RealPlayer MSI files

I tried to listen to some audio cilps from a website and couldn't get them to open. They have the RealPlayer logo and when I try to open them, I get a message that "Windows can't find RealPlay.exe" - that it must have that program to open an SMI type file. I don't really care to download RealPlay unless absolutely necessary. I tried WMP and it didn't recognize the file. Is there another way to open the SMI files?

 

Hi virginia

No realplayer has its own little proprietary file format system
I would stay away from any thing that says real period.

I tried realplayer about a year ago it kept trying on its own to set itself a the defoult player i think theve fixed that but still
realplayers uninstall rutine left parts of itself all over the pc and in the registry.

But im sure theirs realplayer believers out there --check your post again in a few days.
plus i already have win mp -- MusicMatch & the mini version of quicktime ---windows is already to confused.....

Lon

 

Only Real Player will play them & you have to fight with it to make it behave itself, but it can be done.

I have Real Player 8.0 & I had to force it to behave. Even after I told it not to set itself as the default player for other files, I had to go into it's settings & re-set it, because it didn't obey me upon installation. It set itself up as the default, even though I told it not to.

One thing with Real Player is to go in & determine all settings after you install it & uncheck everything it wants to do, except for when it has to play something on a web site that requires Real Player to play it. Also, if you have a Firewall & some other parts of Real Player wants to connect, tell the Firewall not to let it & to rememer this the next time. Real player tries to call home a lot.

It can be a real pain, but also can be controlled.

Deloris.

 

Thanks for the responses Lon and Deloris. You confirmed my suspicions. I'm not sure I want to download RealPlayer again. I used it a couple of years ago and it seemed to take forever to get rid of it - seems like my problems started right after I installed Norton Internet Security. I am only interested in listening to sample clips from top 40 songs to get a feel for the songs and to determine tempos. I can probably find something on other sites that will let me do that in better file formats or extensions. Again thanks for the input.

 

I have a program called Registry Detective. It will find all references to any program that reside in the registry. It comes in very handy when un-installing programs, but of course, as with any program that you step into the registry with, you have to use it with caution & make absolutely certain the reference it finds pertains to THAT program before deleting the key. For instance if you just type in the word Real & hit search, any program that has the word real in it's name will come up in the search results. So if you get it, use it with caution & care.

Registry Detective can be gotten from PC Magazine.

 

Deloris - thanks for the Registry Detective suggestion. I downloaded it and took a quick look. Rest assured that I tread lightly when I get into the Registry areas - I'm not nearly as dumb as I look. I like the idea that the Reg Det is "read only" so I don't have to worry about hitting the wrong command and wiping out my hard drive. I have only edited my registry a couple of times and that was only after hours of research and a lot of input from folks on this board - but I was successful. Thanks.