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LScal · Guest

Hi,
A couple of days ago I was able to surf music.msn.com using my WMP10. I am
now getting "Error Contacting Service - Please try again later" - though I
can get all the other services and can get MSN music via my IE browser.
I would like to use WMP10 for my MSN downloads - Any suggestions?

Thanks

PalanceH · Guest

There are several of us having this exact issue of late. If you search the
news group with your error code, you'll find the posts I'm referring to ...
none of the steps listed helped me resolve my issue. I'd suggest for you to
read those posts because your question may be addressed.

In that context, here's how I solved my problem, because I am anal retentive
.... this was all working one day, then stopped the next. Here's what I've
found:

Using netstat, a built in network status tool in WinXP, I first opened a DOS
window then opened WM10. I then immediately went to the DOS window and typed
"netstat" at the prompt to see what websites were being connected to and
ironically I saw Walmart's website, Audible.com etc., but nothing for
music.msn.com. Note, the netstat list empties after 10-15 seconds. So, I
switched over to WM10, clicked the down arrow to list all music stores,
selected browse all music stores, then selected "Try using MSN Music".
Again, I then switched over to my DOS window, typed netstat at the prompt,
and I noticed the following URL attempted to connect:
beta.music.jimbotest.com. Being the rocket scientist that I am, I said self,
shouldn't it be going to music.msn.com. I tried to browse the jimbotest.com
URL in IE and of course it didn't work. I then searched the registry for the
jimbotest.com URL and nothing was found.

So, that was a long winded way to say I have no idea why
beta.music.jimbotest.com is trying to be accessed when it should be going to
music.msn.com. Knowing a thing or two about DNS, I entered the following
line in my hosts file:

207.68.180.245 beta.music.jimbotest.com

=== Side Note ===
The hosts file is located at c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc in WinXP.
Remember to save the file after the change. Also note, "hosts" is the
filename, it doesn't have a file extension. If it doesn't exist, then a file
named hosts.sam should be listed, just rename it to "hosts". It's a text
file so use notepad or your preferred text editor.
=============

Essentially, this redirects beta.music.jimbotest.com to the IP address of
music.msn.com and sure enough IT WORKED. I can now access MSN Music w/in
WM10.

Now here's the million dollar question ... why in the heck is
beta.music.jimbotest.com trying to be accessed, when it should be going to
music.msn.com? I hope this is not some security flaw w/in WM10, i.e. someone
hacked in via WM10 and changed a setting. If they did, there's no evidence
of this in the registry.

I hope this helped someone.

My $.02,
PalanceH

"LScal" wrote:

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