Ask a new question

WMP 12 Allow Internet Access cannot be enabled - a bug?

I've been having trouble with two of my computers, both running Windows 7 Professional edition. Windows Media Player 12 has an option to stream media over the internet, an option called "allow access to home media..." I have correctly linked both computers to a Windows Live ID, as directed.

The problem occurs when I try to enable the option to "allow access to home media." Normally, you would select this option, and (assuming you've already linked a Live ID), then you would get a UAC prompt, and then a confirmation that internet access is now enabled. Now, instead, there are not one but two UAC prompts, and the option is never enabled. Very frustrating. Both prompts come from wmpconfig.exe with the option -RMESharingOn. Both apparently fail, but with no error message. Is this a bug or perhaps something is blocking the action? All other streaming options can be enabled.

One last thing to note: I've had this problem for some time on a desktop build that had the professional edition installed from the start. My laptop originally had the Home Premium edition of Windows 7, and never had this problem. I recently clean installed up to professional, and the problem exists on it as well. Perhaps it is tied to the professional edition?

Thanks ahead of time for your help,
Tyler
Answer
Answer

Okay, I just figured out my problem.  Previously, I had set the "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service" to disabled to reduce overhead because I wasn't using it.  All I had to do was re-enable it, and voila, Internet streaming can now be enabled.

 

So:

  • Start -> type "services.msc" -> enter
  • Scroll down and find "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service"
  • Right-click on it -> Properties
  • Change the startup type to "Automatic (Delayed)"
  • Click on the button to "Start" the service
  • Click Okay

After doing this, I now get the confirmation dialog when trying to enable Internet Streaming in WMP.

It seems to me like this should be considered a lack-of-proper-feedback bug.  WMP should check to see if the service is running when a user tries to enable Internet Sharing and give an error message if it is not (or even better, give the user the option to enable it without having to use services.msc).

Was this reply helpful?

Sorry this didn't help.

Great! Thanks for your feedback.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site.

How satisfied are you with this reply?

Thanks for your feedback.

 
 

Question Info

Last updated October 16, 2020 Views 2,768 Applies to: