Windows 7’s IE8 and Media Player Configuration Can Prevent Media Viewing via Hyperlinks

Some customers that will attempt to view media files using default Windows 7 components such as Internet Explorer 8 and Windows media Player, will find, that in certain scenarios they will be unable to do so. Microsoft explained that the improper configuration of IE8 and Windows Media Player could prevent end users from viewing media via hyperlinks. Microsoft has already resolved the issue via a stability and reliability update for the latest iteration of Windows 7 released earlier this week, however, the company has also documented the problem in a standalone Knowledge Base article.

“Using Internet Explorer 8.0 running on Windows 7, you navigate to a web page that contains a link to a media file. You click on the link to open the media file in Media Player. Instead of seeing the media open and run in Media Player, you are presented with an error message similar to the following: "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage", ” Microsoft reported.

According to the Redmond company the issue described above affects only the playback of specific media files in Windows Media Player, although the software giant did not say which ones. At the same time, the playback issue only occurs when Windows Media Player is launched by end users clicking on a link in Internet Explorer 8 in Windows 7. Microsoft explained that all Windows 7 SKUs as well as all Windows Server 2008 R2 editions are affected by the issue. A simple manual workaround to the problem is to make Windows Media Player the default media player for Windows 7.

“To resolve this problem, follow these steps: Open Control Panel. Click Programs. Click Default Programs. Click Set program access and computer defaults. In the resulting dialog box, click to expand the Custom section. Under Choose a default media player, click Windows Media Player, then click OK. Restart Internet Explorer,” Microsoft said.