'Find Album Info' Not Working In Windows Media Player? Try This [1]

Windows Media Plaer logo If 'Find Album Info' isn't working in Windows Media player, or you're getting a script error or a 'page not found' error message, this tip can help.

The last few months the Windows computers around here haven't been able to find album info in Windows Media Player. It's happened with more than one version of Windows (Windows 7 and 8.1). I went through various tips and suggestions until I finally found the culprit.
For some reason, the IP address for the service Microsoft uses to retrieve album information gets changed in the Windows HOSTS file.
Here's how to fix it:

Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\
Open the hosts file using Notepad (clicking on the hosts file should bring up a list of programs to open the file, or right click on the hosts file and choose 'Open with' and choose Notepad)
Check if the following line is in the hosts file:
2.18.213.82 redir.metaservices.microsoft.com
If the numbers next to redir.metaservices.microsoft.com are 0.0.0.0., change them to 2.18.213.82
Save the file
Copy the file back to the original folder (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\).
Delete the .txt extension on the hosts file

It's worth noting that this error returned after some weeks and the IP address had to be changed to the correct address again.
Update: It seems the HOSTS file was being changed by Spybot Anti-Beacon. I've uninstalled the program.
If you're having other issues with Windows Media Player, here are sites I found helpful in my searches:

(via Microsoft Forums [6])

You can find more Tech Treats here [7].

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