keep Quicktime from auto playing mp3s

[Corticus]

Ok,

This is really annoying.
I recently installed iTunes on my work PC, and with it, Quicktime, of course.
Now, whenever I click on an mp3 link on a website, it automatically uses this stupid quicktime applet to play it. In my folder options, on the files tab, I have mp3s set to play using Windows Media Player. In Quicktime's settings, I have it instructed to NOT PLAY mp3s, but it still is.

How can I get my media player back?
The Quicktime applet is garbage, as far as I'm concerned, especially since it hijacked IE.

Thanks.

 

[Andrew Fergus]

Hi Corticus

I'm not sure if this will work but open the QuickTime player, click menu option Edit > Preferences > QuickTime Preferences > Browser Plug In > MIME Settings > Untick MP3.

HTH, Andrew

 

[Corticus]

Thanks for replying andrew,

Unfortunately, no luck.
I've instructed my PC to not play mp3s with Quicktime in these three areas:
Quicktime's MIME settings
Quicktime's Preferences, in the file types tab
Window's file type associations

Still, the Quicktime plugin opens whenever I click on an mp3.

This is a problem because:
The browser navigates away from your site to a new page which consists of nothing but the Quicktime plugin in the middle of the page, if you close it, then you end up closing the page from which you clicked on the mp3.
The entire mp3 has to load before it starts to play, so users think something is wrong.
The play doesn't start automatically, you have to hit the play button after clicking on the mp3 and waiting for the plugin to load.

This is all ridiculous.

When WMP was opening mp3s before, you would click on the mp3 link, and IE would either open a new instance of a page (the page from which you clicked the link stays open), or create a column on the left on the page containing the WMP interface, and the song would start playing immediately. It looked/operated so much cleaner and smoother this way.

I'm really pissed the Quicktime jacked my file associations, I would uninstall it, but I like iTunes (plus I have an iPod, so I kind of need it).

BTW, I'm operating on Windows Server 2003, if that makes a difference.
At home I have XP, no problems there.

Thanks.

 

[Andrew Fergus]

Hi Corticus

I have never liked QuickTime because it was too intrusive / presumptuous. I prefer to use the DivX freeware in cases where the WMP can't open the file.

I remember reading somewhere that you could install iTunes without installing QuickTime but can't seem to find anything on it (I may be wrong)....and I can't see an option of uninstalling just the QT player and not iTunes.

Can you uninstall QT and get it working the way you want? If so, try reinstalling QT (or just iTunes if you can) but take control of the process such that it doesn't hijack the MP3 file types. As you say your XP PC hasn't been affected (and nor has mine) so you must have done something differently on the 2003 server.

My last suggestion would be to try a QuickTime forum - Google turned up a few.

Sorry I can't help directly....

Andrew

 

[Von Pookie]

You seem to have already tried the one thing I know to do, so...nevermind.

However:

...I would uninstall it, but I like iTunes (plus I have an iPod, so I kind of need it).

You don't *have* to use iTunes with an iPod (at least, with my 4G). There are other programs out there. Off the top of my head, I can think of 2: Eph Pod (free) and Xplay, with the latter even making it so you can use WMP to make playlists, etc.

Personally, I had some issues with Xplay (it usually didn't like to work for me--yet continues to work perfectly-fine-no-problems-whatsoever for my husband) and gave up on it, and I didn't really like Eph Pod.

I ended up going back to iTunes, but that's just me. Doesn't mean you can't give it a try

 

[Corticus]

Thanks for the advice.

I suppose I should have checked the Quicktime forum... but this forum is just so great, I figured I'd get a better answer here.

So until I figure it out, I guess I'm stuck with this dumb Quicktime plugin, oh well, hopefully its a Server 2003 thing and isn't a problem for other viewers and XP and such.

 

[Corticus]

Argh!!

Quicktime stole my file associations at home now, too, (Windows XP).

This totally sucks, I $%#@^& hate intrusive software like this.
It really pisses me off when a program sucks so much that it has to rely on aggresive and sneaky tactics to get you to use it.

I posted a question on Apple's Quicktime forum... funny, no response and its been about 3 days.

bastards...

 

[Von Pookie]

Geez. I don't recall having any problems like that. I see where you said you checked the preferences in QT, but have you double-checked the preferences in WMP?

 

[Corticus]

AAHHAAA

I got it (no thanks to Apple's forum)

You have to open the Media Player side panel. Then select Media Options|Settings|Reset Preferred Type.

Then you have to go back into QuickTime, and reset your MIME settings, because apparently QT just ignores you if your Prefered Types are not reset (whatever the hell preferred types are and how you change them I have no idea)

Whatever, its fixed now, mostly. My WMP side panel suddenly doesn't work, but at least if you set IE to open the media in a new Window, I get an instance of WMP instead of that stupid QuickTime plugin. Useless piece of garbage...

Thanks for the help, hopefully I can stop fussin about this now.