[QUOTE=unseelie craig]when clicking the "search for player updates" on media player i get this message that says:
"a more recent version of windows media player is already running on your computer. setup cannot continue."
QUOTE]

I was looking on the windows customer support center (assuming that you have XP) and I came across this:
"If you try to play certain games on a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computer, you may experience any one or more of the following symptoms:• The game may stop responding (hang).
• The game may quit unexpectedly (crash) when the introductory video clip starts.
• You may receive an error message that is similar to one of the following error messages:
Video not available - cannot find 'VIDS:IV50' decompressor
Failed (hr=0x80004002) in pVW-> put_Owner((OAHWND)HWnd)"

It sounds like the problem you are having. The fix they have is the following:
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, obtain and install the 327979 recommended update.

If you want to read the whole article go to www.microsoft.com and do a site search for 327979. It should be the first article on the list. If that doesn't work then try browsing the microsoft support center or asking the support people directly. Good Luck.