Member Avatar for stan316i

hello there
i have been noticing that wmedia player 11 has some problems on playing cda files.. for once the reading of it is super-sensitive and although the cd is clean enough to be playable and the files are recognised as "track" it doesnt seem to be able to play them and the warning red "x" sign comes on the left side of every side when it actually succeeds to play them then the quality is extremely low with gaps and usually the track cannot reach its end...i checked the error message it pops up on the web assistance and the excuse for it was dirty cd or malfuntctioning cd-drive, yet neither of those is the case..

is there a codec i need to have to play normal cd files (commerical) ? is there an option i need to click or check? what s the cause-solution of the problem?

thanx for your help

  • 4 Contributors
  • 7 Replies
  • 279 Views
  • 1 Week Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by DarkRubicant

Dani AI

Generated

A few important clarifications up front: audio CDs follow the Red‑Book (uncompressed PCM) standard, so extra codecs or codec packs are not required to play ordinary commercial audio CDs. That makes ’s codec links irrelevant to this specific problem, while ’s VLC suggestion is a useful workaround (different players use different I/O paths) but does not diagnose the root cause. The symptoms described are far more consistent with an optical‑drive read/transfer problem than a missing codec; this matches ’s observation.

Recommended diagnostics (in this order):

  1. Confirm whether the disc itself is the problem — test the same CD in another PC and test a known‑good audio CD in the suspect drive.
  2. Try ripping a single track to WAV with Windows Media Player. Successful rip + clean playback = transient playback issue; rip errors = read/drive problem.
  3. Check Device Manager for the CD/DVD device and IDE/SATA controller status. If the drive is running in PIO mode, switch the channel to DMA if available (reduces retries and stuttering).
  4. Inspect physical connections (IDE/SATA cable seating and power), and for older machines verify the internal analog audio cable to the sound card if used.
  5. Watch CPU/disk activity and temporarily suspend background scans (antivirus/indexing) while testing. High system load can cause dropouts.
  6. Review System/Event Viewer logs for cdrom errors/timeouts and update chipset or optical‑drive firmware drivers if available.

Extra notes and final steps: rebuilding the WMP library (close WMP, back up and remove its database so it can recreate it) can clear red‑X artifacts caused by a corrupt database. If read errors persist across machines, the disc is likely damaged; if the CD works elsewhere but not here after the above checks, the drive is likely failing and replacement is the simplest fix. For forensic ripping and error reports, a dedicated ripper such as Exact Audio Copy can reveal exact read errors; using VLC remains a quick way to confirm whether the problem is WMP‑specific.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for Member #127113

Use VLC Media Player...forgot WMP:)

Member Avatar for stan316i

no way ..i am not gonna go and install new stuff again...got enough crapware already...any solution to play cda properly with wmedia player?

Member Avatar for Member #127113

There's nothing like a great crap like WMP...use VLC its realy light and Plays ANYTHING without any hesitation.

Member Avatar for stan316i

still not answering my question

Member Avatar for Member #127113

Please check for file types is checked for .cda file association in Windows Media Player options.

Member Avatar for sultan_emerr

Windows Essentials Codec Pack = + http://www.mediacodec.org/
Combined Community Codec Pack =
K-Lite Mega Codec Pack = http://mirror.edskes.net
http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack.htm
K-Lite Codec Pack Standard 2.77 = http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4620
codec's for avi mpeg2 = http://www.wmplugins.com/ItemList.aspx?typeid=8
http://avicodec.duby.info

GSpot can be used to determine if any additional codecs are needed and if they are installed on your system. = install GSpot, launch it and drag 'n drop the WMV file into the GSpot application window. = http://www.headbands.com/gspot
info on troubleshooting WMP11, here,
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/troubleshooting.aspx

FAQs

Member Avatar for DarkRubicant

lol I like how he said he wasn't going to install anything and you gave him links to codec packs ;) Anyways from what you're telling us, the cd is either damaged, scratched, or dirty and that's why the file is skipping and not playing to the end, or as the player said the cd drive is not functioning correctly. Unfortunately in this case it seems like the advice you were given by the player is correct.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.