I tried the downloads - but to no avail - my error message was actually that the audo codec "ACELP.net(130)" was missing - finally found the answer on another forum - so am sharing that here
You can find it here:
http://www.free-codecs.com/Acelp_net_Codec_download.htm
Worked like a charm. I am now too tired and frustrated to watch the tutorial videos I was interested in 3 hours ago.