Streaming in Windows Media Player causes my wireless connection to drop

[FreshFrost]

I searched the forum for this problem, but it doesn't seem to have come up before. Also, if I'm in the wrong place for this thread, then I'm so sorry ... it's just that I can't figure out what exactly is causing the problem so I don't know if it's software, networking, etc. ...

Every time I try to view internet media that streams content to Windows Media Player, the players shows nothing but a black screen and claims it is "Connecting to Media ..." and then my internet connection immediately cuts off!

I have two laptops and ironically, it doesn't happen on the one that runs XP Professional but on the one running XP Media Center!

It happens regardless of what version of WMP I'm using, cos both laptops came with v9 and have both been upgraded to v10. (I even upgraded the faulty laptop's WMP to v11, hoping that perhaps this was a wide-spread problem that they had written out of the new player, but no such luck.) The one that has always played correctly continues to play correctly despite upgrades, while the one that never worked correctly continues not to despite upgrades.

What's going on?!

I mean, they connect via the same router to the same (only) modem that I have. They both use the same browser (Firefox v2.0.0.11) ... - I even let the faulty laptop try streaming from an Internet Explorer browser, on the off-chance that perhaps this was one of those times where a Microsoft program mysteriously chooses to work only in conjunction with other Microsoft ware for absolutely no reason. But it wasn't.
(it was poor logic, i know. esp cos WMP and firefox work fine together on the other laptop, but believe me, i've had situations where this was an equally unlikely solution but it inexplicably worked :blink: ... no seriously, it's been weird ...)

Anyway, according to some, this problems occurs precisely because there are two laptops sharing the broadband and they don't like it (yeah, not much of an explanation. i was skim-reading :P ) so one of them fails to stream. But I tried it when the "healthy" laptop was even turned OFF and it STILL didn't work.

Meanwhile, all other streaming-platforms work just fine: youtube, divx, tudou, (not sure about realplayer) ... and I can listen to the web-radio and podcasts on iTunes without any problems.

The "sick" laptop automatically reconnects to the internet as soon as the window/tab containing the WMP console is closed. But this problem is restricting me from watching a lot of stuff and it's incredibly annoying! (esp when I'm downloading something!!) Besides, what's the point of forcing myself to watch videos on a 15"-laptop that has shrill, crappy speakers, when I specifically bought myself TV-replacement-machine that has a 17"-screen and decent sound ...

[ctal]

Sounds like you've done a good job of eliminating a lot of variables. One thing that's left to consider is the driver software for the wireless adapter. I realize that it works for other formats, but perhaps there is some specific conflict with WMP. Is the driver up to date? Also, check the settings in WMP\Options\Network, and the "configure" button thereon. If you are unsure how they should be set for your connection, try running some tests with different settings, or make them the same as on the other laptop.

Regards,

-- Al

[FreshFrost]

Thanks so much for your reply! Turns out that you were partly right! (Luckily) it was nothing to do with updating driver software cos I hate fidgeting with a gadget that seems to be working (well, at least, on one of my laptops! )

In the end, I found the solution to my problem in this post: ht tp://forums.moz illazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=206213 (sorry, the forum won't let me post URLs yet - just delete the spaces after 'ht' and 'moz')

I went through the steps they outlined and tried each suggestion one by one, testing it every time I made a change.

The solution was under the heading 'Configuring/Troubleshooting the Windows Media Player plugin':

Player appears, player status bar says 'Ready', no error messages, but nothing happens when you click Play.
For the Windows Media Player plugin to work, Internet Explorer must have access to the internet: ...

Which isn't actually what was happening with mine, and I chose not to follow the instructions that followed immediately after:

* Make sure Internet Explorer is not set to Work Offline mode: To check if IE is in 'Work Offline' mode, open IE and open the File menu. There would be a tick by the 'Work Offline' option. Click it to take IE off Work Offline mode.
* Make sure that Internet Explorer's proxy settings are correct.
* Make sure that Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player are not blocked by your Firewall.

But the second part looked plausible:

This can also be caused by DSL/cable providers using Network Address Translation (NAT) not forwarding UDP packets properly. The solution is to disable UDP in Windows Media Player:

* In WMP, click Tools > Options
* Select 'Network'
* Deselect 'UDP'

It has also been reported that reinstalling/upgrading/downgrading Windows Media Player can solve this.

And that single click did it!
(Strangely enough, that box is checked on my other laptop ... Just out of interest, does anyone know why this is?)

In the process, I discovered that two of the necessary dll's were missing, so I downloaded them from ww w.dlldum p.com (delete the spaces after 'ww' and 'dlldum') and installed them. I tested it with and without them - both before and after changing the UDP value - and although they had no effect with respect to my problem, it's good to know that I now have the 'full package'.

I also installed the security alert that is referred to at the beginning of the post. I don't think it had any relevance to my problem, and installing it didn't have any apparent effect on the playing capability of the embedded plugin, but it's good to use protection

I recommend this thread to anyone else who has an XP cum Windows Media Player cum Firefox-related problem - it will serve you well: ht tp://forums.moz illazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=206213 (careful: spaces after 'ht' and 'moz'!)

And again, thank-you ctal for taking the time to have a look at my query!

[ctal]

You're welcome! Glad it worked out for you. And my compliments for providing both a thorough description of the problem and what you had tried initially, and a good description of the resolution. It's surprising how many people seeking help don't bother doing either one of those things.

Regards,
-- Al