Article ID: 303492 - Last Review: January 31, 2007 - Revision: 3.4

The Media Bar Does Not Play Media Files from Links on Your Active Desktop

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SYMPTOMS

When you click a media file link on your Active Desktop, you may receive no response: The Media bar in Microsoft Internet Explorer may not open and play the media file as expected, and you may be unable to listen to, or view, the media content.
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CAUSE

This behavior occurs if the media file link is displayed on a Web page that is part of the Active Desktop. The Internet Explorer Media bar is not a component of the Active Desktop. As a result, when you click a media link, the Media bar does not open and the file is not played.
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WORKAROUND

To work around this issue, start Internet Explorer, and then use the Media bar to play the media file that you want. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Double-click the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop or click the Internet Explorer icon on the Quick Launch bar to start Internet Explorer.
  2. Click Media on the toolbar to open the Media bar.
  3. At the bottom of the Media bar window, click Media Options, point to Settings, and then click to select the Play web media in the bar and Ask for preferred types check boxes.
  4. Connect to a Web site that contains links to the media files that you want to play.
  5. To play the file, click the media link that you want.

    The Media Bar Settings dialog box appears and you receive the following message:
    You clicked an audio or video link Internet Explorer can play in its own window, so it will be easier for you to see or hear it while still browsing the Web.

    Do you want to play the item in Internet Explorer?
    NOTE: If you click to select the Remember my preference check box in the message box, the next time that you open a file of this file type, the file is opened in the Media bar.

  6. Click Yes in response to the message to play the media file in the Internet Explorer Media bar.
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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
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MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about Internet Explorer 6 Public Preview, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
293513  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/293513/EN-US/ ) Availability and Description of Internet Explorer 6 Public Preview
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, when used with:
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
    • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
    • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
    • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server Edition
    • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
    • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
    • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
    • Microsoft Windows 98 Standard Edition
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Keywords: 
kbpending kbprb KB303492
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