Sound Across Slides in PowerPoint 2003 and 2002 for Windows

Follow these steps to loop a music or any audio file across slides in PowerPoint 2003 or 2002 (XP):

1. Navigate the first slide of the presentation and choose the Insert | Movies and Sounds | Sound from File… option, as shown in Figure 2, below.
2. 
   Figure 2: Sound from file
2. Doing so opens the Insert Sound dialog box, as shown in Figure 3, below. Navigate to the sound track you want to insert and click the OK button.
3. 
   Figure 3: Insert Sound
3. PowerPoint brings up a message window, as shown in Figure 4, below asking how you want the sound to start in the slide show. You can choose the When Clicked option, but Automatically works best, so go ahead and select Automatically.
4. 
   Figure 4: Play the sound automatically
4. This action will insert the sound in the slide. Figure 5, below, shows the inserted audio icon that you'll probably find right in the center of the slide.
5. 
   Figure 5: Audio icon
5. Right-click the audio icon and choose the Custom Animation option in resultant contextual menu, as shown in Figure 6, below.
6. 
   Figure 6: Right-click menu
7. Doing so opens the Custom Animation Task Pane on the right side of the PowerPoint interface.
6. Now click the sound file listed within the Custom Animation Task Pane, as shown in Figure 7, below. Click again on the down arrow next to the name of your sound file to bring up a menu. In this resultant menu, choose Effect Options, as shown in Figure 7.
7. 
   Figure 7: Effect options
7. This action will summon the Play Sound dialog box, as shown in Figure 8, below. In the Effects tab, under Start playing choose the From beginning radio button. For the Stop playing option, choose After and type 999, as shown in Figure 8.
8. 
   Figure 8: Play Sound

Why 999 Slides?

You type 999 in the After text box since that's the largest number that PowerPoint will allow you to add.
8. In the Timings tab, match your settings with what you see in Figure 9, below.
9. 
   Figure 9: Timing tab
10. When done, click the OK button to get back to your slide.
9. Right-click the audio icon again and choose the Edit Sound Object option, as shown in Figure 10, below.
10. 
    Figure 10: Edit Sound Object
10. This action brings up the Sound Options dialog box, shown in Figure 11, below.
11. 
    Figure 11: Sound Options
12. Under Play options check the Loop until stopped check-box, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 11, above. And, click the OK button.
11. In all versions of PowerPoint, you might see an audio icon on the slide where you inserted the sound. If you don't like the icon on the slide, just drag it to anywhere off the slide, and your sound shall still play fine.
12. Save your presentation often.