Codec 55 needed for MP3 ??

Topic

New Reply

I have a Dell Desktop for my grandkid’s games and songs.
Yesterday I inserted a CD and went to play one of the kiddie MP3 songs on it and got a message about some “codec and 55” being needed.
I came home and googled and found that this is a fairly common problem.

I have found sites where one can DL the 55 file.
I think Softpedia was one of the sites.

Would I be better off just DLing something like K-Lite Codec pack 6.10 ?
I assume the needed codec would be in that pack…………………. OR…………………
Should I find what looks like a safe site and DL the 55 codec supposedly needed ?????

The kid is THREE YEARS OLD and will NOT be viewing or playing anything on THIS computer other than his pre-school CDs which now work and his MP3 kiddie songs DLed from Amazon.

I have never messed with CODECs before. So I assume you just DL the file to the computer and click to install.

Thanks in advance.

Reply | Quote

Replies

K-Lite Codec Pack Full 6.1.0 (Links to Major Geeks)

VLC Media Player Plays just about everything.

Got This From: http://msmvps.com/chrisl/articles/10723.aspx

Format Tag 55 Error In Windows Media Player

If Windows Media Player fails to play MP3’s are gives you the error “The audio codec identified by the format tag 55 is required to play this file.” then follow this guide.

When you get this error it should mean that your MP3 Decoder is broken. First, Goto Start>>Run>>Type regsvr32.exe l3codeca.acm, Hit Enter. You are looking for this to say that it succeeded. Now, try and play your file again in WMP. If it works, great! If not, read on.

Goto C:WindowsSystem32l3codeca.acm and rename the file to l3codeca.bak. Then open WMP and go to Help>>Check for Updates. This will re-download the decoder and place a new copy on your system. It should be registered and ready to go at this point, but you can also run regsvr32.exe l3codeca.acm again just be sure. That command registers the ACM decoder with Windows, many “Codec Packs“ will screw up your ACM Registration, running the command should set it right again.

If WMP fails to re-download it you can get the files off of your Windows XP CD-ROM. To do this first insert your Windows CD-ROM. Now goto C:WindowsSystem32 and find l3codeca.acm and l3codecx.ax. Rename both of this to .OLD. Now goto Start>>Run>>Type Expand G:I386l3codeca.ac_ C:WindowsSystem32l3codeca.acm, Hit Enter. Now do the same thing, but Type Expand G:I386L3CODECX.AX_ C:WindowsSystem32l3codecx.ax, Hit Enter.

Now, if you have installed WMP 10 you will also see l3codecp.acm, check the version on this file. It should read 3.3.0.44. If it reads version 1.2.0.63 then its not a good one, its pirated. More about the nasty stuff that likely install that at http://msmvps.com/chrisl/archive/2004/07/04/9546.aspx.

Also, if the above has not helped goto C:WindowsSystem32 and look at l3codeca.acm. Right click and select Properties. If you see it has a version number of 1.2.0.63, you also have issues with pirated software.

Reply | Quote

also, try installing the KB977816 MS10-026 security update for Windows. that patch will update the L3codecx.ax and L3codeca.acm files to more secure and bug fixed versions.

Reply | Quote