# Windows Media Player: how to modify download/view action?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-media-player-how-to-modify-download-view-action/487437>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 25, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-media-player-how-to-modify-download-view-action/487437 "2009-02-25T23:05:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-media-player-how-to-modify-download-view-action/487437/1 "2009-02-25T23:05:07Z")

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On my XP/SP2 PC system, when the default Windows Media Player springs into action to play a sound or audio file, it downloads in the background, but plays the same file during the download as long as the download speed is sufficient.

But at a friend’s PC, with basically the same XP setup, the Player insisted on downloading the entire file before playing at all. This can take 20 minutes for some files.

I can’t find a setting in the Player that controls this action. The buffer setting only has default, or 1…60 seconds and doesn’t seem to have much effect in my machine when I change it.

And if you are tempted to suggest another viewer, that’s fine, but the Win viewer is the most common one out there and I need to tell people how to control this function if they want to see my videos. Downloading & installing another viewer takes too long and isn’t an option in many cases. (Hey, I work with an ignorant crowd, what can I say?)

Anyone know where the control is?

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**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\
**Post date:** [February 25, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/windows-media-player-how-to-modify-download-view-action/487437/2 "2009-02-25T23:17:22Z")

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I’d also like to know the answer to this problem. I’ve had this happen to me as well, and my cursing was ineffective – WMP would not stream any file, and never did again on that computer.