Show All

Hide All

 Important   There are many reasons why your sound file may not play. Below is a list of common problems and some things to check. If you do not see your problem listed below, you can search the PSS Knowledge Base, post your question to the Microsoft Office Discussion Groups, or find answers from other users in the PowerPoint community.

• You inserted multiple sounds on top of each other, but only the top sound plays when you double-click it  Drag the sounds off of each other, and then double-click each sound to play it.
• You cannot hear music or sounds that play in your presentation  You need speakers and a sound card on your computer to play music and sounds. To find out what is installed on your computer and what settings are in use, check the multimedia and sounds settings in Control Panel.
• The sound file format is not supported in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007  Although your sound file may have the same file name extension as one in the compatible file formats list, it may not play correctly if the correct version of the codec (codec: An abbreviation for compressor/decompressor. Software or hardware used to compress and decompress digital media.) is not installed, or if the file is not encoded in a format that is recognized by your version of Microsoft Windows. Encoding is the process of converting data into a stream of ones and zeros. Install the correct codec, or re-encode the file.

  Try playing the sound by using Microsoft Windows Media Player, which is part of Windows, to determine if the problem is with your sound file or with PowerPoint.

• You sent a presentation through e-mail, and the recipient says the sounds won't play  Your sound files are linked (linked object: An object that is created in a source file and inserted into a destination file, while maintaining a connection between the two files. The linked object in the destination file can be updated when the source file is updated.) and not embedded (embedded object: Information (object) contained in a source file and inserted into a destination file. Once embedded, the object becomes part of the destination file. Changes you make to the embedded object are reflected in the destination file.), and the sound files need to be sent along with your presentation. Copy the sound files into the folder that contains your presentation, and then use the Package for CD feature to update the links and bundle the associated files.

  You can find information about whether the sound is embedded or linked and the location of the linked sound file in the Sound Options dialog box. Click the sound, and then under Sound Tools, on the Options tab, in the Sound Options group, click the Dialog Box Launcher . Under Information, following File, you will see either Contained in presentation (meaning that the sound is embedded) or the file path (meaning that the sound is linked).

• You received a presentation through e-mail and the sound won't play   See the article, I can't open a presentation or associated file sent to me by e-mail.
• You shared your presentation or copied it to a network file server, and now the sounds won't play  Your sound files are linked (linked object: An object that is created in a source file and inserted into a destination file, while maintaining a connection between the two files. The linked object in the destination file can be updated when the source file is updated.) and not embedded (embedded object: Information (object) contained in a source file and inserted into a destination file. Once embedded, the object becomes part of the destination file. Changes you make to the embedded object are reflected in the destination file.). Copy the sound files into the folder that contains your presentation, and then use the Package for CD feature to update the links, bundle the associated files, and copy your presentation and all the linked files to a folder on the network server.

  You can find information about whether the sound is embedded or linked and the location of the linked sound file in the Sound Options dialog box. Click the sound, and then under Sound Tools, on the Options tab, in the Sound Options group, click the Dialog Box Launcher . Under Information, following File, you will see either Contained in presentation (meaning that the sound is embedded) or the file path (meaning that the sound is linked).

• You copied your presentation to a CD, and now the sound won't play on a different computer  You did not use the Package for CD feature, or you manually copied the sound files to the CD. Copy the sound files into the folder that contains your presentation, use the Package for CD feature to update the links to the sound files, and then copy your presentation again to a CD.
• You moved your sound files to a new location, and now your presentation won't play  Copy the sound files into the folder that contains your presentation, and then either update the links by using the Package for CD feature, or manually update the links by removing the sounds and adding them back. The Package for CD feature will also copy your presentation and all the linked files to a folder.

  You can find information about whether the sound is embedded or linked and the location of the linked sound file in the Sound Options dialog box. Click the sound, and then under Sound Tools, on the Options tab, in the Sound Options group, click the Dialog Box Launcher . Under Information, following File, you will see either Contained in presentation (meaning that the sound is embedded) or the file path (meaning that the sound is linked).

   Note   If the path name of the linked file exceeds 128 characters, Office PowerPoint 2007 cannot find and play it. If the path name exceeds 128 characters, rename the file or shorten the path by copying the files into the same folder as your presentation. Then either update the links by using the Package for CD feature, or manually update the links by removing the sounds and adding them back.

• You want to open the Sound Options dialog box.  Click the sound, and then under Sound Tools, on the Options tab, in the Sound Options group, click the Dialog Box Launcher .