Tips to open HDS file

Can't open the HDS file? You are not the only one. Thousands of users face similar problems every day. Below you will find tips on how to open HDS files as well as a list of programs that support HDS files.

HDS file extension

File Name Microsoft PlayReady Data Format
File Developer Microsoft
File Category Data Files

The HDS file is supported on 1 operating systems. Depending on your operating system, you may need different software to handle the HDS files. Below is a summary of the number of programs that support and open the HDS file on each system platform.

Operating systems
  • 3
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

What is HDS file?

The file with the extension HDS is the Data Files file type. The creator of this file is Microsoft. Data Files consists of 1326 similar files. Microsoft PlayReady Data Format is most often found on 1 operating systems. The file will work on Windows systems, unfortunately not on others. There are also 2 alternative programs to handle the HDS file. You can use Windows Media Player, Microsoft Windows in case Microsoft PlayReady cannot be used.

How to open HDS file?

The most common problem when using Microsoft PlayReady Data Format is that a specific HDS is not associated with the program. This is manifested by the fact that HDS files open in unusual applications or do not have an assigned program. How to solve such a problem?

The first thing you should do is just "doubleclick" on the HDS file icon you want to open. If the operating system has an appropriate application to support it and there is also an association between the file and the program, the file should be opened.

Step 1. Install Microsoft PlayReady

An often overlooked issue is to make sure that Microsoft PlayReady is installed on the computer. This can be achieved by typing Microsoft PlayReady into the operating system search engine. If we do not have this program, it is worth installing it, as it will help you automatically associate the file HDS with Microsoft PlayReady. Below is a list of programs that support the file HDS.

Step 2. Create association of Microsoft PlayReady with HDS files

If the application is or has been freshly installed, but the HDS file still does not use the Microsoft PlayReady program, it means no association. The association can be created using the drop-down list available by right-clicking on the file and selecting Properties. The displayed window will contain information about the program that supports this type of file. Using the "Change" button we can select the desired program. It may happen that in the next window there will be no appropriate program - however, this can be corrected with the "Browse" option where you should manually indicate the program location. Checking the "Always use the selected program ..." box will permanently associate the HDS file with the Microsoft PlayReady program.

Step 3. Update Microsoft PlayReady to the latest version

If, however, after binding Microsoft PlayReady with Microsoft PlayReady Data Format there were still problems, you should update the program to the latest version.

Step 4. Check for the following problems with the HDS file

Of course, it may happen that despite the above steps, the file still does not work. File problems can be divided into the following:

The HDS file may be unusually small compared to the original file. Usually this applies to HDS files downloaded from the Internet in case the download did not finish properly. The file should be downloaded again, making sure that the process has finished correctly.
The most common cause here is computer viruses. Perform a virus scan using available and up-to-date anti-virus software. If this is not possible, you can use the online scanner. For the best results, we will scan the entire operating system, not just our HDS file. However, remember that not every infected HDS file can be recovered, so it is important to take care of regular backups.
Older version of HDS file may not always be supported by the latest software version. Help should be sought from the software developer, as they usually recommend using free file converters or installing an older version of the program.
The file may be corrupted in a number of ways. Depending on the type of file, it is necessary to repair it accordingly. Sometimes the program itself has options to repair the most popular HDS file corruption.
When reading, a message appears that the file was encrypted or corrupted. The encrypted HDS files can be used by the device on which they were encrypted, on any other device it is required to have the appropriate cryptographic key and decrypt the file before its recovery.
The operating system protects files in some locations (e.g. the root of the system partition) against unauthorized access. These directories are write-protected to them and it's very hard to fix this problem. If possible, you can try to move the HDS file to another location.
This problem usually affects more complex files. In this case, the HDS file is blocked by the first application to open it. Closing other programs should help. If the error persists after closing other programs, wait for a while. Antivirus programs or a backup being made may lock the file for a while without the user's knowledge. If the problem persists, restart the machine.