Technical Support

Why does windows media player open when I try to download?
To download, please right click and choose 'save link as...' or 'save target as...'

Why do I get an empty file when trying to download?
After your page loads, your download will time out after 30 minutes. If you then try to click on the link after the alloted time, you will only download an empty file. All you need to do is refresh the page and try again.

Why can't I stream videos through windows?
If you are unable to view the Windows Media streaming version, follow these steps: open Windows Media Player and click Tools. Select Options and then Network tab. Make sure TCP or RTSP/TCP is checked. Click 'Apply' and then 'OK'. Then click on the 'Stream Video (Windows Media) link again.

When are new videos uploaded?
CardRunners currently uploads a new video 6 days a week Monday through Saturday, generally by 5pm EST.

How are the videos produced and can I contribute a video?
Go to Camtasia.com and download the 30 day trial version. This is the software that the CardRunners pros use for our videos. There are free file hosting websites like RapidShare.com or MegaShares.com available that you can link to from our member contributions forum.

Can I watch videos on a Mac?
Late model Apple computers running Windows can download and view videos in Windows Media Player 11 like any other machines. All New videos are produced in flash. However, at present, 471 of our 575 archived videos currently are in flash. We are presently transitioning all videos to flash format to allow full support for Mac OS X.

Can I download videos to my computer?
Yes. All of our videos are downloadable to your computer by Gold members (not Daypass users). Depending on your bandwidth speed, they could take anywhere from five minutes to an hour to download. Once the download is complete, you will be asked by Windows Media Player to obtaining a license (simply enter your username and password, the same you use to login to CardRunners.com, to obtain your DRM license and then press the play button at the bottom of that window). If for some reason you cannot find the video on your computer, you can use the Wndows search function by the video's title to find where it has been stored. Once downloaded, you can access the video offline for 14 days before you are asked to renew the license. You must have an active subscription to obtain a license.

Can I load videos on my iPod/iPhone/Xbox/etc? Can I burn the videos to watch on my DVD player?
No. Unfortunately, CardRunners videos are only playable with Windows Media Player 11. Due to content protection and practicality issues, we do not have any plans to add support for portable players.

How can I watch videos offline when I am not connected to the internet?
Yes. Gold members (not Daypass users), after obtaining a license for a video via Windows Media Player 11 will have access for 14 days before you are asked to login again. Simply download, open, and login to obtain a license for every video you want be able to watch offline and you will be able to play the video(s) without an internet connection until the license expires.

Troubleshooting Tips

Before emailing support, please make sure you have gone through all the tips listed below.

1. Update your computer (http://update.microsoft.com/ ). This might be undesirable, and time consuming, but there are some Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Windows Media Player (WMP) components that are updated when updating Windows. Also, because the DRM component in WMP uses Internet Explorer (IE) to authenticate, try updating IE to the latest version. The latest version is Internet Explorer 7. It's important to complete this step even if your computer is set to "Automatically Update". Automatic Updates typically addresses security flaws and critical system patches, which may or may not include IE, WMP and DRM component updates. Make sure you reboot your computer after any updates. If updating your computer does not help, proceed to the next number in this list. If you are having any sort of errors involving a DRM component, Microsoft just came out with a security upgrade, which is affecting our member's ability to view videos. Copy and paste this link in your Internet Explorer browser, install the active X control on your browser when prompted by the website, then click upgrade again and make sure you are redirected to a webpage that says the upgrade has been a success. http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/crlupdate/en/crlupdate.html
2. WMP11 is the only cardrunners.com supported media player and is required to view CardRunners.com videos. Make sure you are using the latest version. To check which version you are using, try streaming a cardrunners.com video using IE. When the player window loads, right click on the player and click About. Alternately, you can open WMP by clicking the Windows Start Button, selecting All Programs and then Windows Media Player. Once the player loads, selecting Help - > About Windows Media Player from the file menu should display a window with the WMP version . Click here download the latest version of Windows Media Player (WMP 11). After WMP is installed, launch it to ensure the initial WMP configuration wizard runs. In the wizard, it's important that WMP remains the default player for Windows Media Video (.wmv) files. Make sure you reboot your computer after any WMP updates. If updating your WMP does not help, proceed to the next number in this list.
3. Clear out all your temporary internet files in IE7.
   1. Click on Tools from Internet Explorer's main menu.
   2. Select Internet Options.
   3. On the General Tab, under Browsing History, click Delete.
   4. Click Delete Files and Delete Cookies.
   5. Close all open windows.
   6. Close all open Internet Explorer Windows.
   7. Restart Internet Explorer.
4. Review the Microsoft FAQ for Windows Media Player.
5. If using Mozilla FireFox to stream videos, review a Full Step-By-Step Guide: Embedded Windows Media in Firefox.
6. If you are unable to view cardrunners.com videos after following the above 6 steps, please complete the following steps, in order. Please set aside up to 30 minutes to perform the following:
   1. Open Windows Explorer. Go to Tools > Folder Options > View. Check the box that says "Show hidden files" and uncheck the one that says "hide protected operating system files". You will be presented with a warning; click Yes to the warning. Click Apply. Click Ok.
   2. Browse to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users. You should see a dimmed folder titled "DRM". Dimmed folders represent "hidden" folders in Windows.
      1. For Vista users, this folder is located in the c:\users\USERNAME\appdata\local\microsoft
   3. Delete the DRM folder and everything in it.
   4. Reset your folder view options that were changed in step 7.1.
   5. Download and install the latest WMP 11.
   6. Reboot your computer.
   7. Open WMP 11 (no video, just launch the program and make sure the settings and wizards for customizations have completed). Don't adjust any advanced settings at this point. Close WMP 11 after you're finished.
   8. Open IE7 and paste the following URL into the address bar: http://www.ezdrm.com/demo/Free/industrial.wmv . If you can view and hear this video then you should be capable of viewing cardrunners.com videos. If you cannot view or hear the video above, proceed to the next number in this list.
7. If all of the above steps have been attempted and you are still experiencing problems viewing cardrunners.com videos, please send an email to the website admin at admin@cardrunners.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Please indicate the following in your email:
   1. Your username.
   2. Your operating system (version), browser version, and WMP version.
   3. Indicate if the problem is viewing the streaming videos, the downloadable videos, or both.
   4. Any specific error messages you receive.
   5. Any other descriptive data that might provide insight into the problem you are experiencing, such as "videos works on my laptop, but not my desktop", or "I enter my username and password but the play button never seems to activate".

Common WMP11 Errors
Make sure your graphics card/chipset drivers are the latest releases, visit ATI, Nvidia, Intel, etc. respective websites and download their driver software. Many video errors or anomalies are caused by outdated drivers.

Error : C00D11B1
This is an audio error with the WMP configuration on your computer, there is no single fix that works for everyone. The Microsoft Support Page may look like this for this error and reports there is a problem with your sound card. Updating your sound card to the latest driver may not resolve the issue. This can occur when another program or operating system component encounters a problem but does not communicate the nature of the problem to the WMP, so troubleshooting is difficult. At the moment there is no known "fix-all" solution for this error variety (several factors can contribute to this error code). If you upgraded from XP to Vista, Microsoft states "This issue occurs if the computer is using a Windows XP Display Driver Model (XDDM) graphics adapter driver." Please read Microsoft's KB article for more details if you upgraded to Vista. Tech support is closely monitoring news groups regarding this error and will report updates as they are discovered. Some may find the tips and tricks from one of Microsoft's own WMP team members useful. More additional help can be found here.

Error : 2147188722
This error code occurs while trying to acquire a license to view a video. Completing step 6 in the troubleshooting guide resolves this error.

Error : C00D2EEA
The C00D2EEA error is a network problem that occurs with videos in IE using a broadband connection. In order to fix this problem please open IE and try the following:

1. Go to Tools | Internet Options | Connections | LAN Settings.
2. Uncheck "Automatically detect settings."
3. If you are using a proxy, check "Proxy server" for correct setting

If you constantly get 'buffering' while trying to view CR videos and you've updated your WMP, do the following:

1. Tools -> Options -> Network. Disable RTSP/UDP, RTSP/TCP. You only want HTTP checked.
2. Tools -> Options -> Performance. Under network buffering, click buffer instead of use default. Set buffer at 10 seconds.

"License Storage Error"
This error can occur while trying to acquire a license to view a video and indicates a corrupt DRM folder. Completing steps 7.1 - 7.4; 7.8 should resolve this error. Alternately, you can follow Microsoft's step-by-step to resetting your DRM store.

I get the message "Windows Media Player cannot play the protected file because a security upgrade is required. Do you want to download the security upgrade?", but nothing happens.
Review this page for possible resolutions.

My computer crashes and I get a "ialmrnt5 Display Driver has stopped working normally" message.
This is a driver issue. Try going here, select your operating system, download the driver, and then run the file (don't worry about the type of chipset used, its from the same family).