| Q.
| How do I uninstall the Player? |
| A.
| Windows Media Player is a feature of the Windows operating system and cannot be removed entirely. However, depending upon which version of the Player and Windows that you are using, you might be able to roll back to the version of the Player that was previously on your computer. The procedure varies depending upon which version of the Player you are running. 
Windows Media Player 11
1.
| In Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs. | 2.
| Click Remove a program, and then, at the top of the list, select the Show updates check box. | 3.
| In the Windows Updates section, click Windows Media Player 11, and then click Change/Remove. | 4.
| If prompted, restart your computer, and then log on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. | 5.
| In Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs. | 6.
| In the Windows Updates section, click Windows Media Format 11 Runtime, and then click Change/Remove. | 7.
| If prompted, restart your computer, and then log on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group. | 8.
| In Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove a program.
| 9.
| Click Microsoft User-Mode Driver Frameworks Feature Pack 1.0, and then click Change/Remove. |
Note
If you remove Windows Media Player 11 and the Windows Media Format 11 Runtime, and you try to play a protected file, you may get an error message indicating that the Player cannot play, burn, or sync protected files. To resolve the problem, you can install the Windows Media Format 9.5 Runtime. For information about installing the Runtime, in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, see article 891122, "Update for Windows Media Digital Rights Management-enabled players." You can also use System Restore to roll back to the previous version of the Player. For more information about System Restore, see Use System Restore to Undo Changes if Problems Occur.
Windows Media Player 10 If you have installed Windows Media Player 10, you can roll back to the version of the Player that was on your computer before installation by doing the following: 1.
| In Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs. | 2.
| Click Remove a program, and then do one of the following: | • | If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, at the top of the list, select the Show updates check box, in the Windows Updates section, click Windows Media Player 10, and then click Change/Remove. | | • | If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 1 or earlier, click Windows Media Player 10, and then click Change/Remove. |
|
You can also use System Restore to roll back to the previous version of the Player. For more information about System Restore, see Use System Restore to Undo Changes if Problems Occur.
Windows Media Player 9 Series The method for removing Windows Media Player 9 Series from your computer varies depending on the version of the Windows operating system your computer is running. Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP Home Edition, or Windows XP Professional | Use System Restore in Windows. Windows Media Player 9 Series will be removed and the previous version of the Player will be restored. Any CD tracks that you had ripped (copied) to your computer will remain and can be played in the previous version of Windows Media Player. For more information about System Restore, see Use System Restore to Undo Changes if Problems Occur. | Windows 98 Second Edition or Windows 2000 | In Control Panel, click Add/Remove Programs, and then click Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player 9 Series will be removed. For more information about adding or removing programs, see Windows Help and Support. |
|
| Q.
| Can I remove access to the Player on my computer? |
| A.
| Yes. If your computer is running Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows XP SP2, Windows 2000 SP3, or Windows 2000 SP4, you can use the Set Program and Access Defaults feature to remove links to the Player on your computer. Note that this does not remove the Windows Media Player software. To remove access to the Player, do the following: 1.
| In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs. | 2.
| Click the Set Program and Access Defaults button, and then choose a configuration (such as "Non-Microsoft" or "Custom"). |
|
| Q.
| Can I change the location of the Player installation? |
| A.
| No. The installation location is a requirement of the Windows operating system, and can't be changed. |
| Q.
| Why doesn't the mini Player work after I install Windows Media Player 10? |
| A.
| In some cases, the mini Player might not function or the buttons might not be available (appear "grayed out") after you install Windows Media Player 10. To fix the problem, try restarting your computer. If the problem persists, do the following: 1.
| Right-click an open area of the Windows taskbar (such as below the system clock), point to Toolbars, and then click Windows Media Player. This removes the check mark beside Windows Media Player and turns off mini Player mode. | 2.
| Restart your computer. | 3.
| Reinstall Windows Media Player 10 (do not try to remove your existing copy of Windows Media Player 10 first). | 4.
| Restart your computer again. |
|
| Q.
| What are the version numbers of the Player? |
| A.
| For information about version numbers of the Player, see Versions of Windows Media Player. |
| Q.
| How do I turn off AutoUpgrade? |
| A.
| For more information about turning off AutoUpgrade for the Player, in the Microsoft Knowledge Base, see article 278960, "How to disable Automatic Updates with Windows Media Player." |
| Q.
| Why doesn’t Windows Media Player 11 install on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005?
 |
| A.
| You might have difficulty installing Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP on a computer running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 if you have not installed the most recent Windows updates. If you encounter problems installing Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP on a computer running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, try installing the updates mentioned in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles: | • | Article 900325, "Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005" | | • | Article 925766, "October 2006 Update Rollup for Windows XP Media Center Edition" |
In addition, go to Windows Update and install any other recommended updates. |
| Q.
| Why is a different player or program opening my audio and video files when Windows Media Player was set as my default digital media player?
|
| A.
| If you set Windows Media Player as the default digital media player for an audio or video file type but a different player or program opens that file type instead, one of the following situations may have occurred: | • | Another program that competes for audio and video file types, for example .mp3 or .mpg, may have "taken over" that file type, even after you associated the file type with the Player. This program may use registry monitoring to maintain the file-type association. If this happens, you may be able to remove the file-type association in the other program. For more information, see the documentation for the program that has taken over the file-type association. | | • | A program, such as a Web browser, may use its own file-type association methods to change the default program for a file type. In this case, you can use the configuration options provided by that program to change the file-type association back to Windows Media Player. For more information, see the documentation for that program. | | • | In Windows Explorer, you may have used the Open With command to open a file with a different program, and on the Open With dialog box, you may have selected the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file check box. In this case, you can use the same Open With command to change the file-type association back to Windows Media Player. To do so, right-click a file, point to Open With, and then click Choose Program. On the Open With dialog box, click Windows Media Player, and then select the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file check box. |
|
| Q.
| My question isn't answered in this FAQ. What can I do? |
| A.
| If you do not find an answer to your question in this FAQ, try the following resources: | • | See Windows Media Player Help. To access Help, start Windows Media Player and then press F1. | | • | For other Windows Media FAQs, including other versions of the Player, see Frequently asked questions about Windows Media.
| | • |
To find additional support and troubleshooting resources, see Troubleshooting Windows Media Player.
| | • |
Submit a question to the Windows Media Player newsgroup. Please note that the newsgroup is maintained by a community of knowledgeable users offering peer-to-peer assistance. It is not an official Microsoft technical support resource. As such, Microsoft cannot guarantee that your question will be answered. When you ask a question on the newsgroup, be as specific as possible. For example, be sure to include the following basic information: | • |
Windows Media Player version. (On the Help menu, click About Windows Media Player.) For example, the version might be 10.00.00.xxxx.
| | • |
Windows operating system version. (Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.) In your question, include the full version name (for example, Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2).
| | • | The task that you were trying to accomplish prior to encountering the problem. | | • | If an error message is displayed, note the error message text. (For example, it might say "Windows Media Player has encountered an unknown error.") | | • |
If an error message is displayed, note the error message ID number (for example, "C00D11CD"). You can determine the ID number by clicking the Web Help or More Information button when the error message is displayed.
| | • | If the problem only occurs when you use a particular file, Web link, or URL, provide details about that item. |
|
|
| Q.
| How do I find information about error messages? |
| A.
| To find the error code identification number for a particular error message, on the error message, do one of the following: | • |
Click the Web Help button. A Web page is displayed. The specific error code identification number is mentioned in the first sentence (for example, C00D1197).
| | • |
Click the More Information button. A Help topic is displayed. The specific error code identification number is mentioned in the title or at the bottom of the topic (for example, C00D1197).
|
For information about Windows Media Player error messages, see Troubleshooting Windows Media Player Error Messages.
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