer died, just before which I was having trouble with the media
players on that system too.

After moving to this system I tried reloading the sound and graphics drivers
and got the player to work a few times, but died in a few days.

I couldn't get media players to work consistently using the MB drivers, so
turned off in bios and installed an ensoniq 1370 soundcard. All my players
worked great for about two more days; woo-hoo!

Then I left the computer on one night and storm caused a power outage.
Powering on, all players-- .WMV, zoomplayer, real-player, etc., are dead.
They do load, but only play midi sound. No video or sound files otherwise,
and they won't shut down, but hang. Cntrl-Alt-Del gives the close program
box, which does close the player window but doesn't really shut the player
off, but freezes everything, requiring a reboot. One clue, during a reboot
the INF files window appeared, but no clue where or what to look for if an
.inf file is compromising the players.

Help?

**OldGrayGary** · 04-06-2009, 03:35 AM

Hi thrival

Sorry this reply is so late, I've been away from the forums for a few days (busy as heck).

For a quick-fix try, you could see if the scanreg /restore command (to restore a saved Registry from before the storm) helps. Boot the PC with a bootable floppy diskette, and from the command prompt, type the command we just mentioned: scanreg /restore

Windows 98/98se saves five Registries by default -- see if you have one available from before the storm, and if so, try restoring it (by selecting it from the list).

Should that not help, try booting into Safe Mode and removing all instances of sound and graphics devices in Device Manager. Windows will redetect them on reboot. If you have known-good drivers still on the hard drive, it might be able to find them (or you could point Windows to them, should you be prompted to do so by the New Hardware Wizard). If you download good drivers ahead-of-time, you can cancel the New Hardware Found screens, and use the installers for the drivers that you downloaded beforehand. You might uninstall and reinstall your players, too, if redoing the drivers doesn't help.

Old drivers hanging about & getting loaded in Win9x can be a real pain. We don't recommend the casual use of Registry Cleaners, but if you get to your wits end on this repair, a decent tool that I use for such cleanups is CCleaner. It gets good reviews, and it has extensive "undo" features in case the changes cause more trouble than they cure. It's available at most reputable download sites; cnet's download.com is a usually-clean source.

Best of luck!
. . . Gary

thrival · 04-15-2009, 01:20 PM

Hi Gary.

Well better "late" than not at all. Thanks for any help!

I haven't had much luck for inexperience. I know how to download drivers but
running the installation programs put them in odd locations that the "new
hardware" wizards (and I) can't find, when the wizard asks for them. I try to
direct where but that's just the installation program. It never tells you where
the actual drivers are!

I tried your advice in the past and it did work temporarily, but went back
to nonfunctional status. I gave up with the sound drivers for my motherboard
and tried installing an ensoniq 1370 soundcard but can't find the correct
driver anywhere, at least 6 pages deep into google. Driversguide, et al don't
seem to carry it, one of those I tried worked accidentally, for a while.
Whenever i start, it wants to install the PCI soundcard but have not the
correct driver. I figure that needs to happen first. Then I'll fuss with
removing graphics and sound drivers in safe-mode again. Player opens but
won't play, won't shut down, hangs other programs, need to reboot.

04-01-2009, 11:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
thrival Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Win XP SP1	non-functioning media players Hi, I have an HP Pavillion 7920 running Win98SE. That model came with ME but I migrated another HD with my critical documents and '98 to it when other computer died, just before which I was having trouble with the media players on that system too. After moving to this system I tried reloading the sound and graphics drivers and got the player to work a few times, but died in a few days. I couldn't get media players to work consistently using the MB drivers, so turned off in bios and installed an ensoniq 1370 soundcard. All my players worked great for about two more days; woo-hoo! Then I left the computer on one night and storm caused a power outage. Powering on, all players-- .WMV, zoomplayer, real-player, etc., are dead. They do load, but only play midi sound. No video or sound files otherwise, and they won't shut down, but hang. Cntrl-Alt-Del gives the close program box, which does close the player window but doesn't really shut the player off, but freezes everything, requiring a reboot. One clue, during a reboot the INF files window appeared, but no clue where or what to look for if an .inf file is compromising the players. Help?

04-06-2009, 03:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,233 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: non-functioning media players Hi thrival Sorry this reply is so late, I've been away from the forums for a few days (busy as heck). For a quick-fix try, you could see if the scanreg /restore command (to restore a saved Registry from before the storm) helps. Boot the PC with a bootable floppy diskette, and from the command prompt, type the command we just mentioned: scanreg /restore Windows 98/98se saves five Registries by default -- see if you have one available from before the storm, and if so, try restoring it (by selecting it from the list). Should that not help, try booting into Safe Mode and removing all instances of sound and graphics devices in Device Manager. Windows will redetect them on reboot. If you have known-good drivers still on the hard drive, it might be able to find them (or you could point Windows to them, should you be prompted to do so by the New Hardware Wizard). If you download good drivers ahead-of-time, you can cancel the New Hardware Found screens, and use the installers for the drivers that you downloaded beforehand. You might uninstall and reinstall your players, too, if redoing the drivers doesn't help. Old drivers hanging about & getting loaded in Win9x can be a real pain. We don't recommend the casual use of Registry Cleaners, but if you get to your wits end on this repair, a decent tool that I use for such cleanups is CCleaner. It gets good reviews, and it has extensive "undo" features in case the changes cause more trouble than they cure. It's available at most reputable download sites; cnet's download.com is a usually-clean source. Best of luck! . . . Gary __________________

04-15-2009, 01:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
thrival Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 13 OS: Win XP SP1	Re: non-functioning media players Hi Gary. Well better "late" than not at all. Thanks for any help! I haven't had much luck for inexperience. I know how to download drivers but running the installation programs put them in odd locations that the "new hardware" wizards (and I) can't find, when the wizard asks for them. I try to direct where but that's just the installation program. It never tells you where the actual drivers are! I tried your advice in the past and it did work temporarily, but went back to nonfunctional status. I gave up with the sound drivers for my motherboard and tried installing an ensoniq 1370 soundcard but can't find the correct driver anywhere, at least 6 pages deep into google. Driversguide, et al don't seem to carry it, one of those I tried worked accidentally, for a while. Whenever i start, it wants to install the PCI soundcard but have not the correct driver. I figure that needs to happen first. Then I'll fuss with removing graphics and sound drivers in safe-mode again. Player opens but won't play, won't shut down, hangs other programs, need to reboot.