Codec for WMP or other alternatives?

[TitleistProV1]

Hi folks,

I am totally confused, and I need some help here.

I am trying to repair an old PC for a friend of my son. It has a copy of XP home on it w/SP2.

But the person can't play any media at all with WMP. I can't even play any of my media with it, even legal cd's that I purchased years ago.

I am trying to figure out how I can WMP or any other player to work w/o having to pay $30-40 for a codec to run the files. The person who is using the PC is not illegally downloading files, and I am trying to run 15-20 year old classical cd's on the pc.

Why I have to pay more $$$ is an answer I would appreciate. I don't understand the problem
Free alternatives would be helpful too.
Or a good alternative to WMP I could use would be nice to have too.

Thanks!isgust;

 

[MrChad]

What media are you trying to play? Just CDs?

Make sure you enable the digital CD audio option in Device Manager.

 

[Pretty Cool]

If I remember correctly, Windows has been able to play audio cd's since version 3.x.

 

[Soundmanred]

Yeah, that's pretty strange that it won't play anything. There are some filetypes that need additional codecs, but not for everyday music playing.

 

[TitleistProV1]

Yes, it is strange.

I don't know what it is, I can't get anything to play on the thing. I am starting to suspect a hardware problem. I'll let you know later.

 

[accguy9009]

Try another player. WinAmp or VLC should play your music and they are both free. I would also down load the CCCP codecs which are also free. You may need those for video play back. Have you up dated WMP?