# Solved: Windows Media Player 12 not recognising or playing CDs



## Trickyrf (Aug 31, 2008)

I think this is a problem since I upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 but can't be sure. Basically if I put a music CD into my laptop drive, Windows Media player 12 not only doesn't automatically play it but when I open Windows Media no CD is recognised in the drive. But if I click on Windows Explorer the songs are shown (although won't play with WM). But they play with RealPlayer. This is clearly a WM problem then... all other CD/DVD functions are working, just not WM.

I followed the instructions below (from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116#nextsteps) and deleted two files from the registry as instructed but this made no difference. I also have run the Device Manager Troubleshooter for the drive and that didn't work. Also I tried Microsoft's Mr Fix it but that didn't either. Can anyone help me please?

Thanks

Richard
PS Obviously this means I can't rip CDs either!

(These are the instructions from http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116#nextsteps)
*Important* This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

This problem is caused by two Windows registry entries that have become corrupted. To fix the problem, you have to use Registry Editor to delete the corrupted Registry entries. To use this method, you must be logged on to Windows as an administrator.

Back to the top
*Windows 7 or Windows Vista*


Click *Start*








, and then click *All Programs*.
Click *Accessories*, and then click *Run*.
Type regedit, and then click *OK*.








If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click *Allow*.
In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
In the right pane, click *UpperFilters*.

*Note* You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click *UpperFilters* only. If you do not see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, go to step 8.
On the *Edit* menu, click *Delete*.
When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click *Yes*.
In the right pane, click *LowerFilters*.

*Note* If you do not see the LowerFilters registry entry, unfortunately this content cannot help you any further. Go to the "Next Steps"  section for information about how you can find more solutions or more help on the Microsoft Web site.
On the *Edit* menu, click *Delete*.
When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click *Yes*.
Exit Registry Editor.
Restart the computer.


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Your drive is recognizing the data on the disk as you stated
you can see the songs in windows explorer,so the upper and lower filter
change should not be needed.
It sounds like you just need to set your default media player to windows
media player.
Go to start/default programs and set windows media player to default then set the
defaults for the program.
Usually just select all of them

If that doesn't help,go to start/control panel/programs and features.
You may need to click view by and select an icon view for the full list.
Click turn windows features on and off.
Expand media features and deselect media player.
Click ok and let it uninstall.
Restart the computer.
Do the steps again and reselect media player.
Click ok and let it reinstall.
Restart the computer and try the CD again.


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## Trickyrf (Aug 31, 2008)

Hi Leroys
It was already the default player. Re the uninstall and then reinstall, I can't locate WM Player in the program list whether I turn Windows features on or off. I have Windows Media Encoder 9 series but that is the only Windows Media program visible. What am I doing wrong?
R


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Did you click the + to expand media features in turn on and off windows features?
If you did and media player is not listed,it sounds like media player is not installed
or not properly installed.

Are you possibly using the windows 7 N or KN version that is a non US version?
That version doesn't include media features and it needs to be installed by the user.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=16546

It is also possible that the upgrade itself caused some problems.
I usually recommend saving any data that you want to keep on
an external drive and doing a clean installation,but that doesn't
really help to keep all your installed programs.


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## Trickyrf (Aug 31, 2008)

Hi again Leroys
I have Windows 7 Home Premium installed, no idea if it is Windows 7 N. Never heard of that. Doesn't say so when I check System. I have Windows Media Installed because I can open it and play music from the library of songs on my laptop. It just won't play CDs. It's not a loose wire or connection as RealPlayer plays CDs. I upgraded Windows Vista to 7 last year and I expect that is the cause. Initially I got round the problem by opening Windows Explorer and right clicking on a song and then 'Open with' and choosing WM. But that no longer works. Should I just install Windows Media Player again (it should install over the existing version shouldn't it?). This link should be right? http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/products/windows-media-player
Thanks for your help by the way, much appreciated.
R


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## Trickyrf (Aug 31, 2008)

Also Leroys, when I am in Control Panel/Progs and Features when I click on 'Turn Windows features on and off' nothing happens. No '+' or anything.


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

It is looking like taking the upgrade path from vista to windows 7
may have caused you some deeper problems.
This is not really unusual.
My suggestion would be to backup all you important data and files
and do a clean,full install of windows 7.
That will eliminate any file corruption problems and problems caused
by conflicting or incompatable programs.
Then install the hardware drivers and windows updates before trying to
reinstall any programs.
If you try to reinstall real player,understand it will try to take over all the defualts.
You would need to reset the default programs.

Also,being as you have windows 7 premium,you should also have media
center when everything is properly installed.


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## Trickyrf (Aug 31, 2008)

Hi Leroys, wow that's a really drastic measure which I will do only as a last measure. It's a lot of work. But thanks very much again.
Regards, R.


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## Trickyrf (Aug 31, 2008)

Hi Leroys. I got some advice from Windows Live forum and one option was to run the Windows Media Player troubleshooter. I had already done this and it hadn't worked but I hadn't done a default settings reset and so I did this and it now works! The instructions were here http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Open-the-Windows-Media-Player-Settings-troubleshooter 
Thanks again for your time and advice and I hope this helps someone else.
R


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Thanks for posting your fix.
I hope you avoid future problems as the fact that
turn off and on windows features not displaying
causes me some concerns and indicates some other
problems going on.


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