Certain sound files cannot be embedded in presentations in PowerPoint 2002

When you add sound files to a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint, the file size may not increase as much as expected. When you view the slide show on another computer, you may receive an error message similar to the following:

This behavior occurs because only WAV sound files can be embedded in PowerPoint presentations. All other types of sound files are linked, as are WAV files that exceed a file-size limitation. If the presentation is moved to another computer without all the linked files, you receive the error message described in the "Symptoms" section when you attempt to play the sound in PowerPoint.

To work around this issue, use one or more of the following methods, as needed.

Method 1: Convert Sound Files to WAV Format

Use a sound program to convert the files into WAV format.

Method 2: Embed Sound Files in the Presentation

One way to resolve this issue is to increase the Link sounds with size greater than X Kb setting. This method allows you to embed the WAV files into your presentation and have them play back on a different computer without copying each sound file separately.

To use this method, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the General tab, increase the Link sounds with size greater than X Kb setting to a size just larger than your largest sound file.
   
   The maximum size that you can type here is 50,000 kilobytes (KB), which equals 50 megabytes (MB).
3. Click OK.
4. Delete the sound objects that are currently not working, and then reinsert the sounds into the slides.
   
   They are now embedded and should play on any computer.

NOTES:

• You have to reset the play settings for each sound after you reinsert it into the original presentation.
  
  
• This process increases the file size of the presentation by the size of the sound file being embedded.
  
  
• These steps apply only to *.wav sound files.

Method 3: Use Pack and Go to Gather Sounds

Use the Pack and Go feature to bundle all of the presentation and associated sound files, and then unpack these files into a directory on the new computer before you run the presentation. To do so, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu, click Pack and Go.
2. Click Next in the Pack and Go Wizard.
3. Click to select the Active presentation check box, and then click Next.
4. Select where you want to create the Pack and Go file: Click A:\ or Choose destination.
   
   If you click Choose destination, you must navigate to the folder in which you want to save the file.
5. Click Next.
6. Click to select the Include linked files and Embed True Type Fonts check boxes, click Next, and then click Next again.
7. Click Finish.

These steps create a Pack and Go file that includes the sound files but not the PowerPoint Viewer.

For additional information about embedding sound files, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: