Windows Media Player Uninstall

Windows Media Player lets you turn your computer into a full entertainment center. It also lets you watch videos and run presentations you need for your business. At times, Windows Media Player might start running slowly or stop playing media altogether.

If you’re having problems with media playback on your Windows 10, 8, 7 or even Windows XP PC using Windows Media Player, you might need to uninstall or reinstall Windows Media Player. However, you cannot use the standard Windows uninstall process - you need to use the Windows features dialog to uninstall and reinstall Windows Media Player. But how?

Uninstall Windows Media Player

This methods will work fine for Windows 8 or 8.1 and Windows 7. Before you can uninstall Windows Media Player from Windows 7, you need to log in to your PC using an account that has administrative privileges. Once you log in, click on Start>Control Panel>Programs>Programs and Features. Open up Control Panel and type “windows features” into the search box, and then click on Turn Windows features on or off.

Go down to Media Features –> Windows Media Player.

Restart the computer

If you want to reinstalling the Windows Media Player:

  1. Go to Start and in the search type "Turn Windows features On or Off".
  2. Click on "Turn Windows features On or Off".
  3. Browse to the Media Features and place a check mark in front of Windows Media Player.
  4. Restart the Computer.

If you are having trouble using Windows Media Player, try using the troubleshooter to see if that fixes the problem.

Windows Media Player in Windows 10

If you have Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro with Media Center, or Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center and you install Windows 10, Windows Media Center will be removed. Media Player is built-in and legacy (the default music player in Windows 10 is Groove Music. You can change the default Windows Media player to something else by choose it as the default.

Uninstall Windows Media Player in Windows XP

Use the methods in the order presented to uninstall Windows Media Player 11.

Method 1: Uninstall Windows Media Player in safe mode

  1. Start the computer in safe mode. To do this, follow these steps:
    • Restart the computer.
    • Press F8 while the computer is restarting.
    • Click Safe Mode, and the press ENTER.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type appwiz.cpl, and then click OK.
  3. Click Windows Media Player 11, and then click Remove.
  4. Follow the prompts to uninstall Windows Media Player 11, and then restart the computer when you are prompted.
  5. If Windows Media Player 11 is not removed, try Method 2.

Method 2: Run a program to remove Windows Media Player

If Method 1 does not work, you can use this procedure to uninstall the core of Windows Media Player.

  1. Click Start, click Run, type %windir%\$ntUninstallwmp11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe, and then click OK.
  2. Click Next, and then click Finish.

There are many reasons why you may wish to uninstall Windows Media Player from Windows. Whatever the reason, Microsoft made it easy to do so. If you change your mind, you can always turn the application back on and start using it again.