"Catastrophic Failure (Error 0x8000FFFF)" Error Message When You Play or Connect to a Multicast Station in Windows Media Player 7.1

Symptoms

In Microsoft Windows Media Player version 7.1, when you try to play or to connect to a multicast station, you may receive the following error message:

This error message occurs even though the code checks for duplicate multicast packets, and Windows Media Player is designed to handle the duplicate packet gracefully.

Resolution

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem immediately, download the fix by clicking the download link later in this article or contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMSNOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download Wm313718.exe nowRelease Date: January 2, 2002

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services
Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.
The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later:

Date Time Version Size File name
------------------------------------------------------
08-Nov-2001 19:59 7.10.0.3060 335,360 Wmstream.dll

Workaround

To work around this problem, use Microsoft Windows Media Player version 6.4.

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section of this article.