WMP warning "unsupported extension but may be able to play anyway

[Tomcat76]

I associated m4a files with WMP 6.4 on Win2K and it's working fine. Now I did the same thing on XP but I got this annoying warning message. Here's what happens (on XP)...

I double-click the m4a file and WMP9 opens. Instead of playing the file, I get an error telling me that the extension is unsupported but that it may be able to play it back anyway. Below that is a checkbox with a description that I don't quite remember anymore but it comes down to "Don't ask me again". Clicking OK/Yes kills the error dialog and the m4a file starts to play.

The second time around, I checked that checkbox and clicked OK/Yes. That was actually a stupid move... I should've used Advanced Registry Tracer or a similar program to take a snapshot of the registry before doing so and once again afterwards. Now I don't know what the reg hack is (if there is one) to get rid of this useless warning.

I searched on WinGuides and also the Internet but couldn't find anything relevant thus far. Every result deals with people not installing the appropriate codecs (or not knowing they need additional codecs) but that's not the issue here.

What would actually be better is a way to tell WMP9/10 which additional file types it shouldn't warn about but I couldn't find info on that either...

Edited March 31, 2006 by Tomcat76

[boooggy]

it can be done but i find it too hard ...u have to add all media extensions that wmp cant read to the registry....

Edited March 31, 2006 by boooggy

[Tomcat76]

What would happen if I only added a few selected ones, like .M4A and .AAC? Would it then at least stop complaining about these?

Edited March 31, 2006 by Tomcat76

[boooggy]

i guess....

[Jeremy]

Why don't you just use Media Player Classic = Corone's pack + FFDShow?

[Tomcat76]

That's besides the point. As said, the codecs aren't the issue. Besides, I don't need big codec packages when it all works fine with just a handful of files. I use CoreAAC.ax coupled with MP4Splitter.ax to play M4A and AAC files. FFDshow also slows down the mouse movement when the config panel is open.

@boooggy:

Any idea what I need to enter into the registry (and where)? This is what I use to associate the files with WMP9, so what do I need more?

HKCR,".aac",,,"aacfile"
HKCR,".aac","Content Type",,"audio/mp4"
HKCR,"aacfile",,,"MPEG4 AAC Audio File"
HKCR,"aacfile","EditFlags",1,00,00,01,00
HKCR,"aacfile\DefaultIcon",,,"quartz.dll,-203"
HKCR,"aacfile\shell",,,"play"
HKCR,"aacfile\shell\play",,,"&Play"
HKCR,"aacfile\shell\play\command",,0x00020000,"""%programfiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe"" /Play ""%L"""
HKCR,".m4a",,,"m4afile"
HKCR,".m4a","Content Type",,"audio/mp4"
HKCR,"m4afile",,,"MPEG4 Audio File"
HKCR,"m4afile","EditFlags",1,00,00,01,00
HKCR,"m4afile\DefaultIcon",,,"quartz.dll,-203"
HKCR,"m4afile\shell",,,"play"
HKCR,"m4afile\shell\play",,,"&Play"
HKCR,"m4afile\shell\play\command",,0x00020000,"""%programfiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe"" /Play ""%L"""

[boooggy]

this is what i did:

i tried to play a .mov file withWMP without having any codec for that installed. wmp opend and gave that popup with " extension is unsupported but that it may be able to play it back anyway". at this point i capture the registry. then i check that checkbox and capture the registry. this is what i got:

HKCU,"Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Extensions\.mov","Runtime",0x10001,1
HKCU,"Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Extensions\.mov","Permissions",0x10001,1

[Tomcat76]

Heh... I figured the change applied to all extensions so I didn't try a different one.

Thanks-- it works. Too bad there's no global hack (doesn't work from HKLM or HKU) but I can live with that.