How To Set the Windows Media MIME Type on an Apache Web Server (241080)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Media Services 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server NetShow Services 3.0
This article was previously published under Q241080
The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

SUMMARY

When placing .asx, .asf, .wma, and .wax files on a Web server it is necessary to change the Web server's MIME type so that client Web browsers understand how to handle these files. If no MIME type is set for these file types, the MIME type sent from the Web server to the browser is by default text/html, and that is incorrect. This can cause your .asx or .wax files to show in the browser window instead of starting the Windows Media Player.

MORE INFORMATION

To set up Windows Media MIME types for Apache, complete the following steps.
  1. Make sure you have server administration privileges. If you do not have server administration privileges and cannot get these privileges, relay this information to your server administrator and ask your server administrator to update these MIME type extensions.
  2. Change the folders to <apache_root>/httpd/conf. Edit the Srm.conf file.
  3. Add the following lines of code to the end of the file, or to the same location as the other AddType video/* entries. 
    AddType video/x-ms-asf asf asx
AddType audio/x-ms-wma wma
AddType audio/x-ms-wax wax
    If you add these lines to the end of the file, make sure the file ends with a blank line.
  4. Save your changes and close the editor.
  5. Restart the Web server.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/30/2004
Keywords:kbhowto KB241080
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