diff --git a/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.cpp b/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.cpp
index b86020eb34..b12cc1bd67 100644
--- a/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.cpp
+++ b/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.cpp
@@ -838,6 +838,8 @@ handle_stdin_message(winrt::hstring const &&msg) {
     return exit_code;
 }
 
+#define INITIALIZE_FAILURE_MESSAGE  "Failed to initialize SpeechSynthesizer and MediaPlayer"
+
 static PyObject*
 run_main_loop(PyObject*, PyObject*) {
     if (!run_catching_exceptions([]() {
@@ -864,7 +866,7 @@ run_main_loop(PyObject*, PyObject*) {
         media_player = MediaPlayer();
         media_player.AudioCategory(MediaPlayerAudioCategory::Speech);
         media_player.AutoPlay(true);
-    }, "Failed to initialize SpeechSynthesizer and MediaPlayer", __LINE__)) {
+    }, INITIALIZE_FAILURE_MESSAGE, __LINE__)) {
         return PyLong_FromLongLong(1);
     }
 
@@ -916,6 +918,7 @@ static PyMethodDef methods[] = {
 
 static int
 exec_module(PyObject *m) {
+    PyModule_AddStringMacro(m, INITIALIZE_FAILURE_MESSAGE);
     return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.py b/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.py
index 476f56a070..8c91716d28 100644
--- a/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.py
+++ b/src/calibre/utils/windows/winspeech.py
@@ -107,11 +107,22 @@ class SpeechError(OSError):
 
 
 class NoAudioDevices(OSError):
+    display_to_user = True
     def __init__(self):
         super().__init__(_('No active audio output devices found.'
                            ' Connect headphones or speakers. If you are using Remote Desktop then enable Remote Audio for it.'))
 
 
+class NoMediaPack(OSError):
+    display_to_user = True
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        super().__init__(_('This computer is missing the Windows MediaPack, which is needed for Read aloud. Instructions'
+                           ' for installing it are available at {}').format(
+
+            'https://support.medal.tv/support/solutions/articles/48001157311-windows-is-missing-media-pack'))
+
+
 class Error(NamedTuple):
     msg: str
     error: str = ''
@@ -121,8 +132,11 @@ class Error(NamedTuple):
     related_to: int = 0
 
     def as_exception(self, msg='', check_for_no_audio_devices=False):
+        from calibre_extensions.winspeech import INITIALIZE_FAILURE_MESSAGE
         if check_for_no_audio_devices and self.hr == 0xc00d36fa:
             return NoAudioDevices()
+        if check_for_no_audio_devices and self.hr == 0x80070002 and self.msg == INITIALIZE_FAILURE_MESSAGE:
+            return NoMediaPack()
         return SpeechError(self, msg)