Posted: January 12, 2010/Under: Operating Systems/By: My Digital Life Editorial Team

Windows Media Player 12 (WMP12) is the default and factory-installed media player that comes with Windows 7, and WMP12 does not have standalone setup installer available for free download. As such, Windows 7 users cannot uninstall and install Windows Media Player 12 manually. In fact, there is no entry of WMP12 in “Programs and Features” that allows uninstallation or removal.

There is chance that user may need to uninstall, remove and then re-install Windows Media Player 12, such as to fix WMP corruption (possibly due to attempt to downgrade or convert WMP12 to WMP11), or to reset and re-configure Windows Media Player.

For WMP 12 in Windows 7, here’s the steps to uninstall or re-install Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center (which will be removed if WMP is removed as it relies on WMP).

  1. Click on Start button, and open Control Panel -> Programs -> Programs and Features.
  2. Click on Turn Windows features on or off in the left pane.

    Turn Windows Features On or Off

  3. Expand Media Features.
  4. Uncheck (untick) check box for Windows Media Player.
  5. Click Yes to continue when prompted with dialog box saying:

    The following Windows features will also be turned off because they are dependent on Windows Media Player. Do you want to continue?

    Windows Media Center
    Other Windows features and programs installed on your computer might also be affected, including default settings.

    Affected Windows Features

  6. Click OK to remove WMP and WMC, and quit.

    Uninstall and Remove WMP 12 and WMC

  7. Restart computer.

To re-install Windows Media Player and/or Windows Media Center again, follow these steps:

  1. Open Turn Windows features on or off again.
  2. Check (tick) the checkbox for Windows Media Player and/or Windows Media Center.
  3. Restart computer.
  4. Windows Media Player 12 will be reinstate and reset. Launch Windows Media Player, and re-initialize the program.

Tip: If for some reason the re-installation of WMP and WMC is not clean, once uninstalled, try go to %ProgramFiles% (and %ProgramFiles(x86)% for 64-bit OS) folder, and delete the Windows Media Player folder.

Share This Post