Fix Windows Media Won’t Play Music Files Windows 10: If you are trying to play MP3 format music files using Windows Media Player but it seems like the WMP is unable to play the file then some serious error has occurred which needs to be fixed as soon as possible. This error doesn’t affect only this mp3 file, in fact, all the music files on your PC won’t be able to play using Window Media Player (WMP). You will receive the following error message after the Music file won’t play:
An audio codec is needed to play this file. To determine if this codec is available to download from the Web, click Web Help.
Once you click Web help you will get another error message saying:
You’ve encountered error message C00D10D1 while using Windows Media Player. The following information might help you troubleshoot the issue.
Codec is missing
Windows Media Player cannot play the file (or cannot play either the audio or video portion of the file) because the MP3 – MPEG Layer III (55) codec is not installed on your computer.
The missing codec might be available to download from the Internet. To search for the MP3 – MPEG Layer III (55) codec, see WMPlugins.com.
All of the above information is very confusing but it seems like WMP is saying that it need codec files in order to play basic MP3 files, this issue seems very annoying and there is no simple fix for it. Anyway, let’s see how to actually fix this issue with the help of below-listed troubleshooting steps.
Fix Windows Media Won’t Play Music Files Windows 10
Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.
Method 1: Run Windows Media Player Troubleshooter
1.Press Windows Key + R then type the following command and hit Enter:
msdt.exe -id WindowsMediaPlayerConfigurationDiagnostic
2.Click on Advanced and then click Run as administrator.
3.Now click Next to run the troubleshooter.
4.Let is automatically Fix Windows Media Won’t Play Music Files issue and reboot your PC.
Method 2: Enable DirectX Video Acceleration
1.Open Windows Media Player and press Alt key to open WMP menu.
2.Click on Tools then choose Options.
3.Switch to Performance tab and make sure to check mark “Turn on DirectX Video Acceleration for WMV files.“
4.Click Apply followed by OK to save changes.
5.Again restart Windows media player and try to play the files again.
Method 3: Re-Register WMP.dll
1.Press Windows Key + X then select Command Prompt (Admin).
2.Now type the following command in cmd and hit Enter:
regsvr32 wmp.dll
3.The above command will re-register wmp.dll, once done reboot your PC to save changes.
This should help you Fix Windows Media Won’t Play Music Files but if you are still stuck then continue with the next method.
Method 4: Reinstall Windows Media Player 12
1.Press Windows Key + X then select Control Panel.
2.Click on Programs and then click “Turn Windows features on or off” under Programs and Features.
3.Expand Media Features in the list and clear Windows Media Player check box.
4.As soon as you clear the check box, you will notice a pop-up saying “Turning off Windows Media Player might affect other Windows features and programs installed on your computer, including default settings. do you want to continue?“
5.Click Yes to uninstall Windows Media Player 12.
6.Reboot your PC to save changes.
7.Again go to Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off.
8.Expand Media Features and mark the check boxes Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center.
9.Click Ok to reinstall WMP then wait for the process to finish.
10.Restart your PC then again try to play media files.
Method 5: Temporarily Disable Antivirus and Firewall
Sometimes the Antivirus program can cause NVIDIA Drivers Constantly Crash and in order to verify this is not the case here you need to disable your antivirus for a limited time so that you can check if the error still appears when the antivirus is off.
1.Right-click on the Antivirus Program icon from the system tray and select Disable.
2.Next, select the time frame for which the Antivirus will remain disabled.
Note: Choose the smallest amount of time possible for example 15 minutes or 30 minutes.
3.Once done, again try to connect to the WiFi network and check if the error resolves or not.
4.Press Windows Key + I then select Control Panel.
5.Next, click on System and Security.
6.Then click on Windows Firewall.
7.Now from the left window pane click on Turn Windows Firewall on or off.
8.Select Turn off Windows Firewall and restart your PC. This would definitely Fix Windows Media Won’t Play Music Files Windows 10
If the above method doesn’t work make sure to follow the exact same steps to turn on your Firewall again.
Method 6: Change Proxy Settings
1.Open Windows Media Player and press Alt key then click Tools > Options.
2.Switch to Network tab and select a protocol (HTTP and RSTP).
3.Click Configure and select “Autodetect proxy settings.“
4.Then click Ok to save changes and do this for each protocol.
5.Restart your player and try to play the music files again.
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That’s it you have successfully Fix Windows Media Won’t Play Music Files Windows 10 if you still have any queries regarding this post feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.
Thanks for the help! First fix worked for me.
I tried every method to no avail ;-;
Any other suggestions? None of these helped. Brand new Windows 10 installation on a brand new PC, all updates applied. Windows Media Player > Help > About shows that the codecs are installed, yet I cannot play MP3 or WMV. (I can play AVI.) Interestingly, it renders the first frame of WMV before giving the error.
Thank you. Method 3 worked for me.
Thank you very much! The very first method worked for me.
Regretfully, none of thse solutions worked on my laptop – but I appreciate the suggestions anyway. Thanks.