You receive an error message when you try to play a linked movie in PowerPoint

When you try to play a movie, a sound clip, or a music clip in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 or in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, you may receive the following error message or an error message that resembles the following error message:

This behavior occurs when the following conditions are true:

• The clip is linked to a file instead of embedded in the presentation.
• Microsoft Windows Media Player cannot find the linked file.

This behavior occurs when a presentation is moved from one computer to another. To learn how to avoid this problem when you move a presentation from one computer to another, see the "More Information" section of this article.

If the presentation is on the computer where the files were inserted, you can resolve this behavior by using one of the following methods.

Method 1: Move the clip to the linked path

Windows Media Player can play the clip if the clip is moved to the linked path. To find the file name and the path, follow these steps:

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Select the slide with the clip.
3. Right-click the clip, and then click Edit clip Object, where clip is the type of object.
4. Note the file name and the path under File in the Information area, and then click OK.
5. Click Start, and then click Search.
6. In the Search Results window, click All files and folders.
7. In the All or part of the file name dialog box, type the name of the file.
8. Under Type of file, expand More advanced options, and then click All Files and Folders.
9. Click Search.
10. If the file is found, copy the file to the path that you found in step 4.

Method 2: Replace the link with a new link

To replace the existing link with a link to the current location of the clip, follow these steps:

1. Open the presentation in PowerPoint.
2. Select the slide with the clip.
3. Right-click the clip, and then click Edit clip Object, where clip is the type of object.
4. Note the file name and the path under File in the Information area, and then click OK.
5. Right-click the clip, and then press DELETE.
6. Click Start, and then click Search.
7. In the Search Results window, click All files and folders.
8. In the All or part of the file name dialog box, type the name of the file.
9. Under Type of file, expand More advanced options, and then click All Files and Folders.
10. Click Search.
11. If the file is found, note the location of the file, close the Search dialog box, and then continue with the next two steps.
12. On the Insert menu, point to Movies and Sounds, and then click clip from File, where clip is the type of object.
13. Select the file, and then click OK.

In earlier versions of Microsoft PowerPoint, if you try to play a clip linked to a file and the file cannot be found, you also receive an error message. However, that error message had the option for you to locate the missing file.

PowerPoint has a new feature that is named "Package for CD" that simplifies moving and updating all linked files together with the presentation to a folder or to a CD. To save as a package, follow these steps:

1. Open the PowerPoint presentation that you want to move.
2. Click File, and then click Package for CD.
   
   Note This will package the presentation for either a folder or a CD. By default, linked files and the PowerPoint Viewer are included in the package.
3. In the Name the CD box, type the name for your folder or your CD.
4. You can include more than one PowerPoint presentation, if you want to include more files click the Add Files button, and then select the additional files to add.
   
   Note By default, PowerPoint will play all files automatically in the order that is specified. You can specify the order that you want when you include additional files.
5. Click either the Copy to Folder button or the Copy to CD button.
   
   Note On Microsoft Windows 2000, you must copy your files to a folder, and then burn the folder to a CD by using a third-party CD-burning program.
6. If you click Copy to CD, the file will be copied to the CD.
   
   If you click Copy to Folder, PowerPoint copies the files with a name and a location that you specify.

Note The PowerPoint package will play on computers that are running Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition or later. You do not have to have PowerPoint to play these files.