Windows Media Player hard of hearing?

Q: Whenever I try to play music on my computer using Windows Media Player I can’t hear anything. I hear sound from my other applications, just not Windows Media Player. I tried upgrading over the Internet but received an error in the process. Anything I can do to fix this problem?

It sounds like your copy of Windows Media Player may be corrupt. To rule this out, I would start by going to your Control Panel and selecting Add or Remove Programs. When the window with the list of installed programs appears, click the Add/Remove Windows Components button on the left hand side of the window. Find Windows Media Player in the list and clear the checkmark in the box next to Windows Media Player. Click the Next button and follow the remainder of the steps in the wizard to finish uninstalling Windows Media Player. Then reboot the computer and go to the Windows Media Player download page on the Internet to download the latest version.

If this doesn’t work, it is probably a slightly more serious issue such as not having the proper translators (called codecs) installed to play your music or an actual hardware problem with your audio device. In this case, I would recommend calling your PC’s manufacturer’s technical support line to see if they can help you diagnose the problem

This post was originally broadcast Friday, February 9, 2007 on “Tech Talk with Noobie”, a weekly radio show on WCBK 102.3 FM in Martinsville, Indiana. Tech Talk with Noobie airs every Friday at 11:30 a.m. If you have a question you would like Noobie to answer on the air, simply e-mail your question to .