This article shows what to do if Netscape 7.2 does not play MIDIs in
Windows XP SP2 Home
Edition. In earlier versions of
Windows, Netscape 7.2 could use the plug-in Crescendo or Windows Media
Player. But in Windows XP Home Edition Crescendo does not work at
all, and Windows Media Player plays MIDIs only for Internet
Explorer. However, Apple has QuickTime, a
free downloadable plug-in for Netscape 7.2 that also works well in Windows
XP SP2 Home
Edition.
However, if you simply download
and install the latest QuickTime for Windows as-is, you'll see a lot of
broken QuickTime icons on various web sites, or some favorite internet
sites won't load
properly. QuickTime's web site support explains this on PCs as
caused by a firewall or having ActiveX controls disabled in Internet
Explorer. However, even if you turn off your Windows Firewall,
enable all ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer and let all your
guards down, you'll still find broken QuickTime icons and internet
pages that won't load properly. A good test site for this is
http://www.tvguide.com . It was TV Guide online which drove this
solution, because, by golly, we wanted our TV Guide!
Here's the solution: If you haven't done so already, create a
system restore point, in case you'd like to roll back the
system after trying these changes. Download and install the free
QuickTime for Windows 98/ME 6.5 from Apple's web site:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html . QuickTime
6.5 for Windows 98/ME is workable with the older browser Netscape 7.2
even in Windows XP SP2.
The latest QuickTime for Windows XP, such as iTunes or
QuickTime 7 for Windows, do not connect with Netscape 7.2 and
do not work with Netscape 7.2 in Windows XP SP2 Home Edition.
If QuickTime for Windows 98/ME 6.5 is no longer available at Apple, you can find my working QuickTime 6.5 files zipped up
here
. The zip file is approximately 12,615 KB in size. It
contains QuickTimeInstallCache.qdat, QuickTimeInstaller.exe and this
instruction file MIDIs.html that you are reading now. All these
files are clean and clear of any virus, Trojan, or rootkit. Unzip and save these installation files in a separate
folder or disk in
case you need to reinstall the program someday.
During installation, watch closely for
the option
"Let QuickTime be your default media player". Be sure to
uncheck that
option.
After QuickTime 6.5 is installed, click on the QuickTime icon on
the
desktop, choose Edit, Preferences, QuickTime Preferences, Browser
plug-in, then hit the button MIME Settings. Open the Audio -
Audio only file formats directory and check MIDI file.
Or,
you can right-click the QuickTime icon in the system tray and choose
QuickTime Preferences, and do the same as above. Then open
Windows Media Player: go to Tools, Options, File Types, select
all file types for Windows Media Player,
except
MIDI. Do
the same for Real Player, if you have it: go to Tools,
Preferences,
Media Types, and uncheck Other Media. After installation is
complete, open Start, Settings, Control Panel, Windows Firewall, hit
Exceptions tab and add Quick Time Player as an accepted program.
Your Netscape 7.2 browser should now play MIDIs online. If your
MIDI playback sounds choppy, open QuickTime Preferences as above, use
the drop down list to select Sound Out,
unselect DirectSound
and select Windows Preferred Device. The drop down list
also has Music where you can select General MIDI device, rather than
Quick Time Music Synthesizer, if you prefer the sound of your audio
card's MIDI output.
One last thing: If you next open your Windows IE browser,
and visit a page with MIDIs, you may hear a mish mash of one MIDI
playing in two media players out of sync at the same time. To fix
this in IE, go to Tools, Manage Add-ons. A list will
appear. Scroll down to QuickTime Object and highlight it.
Then below, in Settings, hit the radio button Disable, hit OK and close
. MIDIs will play normally in Windows IE browser as well.
Disclaimer: Not responsible for any malfunction as a result of these changes.
S. L. Finkey, tech support
ALOHAGOODIES.COM
email:
finkey1@Netscape 7.2.com
Last Update: 06/22/2005