FIX: Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows may prompt you for your credentials when submitting the client log

When Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows connects to a stream by using an authenticated proxy, the Windows Media Player client may be prompted for credentials. This problem may occur when Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows submits log data back to the server. This problem may occur when one of the following conditions is true:

• Windows Media Player hits the end of a stream.
• Windows Media Player or the user seeks or skips in the file.
• Windows Media Player or the user manually stops the stream or pauses the stream.

Depending on the type of streaming that Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows uses, it may try to submit the logs by using the HTTP protocol. By default, Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows tries to use HTTP 1.1. However, sometimes Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows fails over to HTTP 1.0. Depending on proxy-specific implementations of the HTTP 1.0 specification, Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows may prompt for credentials.

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, it is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next release that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note 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.

Windows Media Player 9 Series for Microsoft Windows XP

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the WindowsXP-KB885353-v4-x86-enu.exe package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/4/4/9443cfc5-d7f8-4ec6-ba58-5705e890ff77/windowsxp-kb885353-v4-x86-enu.exe)

Windows Media Player 9 Series for Microsoft Windows 2000 and for Microsoft Windows Server 2003

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the WindowsMedia9-KB885353-v5-x86-INTL.exe package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/a/2/ea284623-613a-4dd0-bf08-3edd3e13fbca/windowsmedia9-kb885353-v5-x86-intl.exe)

Windows Media Player 9 Series for Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Japanese

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

Download the WindowsMedia9-KB885353-x86-JPN.exe package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/4/3/843f8926-d783-4879-9f7f-27cd4145ecb1/windowsmedia9-kb885353-x86-jpn.exe)

Windows Media Player 10

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the WindowsMedia10-KB885353-x86-ENU.exe package now. (http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/7/b/07bedf3a-39db-4fcf-ab95-85b57f90ac7d/windowsmedia10-kb885353-x86-enu.exe) For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 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 prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

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

Warning This article contains information about editing the namespace. Before you edit the namespace, verify that you have a backup copy that you can restore if a problem occurs. If you edit the namespace incorrectly, you can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall any product that uses the namespace. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems that result if you incorrectly edit the namespace can be solved. Edit the namespace at your own risk.

To disable this fix, follow these steps:

1. For Windows Media Player 9 Series, locate the following directory where the client namespace is located:
   
   C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Media\9.0
   
   For Windows Media Player 10, locate the following directory where the client namespace is located:
   
   C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Media\10.0
2. Open the Wmsdkns.xml file in a text editor such as Notepad.
3. Locate the Network Source node in the namespace.
4. Locate the Object Store node under the Network Source node.
5. Locate the WMS Http Network Source node under the Object Store node.
6. Locate the Properties node under the WMS Http Network Source node.
7. Add the following code example under the Properties node.

   <node name="SendPostProxyKeepAlive" opcode="create" type="int32" value="0x0" />

This namespace value can have one of the following values:

• 0x0 - Disable the fix
• 0x1 - Enable the fix (Default)

The following code sample is another representation of the value that you can set in the Wmsdkns.xml file.