MUSIC PLAYER ANNOYANCES
CAN’T INSTALL MULTIPLE MUSIC PLAYERS
The Annoyance:
Why do I have trouble installing more than one music player on my PC?
The Fix:
Two words: software incompatibilities. For example, if you install Musicmatch (http://www.musicmatch.com) after Liquid Audio Player 6.01 (http://www.liquidaudio.com) under Windows XP, a known CD drive compatibility issue can wreak havoc. What can you do? Check for upgrades from the music software vendors. Often a quick patch will ease compatibility problems. In some cases, however, it may be necessary to uninstall all of your player applications and then reinstall only one.
Also check with your CD drive manufacturer for a CD drive firmware update. For example, Plextor CD-R drive owners can download a bootable patch directly from the Plextor web site (http://www.plextor.com) to resolve the conflict between Musicmatch and Liquid Audio Player.
REVENGE OF THE CODECS
The Annoyance:
When I try to play common MP3 files, I get an error saying Windows Media Player cannot support the file type.
The Fix:
Do you remember the importance of codecs for your multimedia applications? (See "Multimedia Player Asks for a Codec" earlier in this chapter). If you attempt to play an MP3 file and the player software stops and tells you that it cannot support the file type, your file was not created as a true MP3. In fact, it was probably ripped with a nonstandard or incompatible codec that renders the file unreadable on other “standard” player applications.