All of my sound devices have quit playing mp3’s. Any suggestions? I recently upgraded from Win98 to XP. Everything worked fine for a few weeks, now, big problem.
Tony
Sounds like the MP3 codec somehow got corrupted on your system.
Try a web search for “radium_mp3codec12.zip” and install that codec if you have no luck resolving the problem… that’s the professional version of the Fraunhofer MP3 codec, which is far superior to the MP3 codec that is included with XP.
Will that codec overwrite the XP one or do I have to delete it prior to installing it?
Maybe installing something that plays MP3s, like Winamp, would fix the problem too. Maybe Windows thinks that now that you have their fancy Media Player, you don’t need MP3s anymore. 
I had a similar problem. I had to check each file type and tell it which program to use to play each type of file. Real player had changed my settings without notifying me. I hate programs that act on their own whim.
Ron
Tony,
Have you tried “system restore”? Since the mp3s were working before you should be able to restore your system to a date when things were working.
Aldon
Thanks for the help, guys. Still stuck. I can only restore the system back to 330pm today. I couldn’t find the codec Gary recommended, but I downloaded lame 3.95. It resides in an unzipped folder. What do I do with it? I reinstalled realplayer first to see if that would save me. No go. Even goldwave won’t play. All of them play a split second of sound and then stop. Real player plays an occasional chirp. Clips will be on hold until I get this sorted out. (Anyone planning on emailing me a file, please hold onto it until further notice.)
Tony
Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. I tried many of them or at least followed the leads until they hit a wall. (my head hit a wall) I did find a solution, by the way.
After several cumulative hours over about 3 days, I fasted for 72hrs, then went into a deep trance. Suddenly, a bright white beam of light came down from I believe it was the star, Betelgeuse, where my spirit guide resides. I then heard a voice in my head that asked a simple question:
“Have you tried restarting the computer?”
“No,” I replied.
The beam went out and I sat there in total confusion. What kind of a question is that, I wondered. Then I had a brilliant insight- I decided to restart the computer.
Voila! Problem solved. I’m a genius.
Tony
(Except, now, my mouse won’t work.)
Try this.
Find your install disk for your sound card.
Right click on “my computer”. Select “properties”. Highlight “sound video and game controllers”. Click “Remove”.
Then do one of two things. 1. Reboot the computer and follow the prompts to reinstall your sound card’s software.
- Put the CD in and reinstall before rebooting.
disclaimer: I am not responsible for you hosing your system.
Thanks
Karma.
http://www.tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/HighLGames/accord.JPG
Yeah once in a while my soundcard goes crazy too but a restart always fixes it. I would have posted that but I swear even you should have thought of that.
Boy, you sure know how to hold a grudge. Go back to playing your accordion, maybe you’ll get a spot on Lawrence Welk.
And you didn’t post the suggestion because you didn’t think of it. It takes genius, like I said.
Tony