Windows 95/98: Troubleshooting Problems with Compressed Audio

Q133365

The information in this article applies to:
If this article does not describe your hardware-related issue, please see the following Microsoft Web site to view more articles about hardware:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/windows/topics/hardware/hwddresctr.asp

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to play a sound clip in Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98, you may receive one of the following error messages:

When you attempt to play a video clip in Microsoft Windows 95/98, you may receive the following error message:
Mmsystem296 The file cannot be played on the specified MCI device. The file may be corrupt, or not in the correct format.


CAUSE

This behavior can occur if both of the following conditions are true:


RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the appropriate methods.

Clean Boot the Computer

Clean boot your computer. To do this, use the appropriate method for your version of Windows.

Windows 98

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.


  2. In the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.


  3. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the following check boxes:


  4. Click OK. When you are prompted to restart the computer, do so.


For additional information about how to clean boot Windows 98, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98

Windows 95

  1. Restart the computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then select Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.


  2. At the command prompt, type win, and then press ENTER. Press and hold down the SHIFT key until the Windows startup sequence is complete.


  3. Disable any anti-virus or disk tool programs installed on the computer. For information about how to disable these programs, see the printed or online documentation for the program.


  4. Quit all running programs except Explorer and Systray. To do this:

    1. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.


    2. In the Close Program dialog box, click to highlight any program except Explorer or Systray, which are components of Microsoft Windows, and then click End Task.

      If you receive a message that the program is busy or not responding, click End Task again.


    Repeat this step to quit all programs except Explorer and Systray.


For additional information about how to clean boot Windows 95, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q177604 Multimedia: Troubleshooting Using Clean Boot of Windows 95

Remove and Reinstall Audio Compression Drivers

To remove and reinstall Windows 95/98 Audio Compression drivers:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.


  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.


  3. On the Windows Setup tab, click Multimedia, and then click Details.


  4. Click the Audio Compression check box to clear it, and then click OK.


  5. Click Apply.


  6. On the Windows Setup tab, click Multimedia, and then click Details.


  7. Click the Audio Compression check box to select it, and then click OK.


  8. Click OK.


  9. Follow the instructions on the screen to finish installing the audio compression drivers.


If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Remove and Reinstall 16-bit MSACM Drivers and Codecs

Microsoft recommends that you use 32-bit MSACM unless your program requires a 16-bit MSACM codec. 16-bit MSACM is installed by programs that use 16-bit MSACM.

If the issue only occurs when you use a program that uses 16-bit MSACM, remove and reinstall the 16-bit MSACM drivers and codecs. To do this:
  1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.


  2. In the Named box, type msacm.ini msadpcm.acm imaadpcm.acm msgsm610.acm, and then click Find Now.


  3. On the Edit menu, click Select All.


  4. Press DELETE, and then click Yes.


  5. Remove and reinstall the program that uses 16-bit MSACM.


Confirm 32-bit MSACM Installation

Microsoft recommends that you use 32-bit MSACM unless your program requires a 16-bit MSACM codec. 32-bit MSACM is a component of Windows 95/98.

To verify that the 32-bit MSACM driver files in your Windows\System folder are properly installed:
  1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.


  2. In the Named box, type msacm*.*, and then click Find Now.


  3. In the list of found files, verify that the Msacm.drv, Msacm.dll, and Msacm32.dll files are located in the System folder. Delete or rename any copies of these files that are not in the System folder or the Sysbckup folder.


  4. In the list of found files, verify that the file versions of the Msacm.drv, Msacm.dll, and Msacm32.dll files match, and that the file versions are 4.0 or greater.

    To check the file version of each of these files:


    1. In the list of found files, right-click the file you want to check.


    2. On the Version tab, note the file version.


    3. Click OK.


  5. If any of the files are missing from the System folder, if the file versions do not match, or if the file version of any of the files is less than 4.0, proceed to the appropriate method for your version of Windows to remove and reinstall the 32-bit MSACM drivers.


Remove and Reinstall 32-bit MSACM Drivers in Windows 98

To remove and reinstall the 32-bit MSACM drivers in Windows 98:
  1. Insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.


  2. Click Start, and then click Run.


  3. In the Open box, type the following line, and then click OK:


    4. cd-rom:\win98
    where cd-rom is the letter of the CD-ROM drive.
  4. On the View menu, click Folder Options.


  5. On the View tab, under the Hidden Files branch in the Advanced Settings box, click Show All Files, and then click OK.


  6. Extract the Msacm.dll and Msacm32.dll files from the Win98_33.cab file, and then extract the Msacm.drv file from the Win98_40.cab file. To extract a file from a .cab file, follow these steps:


    1. Double-click the .cab file that contains the file you want to extract.


    2. Right-click the file you want to extract, and then click Extract.


    3. Double-click the icon for the hard disk on which Windows is installed, double-click the Windows folder, and then click the Sysbckup folder.


    4. Click OK.


  7. Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode.


  8. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:


    9. cd \windows\system
    del msacm*.*
    cd ..\sysbckup
    copy msacm*.* ..\system
  9. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.


Removing and Reinstalling 32-bit MSACM Drivers in Windows 95

To remove and reinstall the 32-bit MSACM drivers in Windows 95:
  1. Insert the Windows 95 CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.


  2. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.


  3. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:


    4. cd-rom:
    cd \win95
    extract win95_08.cab msacm*.* /l drive:\windows\sysbckup     ,
    where cd-rom is the drive letter of the CD-ROM drive, and drive is the drive letter of the hard disk on which Windows is installed.

    If you are prompted to overwrite the files, press Y.
  4. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.


  5. Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode.


  6. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line:


    7. cd \windows\system
    del msacm*.*
    cd ..\sysbckup
    copy msacm*.* ..\system
  7. At the command prompt, type exit, and then press ENTER.


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Last Reviewed: May 26, 2001
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