server execution failed downloaded file How to fix "Server execution failed" error when playing audio file. Windows Media Player is the default software STUFF on a Windows computer for playing audio files, including MP3 and WAV. When you double-click an audio file, Windows Media Player automatically opens and starts to play it. Unfortunately, Windows updates or issues related to Windows Media Player or audio codecs can result in seeing the "Server execution failed" error when trying to play an audio file. The error is usually due to corruption with the Windows Media Player program files or the codecs for playing audio files. To fix the "Server execution failed " error for Windows Media Player, follow the steps in each section below. Back up Windows Media Player playlists and configuration settings. If you have playlists or other custom configuration settings in Windows Media Player, you first need to back up those playlists and settings. If you don't, your playlists and custom configuration settings are lost as part of the repair process. To back up your playlists and configuration settings, follow the steps below. If you do not have any playlists or custom configuration settings in Windows Media Player, skip to the next section. . Navigate to the following folder path, where [username] is the name of the account you log in with and use in Windows. C:\Users\ [username] \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player. If you do not see the "AppData" folder, you need to adjust the folder settings to show hidden files and folders, see: How do I view hidden files and folders in Windows? In the Media Player folder, press Ctrl + A , then press Ctrl + C to select and copy all the files and subfolders. Go to the Windows desktop and create a new folder named "WMP backup." Open the new WMP backup folder and press Ctrl + V to paste the files from step 3 into the folder. Uninstall and reinstall Windows Media Player. The next step is to uninstall and reinstall Windows Media Player. Uninstall Windows Media Player. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run window. In the Run window, type optionalfeatures and press Enter . In the Windows Features window, scroll down to the Media Features folder, and uncheck its box. Click OK in the Windows Features window to start the Windows Media Player uninstall process. A second Windows Features window opens, showing a progress bar. When the uninstall process is complete, the message "Windows completed the requested changes" is displayed. Click the Close button, which closes both Windows Features windows. Restart your computer for the uninstall to fully take effect. Reinstall Windows Media Player. After your computer has restarted, open the Windows Features utility again by pressing Windows key + R to open the Run window, typing optionalfeatures , and pressing Enter . In the Windows Features window, scroll down to the Media Features folder, and check its box. Click OK in the Windows Features window start the Windows Media Player install process. A second Windows Features window opens, showing a progress bar. When the install process is complete, the message "Windows completed the requested changes" is displayed. Click the Close button, which closes both Windows Features windows. Restore the playlists and configuration backup. Now that Windows Media Player is reinstalled, you need to restore the playlists and custom configuration settings backup. To restore the backed up files, follow the steps below. If you didn't back up any playlists or custom configuration settings before uninstalling and reinstalling Windows Media Player, you're done and these steps can be skipped. How to Fix Windows Media Player ‘Server Execution Failed’ Error with Ease. It may happen that you are trying to play your music, videos or movies on Windows Media Player only to receive the “Server Execution Failed” error. But what exactly is this error? In this guide, we will investigate it, then provide you with multiple solutions on how to fix server execution failed error. What does ‘Server Execution Failed’ mean Solution 1: Disable WMP Network Sharing Service Solution 2: End WMP in Task Manager Solution 3: Reinstall/Update WMP Solution 4: Register jscript.dll and vbscript.dll Extra: The Best Alternative to WMP in 2020. What does ‘Server Execution Failed’ mean. In simple terms, the ‘Server Execution Failed’ could mean that the Windows Media Player application is running or shutting down at that point, or it could simply be frozen and unable to close. According to Microsoft, this error may be caused by Windows System Files damage. This error might also occur if for reason the Windows Media Player network service is stopped or if there is a problem with your User account. As an initial recommendation, Microsoft recommends its users to run the troubleshooter, but that sometimes does not solve the problems. The following could solve the problem for you: Several Ways to Solve this Issue. Disabling the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service Force closing Windows Media Player with the Task Manager Disabling and re- enabling Windows Media Player, or installing updates Registering jscript.dll and vbscript.dll in Windows PowerShell Using an alternative media playback software. Solution 1: Disable WMP Network Sharing Service. Windows Media Player’s Network Sharing Service is there to help your computer share WMP libraries to other networked players and media devices which make use of Universal Plug and Play. If you are not using the network, then it is not necessary to run this service which could also be responsible for promoting the problem in the first place. Therefore, disable this service instead to play your music or videos without interruptions. Step 1: Open Control Panel. Click the start button and search for the Control Panel app. When you open Control Panel, find and click ‘Administrative Tools” which should open a new folder. Step 2: Open Services. When the Administrative Tools folder opens, find and click ‘Services’. If the app prompts you to run it as an administrator, allow it. Step 3: When the Services app opens, find “Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service”. Single-click it to highlight it. Step 4: Disable the WMP Network Sharing Service. Right click on “Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service” then select ‘Stop’ from the menu. The service will immediately stop. Note: To re-enable the WMP Network Sharing Service, follow the above steps. When you get to step 4 select ‘Start’ to enable it. Solution 2: End WMP in Task Manager. The Server Execution Failed Windows 10 error can also be caused if the application is frozen, that is when the application gets stuck upon attempts to shut down. Task Manager can easily fix this problem, by force closing the app for you. Therefore, follow the steps below: Step 1: Right-click on the task bar, then choose ‘Task Manager’ from the menu. Additionally you can press CTRL + Alt + Delete and click ‘Task Manager’ from the menu, or open the Run app then type type taskmgr.exe. Note: When Task Manager opens, expand it to show more details by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the Window. Step 2: Find and click ‘Windows Media Player’ under “Apps” or “Background processes”. Click the ‘End Task’ button at the bottom right to force close the app. Solution 3: Reinstall/Update WMP. The other solution available for you is to disable and re-enable the Windows Media Player application itself. As a primary Windows feature, WMP cannot be uninstalled completely. Some users have reported that this solution worked for them, and here is how you can do it: Step 1: Open the Run app. You can search for this app from the start menu. Step 2: When the Run app opens, Type appwiz.cpl in the Open text box and click OK to open the Programs and Features window. Click Turn Windows features on or off to open the window in the snapshot directly below. Step 3: Click the plus button on the Media features to expand it. Deselect the Windows Media Player check box, then click OK. Step 4: Restart your computer. When it restarts, repeat the above 4 steps to re-install WMP by selecting the Windows Media Player check box. To update Windows Media Player to the newest version, you simply need to install Windows updates, which should contain the fixes for all the system applications. Windows Update is found in the Control Panel or Settings apps. Solution 4: Register jscript.dll and vbscript.dll. Just like any Windows application, Windows Media Player is reliant on components so that it runs properly. These components are registered in the Windows Registry, and if they are absent you will run into all sorts of problems including the Server Execution Failed error. It is not exactly clear how the necessary components, which are jscript.dll and vbscript.dll respectively go missing but we attribute this to system bugs. The good thing is Windows keeps a backup of this components in its system, and all you need to do is to run a few command lines using Windows PowerShell to fix this problem. Here is how you can do it: Step 1: Open Windows PowerShell. Open the Start Menu, type powershell in the search field, and then press Enter or click the Windows PowerShell result. Additionally, you can use the Run app, which can be launched by pressing the Win + R keys on your keyboard, then typing “powershell” and clicking OK. Note: You need to run Windows PowerShell as an administrator. When you see the search results, right click on Windows PowerShell and select “Run as an administrator” from the menu. Step 2: Type regsvr32 jscript.dll, hit Enter and then click on the confirmation box. Repeat the same for regsvr32 vbscript.dll. The problem should be fixed. Exit Windows PowerShell and start Windows Media Player again. Extra: The Best Alternative to WMP in 2020. Windows Media Player is Microsoft’s default media playback software but it does not support many file formats by default. It also lacks a lot of features that come standard on other advanced media players like Leawo Blu-ray Player , which is the best alternative to Windows Media Player. It supports over 180 video and audio formats for playback, which is a lot more than what is supported by Windows Media Player. Some of the supported formats include AVI, MPEG, WMV, WPL , FLV, MKV, MOV, MP4, M4A, AAC, NUT, MP3, OGM, etc. SAs suggested by the name, this software is also a dedicated Blu-ray and DVD player, which supports Blu-ray Discs, folders and associated file formats from all the regions A, B or C, and also DVD discs from all the regions 0 to 6. Leawo Blu-ray Player. Region-free Blu-ray player software to play Blu-ray disc and DVD disc for free, regardless of disc protection and region restriction. Play 4K FLV videos, 4K MKV videos, 4K MP4 videos, etc. without quality loss. Play 1080P videos, 720P videos with lossless quality. Step 1: First load your videos or movies. From the main interface, load your videos or movies from your computer by clicking the “Open File” button, then browsing for it. If you want to load Blu-ray or DVD movies, insert the corresponding disc, then click the disc name on the interface. Step 2: Second, import or activate the subtitles. Upon loading your video or movie, the software should automatically begin the playback. During playback, move your mouse over to the Title Area. From the 4 available options, click the "Subtitles" icon. You can enable, disable, select or import subtitles. Step 3: Third, adjust the video settings. Hover your mouse over to the top left corner, or right click on the main interface and choose the "Videos" option to enter the ‘Video-Settings’ panel. Video cropping, post-processing, view mode, zooming etc., are some of the available options. Step 4: Lastly, adjust the audio settings. Right click on the main interface and select the “Audios" option, or move your mouse over to the top left corner to enter the ‘Audio-Settings’ panel. The options available include audio volume, amplification, offset, stream, output device, etc. Fix Windows Media Player ‘Server Execution Failed’ in Windows 10. Windows Media Player is the primary media player in Windows 10 and of the most successful software launched by Microsoft for Windows. It is usually bug free (unless a specific file is unsupported), however, many users have reported the following an error while trying to play media: Server Execution Failed. The causes could be many. The issue could be with the file, or the system. It might be because of an update which doesn’t allow WMP to recognize the file type. We will troubleshoot the issue sequentially, isolating every possibility one by one: Solution 1 – End Windows media player task in Task manager. 1. Press CTRL + Shift + Esc keys together to open Task manager . 2. Now, Right click on Windows media player and choose end task . Solution 2- Re-register DLL files through Command Prompt. 1] Search for Command Prompt in the Windows search bar and right-click on the icon. Select Run as administrator. 2] In the administrative command prompt, type the following commands and press Enter to execute them: 3] Exit Command Prompt and restart the system. Solution 3- Just Rename the file. Some users have reported that by just renaming the file and playing it again, fixes the issue. You can also give it a try. Solution 4- Disable Windows Media Player Network Sharing service. Step 1: search services in windows 10 search box and click on services to open service manager window. Step 2: Locate Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service . Step 3: Double click on Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service. Step 4: Set Startup type as Disabled. Step 5: Click on Apply and OK . Step 6: Restart your PC and try opening the file again in windows media player. Solution 5 – Disable and Re-enable WMP- Disabling and re-enabling Windows Media Player ( WMP ) from Windows Features will surely help you out. 1. Press Windows key+E to open File Explorer window on your computer. 2. In File Explorer window, navigate to this location- C:\Users\ %username% \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player. 3. In Media Player folder, to select all of the contents, copy all the contents of this folder and paste it in any other folder inside your PC to create a backup. 4. Now, go to a favorable folder of your choice to paste these contents. This will be a backup of the Windows Media Player database. We will need this later. Once done, close File Explorer window. 5. Press Windows key+R to launch Run window on your computer. In Run window, type or copy-paste “ optionalfeatures ” and hit Enter . Windows Features panel will prevail. 6. In Windows Features panel, uncheck the “ Media Features ” option. 7. Click on “ OK ” to save the changes. Let Windows make the changes on your computer. This may take a while. Once done, click on “ Close “. 8. Close Windows Features window. Restart your computer. 9. After restarting, press Windows key+R to launch Run window on your computer. In Run window, type “ optionalfeatures ” and hit Enter to open Windows Features . 10. In Windows Features window, scroll down and check the option “ Media Features ” option. 11. Finally, click on “ OK ” to re-enable the settings on your computer. Let Windows make the changes on your computer. This process will take some time. 12. Click on “ Close ” once the process is complete. 13. Press Windows key+E to open File Explorer and then navigate to the folder where you had stored the backup. 14. Copy all of the contents of the backup. 15. Now, go to this location in File Explorer – C:\Users\ %username% \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player. 16. Press ‘ Ctrl+V ‘ to paste the contents here. Once you have completed this changes, close File Explorer window. Try to play any music with Windows Media Player . It should work just fine. Solution 6- Check if the media file works with the other recommended media player. When I say Windows Media Player is the primary media player for Windows 10, it simply means the better media player that Microsoft provides in Windows 10 systems by default. The other 2 media applications are Groove music for audio and Movies & TV for videos. Try playing your file in Windows 10 with the other 2 applications and check if it works. This is to isolate whether the issue is with the file type or system. Solution 7- Use the Windows store apps troubleshooter. Since Windows Media Player is a Windows store app, the Windows Store app troubleshooter could be helpful in identifying and resolving the problem. 1] Click on the Start button and then the gear-like symbol to open the Settings page. 2] Go to Updates and security and then to the Troubleshoot tab. 3] Select the Window store apps troubleshooter and run it. 4] Restart the system. Solution 8- Clean boot. A clean boot could help identify an interfering startup program which could be causing the issue. Here is the procedure to clean boot the system . Solution 9- Update Windows. At times, some codecs are not supported by the Windows Media Player. If Windows wishes to include those codecs, it would send them in form of a Windows updates. Thus, keeping Windows updated is a good practice to avoid such errors. Here is the procedure to update Windows . Solution 10- Add Windows Media Player to the exception list for your anti virus. Top anti virus software are trying to sideline Windows Media Player and this is a well reported fact. In case that is what causes the error in your system, you might consider adding Windows Media Player to the exception list of your anti virus software. Solution 11- Temporarily disable the anti virus program. If merely adding Windows Media Player to the exception list doesn’t help, you might consider temporarily disabling the anti virus and checking if it helps. Solution 12- Reinstall Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player is a feature of Windows and not merely and external program. The procedure to reinstall Windows Media Player is as follows: 1] Press Win + R to open the Run window. Type control panel and press Enter to open the Control Panel window. 2] Go to Programs and features . 3] On the list on the left-hand side, select Turn Windows features on or off . 4] In the list, scroll to Media features and expand the list. 5] Uncheck the checkbox corresponding to Windows Media Player . 6] Restart the system. Solution 10- Restart the Windows Media Player Network Sharing service. 1] Press Win + R to open the Run window and type the command services.msc . Press Enter to open the Service manager window. 2] In the list which is alphabetically arranged, locate the Windows Media Player Network Sharing service and right-click on it. Select Properties. 3] Click on Stop to stop the service. Wait till it is completely stopped and the same is mentioned in the service status. 4] Now change the Startup type to to Automatic and now click on Start . 5] Click on Apply and then OK to save the settings. 6] Restart the system. Solution 11- Reinstall Java. 1] Click on the Start button and then on the gear-like symbol to open the Settings page. 2] Go to Apps and find Java among the list of apps installed on the system. 3] Select Java and click on uninstall to remove it from the system. 4] Restart the computer. 5] Now download Java from its website and install it on the system again. This exhaustive troubleshooting guide should be helpful in resolving the problem. If not, you might consider using a 3rd party media player. Server execution failed when opening downloaded files. For example, when downloading a photo or file on a computer, I choose the "Downloaded files" shortcut and click on the location of the file, which cannot be found. A message is displayed: Server execution failed. Please help. I have updated my browser to the latest version. @pondey Can you open those files directly? Can you open those files directly? Yes. Clicking twice. But I can't get to the location (by clicking the Folder icon) And how about using Windows' File Explorer? That's what clicking the folder icon should do - use File Explorer to open the folder. Yes I use but it's hard to look for the downloaded file and it takes a lot of time. For example, today it works fine. I click on the folder icon in the download and it leaves me to the place where the downloaded file is. I have the same problem; it's been happening on-and-off for a few weeks now that I've noticed. It's very frustrating. If the feature no longer works, I'll cope, but I'd like to know why it's not working. How to fix Windows Media Player "Server execution failed" error? (5 solutions) As the default media player in all versions of Windows operating system, Windows Media Player has a lot of users around the world. Although the media player is flawed and there are many Windows Media Player alternatives can be found out there in the market, Windows Media still can handle most of the media playback tasks. However, as all programs would crash, Windows Media Player is not an exception. Recently, users have reported that they have begun crashing while either playing certain files or any files at all. There have been many attempts to solve the problem completely, but it turns out there are several successful methods which are applicable in different scenarios. If you are experiencing the "Windows Media Player server execution failed" error in your Windows system, you might need to try these fixing methods introduced below. Part 1: About the Windows Media Player "server execution failed" error. The Server Execution Failed Windows Media Player error may show up under many circumstances. Usually the error may be caused by Windows System Files damage. This error might also occur if for reason the Windows media player network service is stopped or if there is a problem with your User account. To be able to fix the problem, first you should check some details on some questions, like, did you make any changes to the computer prior to the issue? Did you check if similar issues occur when you log in to Windows using a different user account? Do you have a System Restore point prior to the issue or did you check if the status of the Windows Media Player network sharing service in Windows Services is listed as started? If these facts occurred, you should try restoring the settings you have done after the last time your Windows Media Player worked properly. If you cannot fix the problem, you should read on and apply one or more of the fixes introduced below. There are a lot of fixes for the Windows Media Player "server execution failed" error. Under differences circumstances, different fixes may work or not. Since I cannot help identifying the real reason for your problem to show up, I can only provide as many solutions as possible so that you can try until one of the solutions work for you. Part 2: How to fix "server execution failed" error with command line. Here is a simple command line which can actually solve the problem instantly and it only requires a minute of your time. This method is highly useful if you notice other problems on your PC as well such as malfunctioning Windows gadgets, etc. To solve the "server execution failed" using command line, all you need to do is search for "Command Prompt", and then right-click on it, and select the "Run as administrator" option. Copy and paste the following commands and make sure you click Enter after each one: regsvr32.exe jscript.dll regsvr32.exe vbscript.dll. Part 3: How to fix "server execution failed" error by Disabling WMP Network Sharing Service. The second solution to solve "server execution failed" is to fix it by disabling Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service. To disable Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service, follow the steps below. Step 1: On your keyboard, hold down the Windows logo key, then press R to bring up a Run box. Step 2: Then type services.msc in the box and press Enter. Step 3: Scroll down to find and right-click on Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service. Then click Properties. Step 4: Under the General pane, set Startup type to be disabled. Then click OK. Restart your computer and check if you could open Windows Media Player. Part 4: How to fix "server execution failed" error by Regaining Control of Your User Folder. If you have been performing certain changes on your OS, it's quite possible that something has made your user folder locked from the Media Player and you will need to gain control of it in order to allow Windows Media Player to access files under your administration. Follow the instructions below in order to do so: Open File Explorer, and then locate the C > Users > YourUsername. Right-click on the folder, click Properties, and then navigate to the Security tab. Click the Advanced button in order to open the Advanced Security Settings window. Here you need to change the Owner of the key so start off by clicking the Change link next to the "Owner:" label. The Select User or Group window will appear. Select your user account via the Advanced button or just type your username in the area which says 'Enter the object name to select' and click OK. Also, to change the owner of all subfolders and files inside the folder, select the check box "Replace owner on sub containers and objects" in the "Advanced Security Settings" window. Click OK to change the ownership. Now you will need to provide full access to the folder for your account. Navigate back to the Security tab in the Properties windows and click the Add button in order to open the Permission Entry window. Click on Select a principal and choose your account. Set permissions to "Full control" and click OK. You can also choose the "Replace all existing inheritable permissions on all descendants with inheritable permissions from this object" option in the "Advanced Security Settings" window as well. Part 5: How to fix "server execution failed" error with by Reinstalling Java. Reinstalling Java can definitely solve this issue in many cases as Windows Media Player relies on its runtime to work. Your computer probably has it installed by now so make sure you uninstall the version you have installed in order to install the new one. First you need to uninstall the old version of Java. Click on the Start menu located at the bottom left part of your screen. Select Settings by clicking on the gear icon above the Power button in Start menu. Select Apps section in the Settings app. Select Java from the list of installed apps and then click its Uninstall button. Respond to the instructions displayed on screen to complete the uninstall process. Now install a new version of Java. There are two ways of installing Java. You can either use the online installer which only downloads a small file which is used to download the entire program, or you can download the entire package and install it without an active Internet connection. Here is how to install it offline: Go to the Manual download page and click on Windows Offline. The File Download dialog box appears prompting you to run or save the download file Click Save to download the file to your local system. Close all applications including your browser and double-click on the saved file to start the installation process. Click the Install button to accept the license terms and to continue with the installation. Oracle has partnered with companies that offer various products. The installer may present you with option to install these programs when you install Java. After ensuring that the desired programs are selected, click the Next button to continue the installation. A few brief dialogs confirm the last steps of the installation process; click Close on the last dialog. This will complete Java installation process. Part 6: How to fix Windows Media Player "server execution failed" with WMP alternative. All of the solutions introduced above requires some basic knowledges of the Windows operating system. If you are not quite familiar with the solutions introduced above, you may find them quite confusing, even the fact being they are actually super simple. But don't worry, here is a very easy way to fix the Windows Media Player "server execution failed" error, it requires zero knowledges about anything. You simply need to install a media player program that is powerful enough to replace the Windows Media Player, and you don't need to worry about the problem ever again. The player program that I'll recommend here is Leawo Blu-ray Player. Leawo Free Blu-ray Player. ☉ 100% free movie player for Mac users to play Ultra HD 4K, 1080P and 720P video for free.

☉ Free Blu-ray disc player to play 4K Blu-ray disc and 1080P Blu-ray disc, regardless of disc protection and region code.

☉ Support multiple audio decoding systems like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.

☉ Adjust subtitles, video and audio during media playback. Being one of the best Windows Media Player alternatives, Leawo Blu-ray Player contains all media playback solutions you need for your leisure entertainment including Blu-ray, DVD, CD, HD (4K), ISO file with AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV/MKA and other popular formats supported. As a free media player software for both Windows and Mac OS, Leawo Blu-ray Player's practical bonus features including useful power manager, custom skin / language / background, snap screenshots, especially virtual remote controller makes it a better choice for all Blu-ray playback choice. Furthermore, within Leawo Blu-ray Player, you could obtain the personalized settings according to your preference and all the settings could be done automatically. How to change default media player in Windows to Leawo Blu-ray Player? For the details, please refer to the following.