How to Fix Windows Media Player Encountered a Problem While Playing the File

The quick access to the solutions to Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file problem.

Windows Media Player is a free media player produced by Microsoft. It is a component of Microsoft Windows, usually referred to as WMP, and supports enhanced functions through plug-ins. Users can turn the computer into your media tool through Windows Media Player. You can customize the layout of WMP to enjoy music, videos, and photos in the way you like.   

Although it has so many advantages, it still occasionally goes wrong. Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file is a high-frequency problem when playing a video, which occurs due to unsupported video codes, corrupted videos, or Windows Media Player issues.  

We will discuss how to fix Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file problem in this how-to article with steps in-depth. Join us and start now.

How to Fix Windows Media Player Encountered a Problem While Playing The File Error

We will discuss solutions from two aspects, one is for the problem of the video itself, and the other is for the problem of Windows Media Player.

Fix 1. Switch to another video player to watch videos

If the Windows Media Player can't play videos with an error prompt, you can try other media players such as VLC Media Player, KMPlayer, RealPlayer, or any third-party player. If this works, it means that there is no problem with your video. And you need to use take the right way to fix your Windows Media Player problem.

If your video is still not playing, it is most likely corrupted. You can learn how to repair corrupted videos with the way in Fix 3.

Fix 2. Convert video to WMP supported format

Windows Media Player can play videos in various formats, like MP4, AVI, WAV, MP3, etc. But that doesn't mean it supports all video types. Incompatible video formats can lead to Windows Media Player encountering a problem while playing the file issue.

So you need to figure out if your video format is supported, if not, change the video format to troubleshoot.

Fix 3. Repair corrupted videos with a free online video repair tool

Another factor that will cause Windows Media Player to encounter a problem while playing the file problem is corrupted or damaged video.

Video file corruption can be easily fixed with the help of a free online video repair tool - EaseUS RepairVideo. It can repair damaged or broken video files of popular formats such as MP4, MOV, GIF, etc. It supports the most widely used camera brands, including Canon, GoPro, and DJI. 

Step 1. Open EaseUS RepairVideo and Upload Problematic Video

Open EaseUS RepairVideo page: https://repair.easeus.com/, click "Update Video", or drag and drop a corrupted, broken, or not playing video to the right area to upload to EaseUS RepairVideo page.

Step 2. Enter a Valid Email Address and Start Repairing Video

Enter a valid email address and click "Start Repairing" to upload and repair the malfunctioning video.

Step 3. Wait for the Automatic Uploading and Repairing Process to Finish

EaseUS RepairVideo will automatically upload and repair the corrupted or broken video for you. You can leave the repairing page opened and continue doing other stuff.

Step 4. Enter Extraction Code and Download Repaired Video

When the repairing process completes, you can preview the video at the right pane. Also, you'll receive an email with a video extraction code.

Go and find the code, reopen the EaseUS RepairVideo page. Then click "Download Video" and enter the extraction code, click "OK" to start downloading the repaired video.

User Experience: These three solutions can fix Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file error that arises from video problems. If the problem still exists after trying these methods, or you are sure that the problem lies in the player itself, then continue with the methods below.

Fix 4. Download and install Windows Media Play codecs

If you can play videos on other media players, the problem is probably due to the absence of video codecs. You can install specific codecs to your Windows Media Player to play videos.

Step 1. Open Windows Media Player. Right-click "Library", select "Tools" > "Options".

Step 2. Click on the "Player" tab. Under Automatic updates, select the checkbox "Once a day" or "Once a week" and click "OK".

Step 3. This will automatically download and install Windows Media Player codecs.

Fix 5. Use Windows Media Player Troubleshooter

An effective way to solve Windows Media Player not playing a video or a file is using Windows Media Player settings troubleshooter.

Step 1. Press Windows key + R at the same time to launch the Run box.

Step 2. Type and run msdt.exe -id WindowsMediaPlayerConfigurationDiagnostic command in the Open box to open Windows Media Player Settings Troubleshooter.

Step 3. on the pop-up Windows Media Player Settings screen, click "Advanced" and select "Run as administrator".

Step 4. Click "Next" to allow the Windows Media Player troubleshooter to detect the issue. And then, click "Apply this Fix" to solve Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file.

Fix 6. Reinstall Windows Media Player via Windows Feature

In case that you can't resolve Windows Media Player encountered a problem after performing the Windows Media Player troubleshooter method, continue reinstalling Windows Media Player to fix the issues.

Steps to uninstall and reinstall Windows Media Player with Windows Feature.

Step 1. Click your Windows 10 Search box. Input and search for Turn Windows features ON or OFF.

Step 2. On the Windows Feature box, find and expand "Media Features".

Step 3. Uncheck Windows Media Player and click Yes on the pop-up windows. Then, click "OK" and restart your computer. In this way, Windows will reinstall Windows Media Player.

Fix 7. Turn off Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service

Disabling the Network Sharing Service of Windows Media Player can help fix WMP can't open and play a certain video extension. But this fix might disable some other features of Windows Media Player. Therefore, enable Network Sharing Service immediately if something goes wrong.

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run window and type services.msc command to open the Services window.

Step 2. Find the "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" in this list. Right-click on it and click on "Properties".

Step 3. Click the drop-down arrow next to Start type and choose "Disable". Click on "Apply" and "OK".

Step 4. Restart your computer and check if the Windows Media Player playing problem has been fixed or not.

Fix 8. Perform system restore

The lost shot to fix Windows Media Player error is rolling your Windows back to a restore point where Windows and WMP work well. Moreover, this method doesn't affect data on the system.

Complete the following steps to do System Restore on Windows: 

Step 1. Press Win+ R keys to start the Run box. Type rstrui to open the system restore window.

Step 2. In the system restore window, click "Next".

Step 3. Select a restore point that will restore the OS to a time when Windows Media Player played all your music and videos. Then click "Next" and "Finish" to roll back Windows

User experience: These are the practical ways to solve Windows Media Player encountered a problem error caused by the software issue. You can try them in order. If the error message still appears, you might also need to disable antivirus software temporarily or update your Windows.

Final Verdicts

In this tutorial, we covered all the useful methods to help fix Windows Media Player errors while playing the video file.

Measures such as converting video formats or repairing corrupted videos with EaseUS data recovery software can fix the Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file error resulting from video-related issues.

Other approaches like running Windows Media Player troubleshooter, installing WMP codecs, and disabling Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service can efficiently resolve program-related issues. Hope you can solve the problem with these guides.