How to Use the Windows Media Player As an Alarm Clock on XP

You can make Windows Media Player work as an alarm clock on your computer.

Windows Media Player is an application that plays and manages audio and video files on the Windows XP operating system. You can use Windows Media Player as an alarm clock by configuring your computer to invoke Windows Media Player at a specified date and time while instructing it to play the audio file of your choice.

Things You'll Need

• Administrator access to the computer

Instructions

1. Log in to the computer as a user with Administrator privileges.

2. Choose the audio file you want Windows Media Player to play when the alarm clock goes off. It can be in any of the formats (MP3, WMA, ASF, etc.) Windows Media Player supports. For example, the file can contain a song, or a sound effect such as a siren.

3. Click "Start," then "All programs," then select "Accessories." Click on "System tools," then on "Scheduled tasks," then click on "Add Scheduled Task." The Scheduled Task Wizard will come up. Click "Next."

4. Click on "Windows Media Player" on the list of programs, then click "Next." Select "One time only," click "Next," and enter the date and time when you want the alarm clock to go off. Click "Next." Enter the user name and password of the account that will invoke Windows Media Player (it can be the same account you are using at the time.) Click "Next," then "Finish."

5. Click "Start," then "All Programs," then select "Accessories." Click on "System tools," then on "Scheduled tasks." Right-click on the task you just created, then select "Properties." Click on the text field labeled "Program path," then add the full path to the file chosen in Step 2 between double quotes (e.g., "c:\Documents and Settings\Dave\My Music\siren.mp3") Click "OK." The alarm clock is fully configured at this point.

References

• Microsoft: How To Schedule Tasks in Windows XP