November 1, 2004
How do I uninstall Windows Media Player 10 and roll back to previous player
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 installing Windows Media Player 10.
To roll back from Windows Media Player 10 to a previous version, do the following:
1. In Control Panel (Category View), 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, select the Show updates check box (at the top of the list), click Windows Media Player 10 (in the Windows Updates section), and then click Change/Remove.
- or -
If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 1 or earlier, click Windows Media Player 10, and then click Change/Remove.
uninstall windows media player 10 (107)remove windows media player 10 (89)uninstall media player 10 (64)how to remove windows media player 10 (40)how to uninstall windows media player 10 (37)uninstall wmp 10 (35)uninstalling Windows Media Player 10 (33)windows media player 10 uninstall (31)removing windows media player 10 (21)how to uninstall media player 10 (21)how to uninstall wmp 10 (15)uninstall wmp (14)how to delete windows media player 10 (14)rollback windows media player (14)remove media player 10 (14)how do i uninstall windows media player 10 (13)remove wmp 10 (12)how to remove wmp 10 (12)how to get rid of windows media player (11)rollback to windows media player 9 (11)
Related Posts
Ken
11/27/2004 at 7:12 am
cool
KREMSTER
12/04/2004 at 10:15 pm
thanks for yor help on removing wmp 10 that programmsucks and was making me very mad. again thanks!!!
Jo
03/13/2005 at 9:37 am
THANK YOU!!!
Beryl
03/17/2005 at 6:50 am
Thanks for this help – but now i have another problem! I have gone back to Media Player 9 – and I can copy CD’s to the Library – but when I copy from the Library to a blank cd – I can’t play the cd. I didn’t have this problem before I upgraded and then rolled back. So I know it is not the CD. When I do the copy – the tracks do not convert and then copy – they seem to copy very fast onto the cd – and then there is nothing there. I don’t know how to deal with this problem – do you have a good suggestion?
Ellen
03/20/2005 at 9:00 am
I tried this, but it still DOES NOT GET RID OF THE PROGRAM. Please help. System restore won’t work either.
Zaku
05/07/2005 at 3:22 am
It doesn’t work!! Please help, I want Windows 9.0 back!! T__T
tonmanow
05/20/2005 at 9:04 am
I want Windows 9.0 back too.
Larry
06/18/2005 at 5:03 pm
The title was “How to remove wmp”, not “how do I roll it back!!”
No help here. You need to change the title so people like me won’t waste our time…..
Patrick
08/27/2005 at 5:30 am
Sorry but I agree with Larry – I want shot of it (I haven’t used WMP9 so can’t roll back) and searching Google brought me here – don’t mean to sound negative but title is misleading.
Ken
09/24/2005 at 4:13 am
Is that better?
Dave
09/25/2005 at 6:57 am
Geez, give the guy some credit. Thanks for the help man.
#6 and #7, Im sure we would all love to go back to Windows 9.0…Its unfortunate there is no such OS in existence.
Patrick
09/25/2005 at 12:53 pm
thanks Ken – wasn’t meant to be a snipe! And your right Dave, he does deserve credit.
Patrick
Patrick
09/25/2005 at 12:54 pm
…and btw, if you ever find out how to get rid of it completely, I’d be interested!
Patrick
Ken
09/26/2005 at 3:28 am
Believe me Im trying to find out myself. If I get anything on how to uninstall Windows Media Player 10 I’ll let you guys know.
Ken
09/26/2005 at 3:32 am
If you are trying to roll back and get a awkward error then rollback failure usually indicates that Media Player 10 Setup didn’t finish successfully. If rollback fails, you should use System Restore to roll back from Media Player 10 to your previous version.
For more information, see the Use System Restore to Undo Changes if Problems Occur Web page.
Marina
09/26/2005 at 10:27 pm
I FIXED IT! I got Windows media 9 back after getting windows 10 by doing system restore, THANK YOU!
Ken
09/28/2005 at 5:44 pm
I hope this website helped you. I’m still trying to perfect How to uninstall Windows Media Player 10 and roll back to previous player.
Ken Savage
02/14/2006 at 2:44 pm
Had anyone tried teh new IE 7 beta yet?
Here’s an article about the tabs in Internet Explorer 7
Miltos
02/16/2006 at 5:39 pm
I also have the same problem mentioned above.
I ‘ ve got mp10 since I installed XP so I can’t roll back.Would deleting all values named “media player” from the registry help?What’s your opinion?
Ken Savage
02/16/2006 at 9:26 pm
Noooo I wouldn’t not do that Miltos. Let me see what else I can find.
James Paterson
04/22/2006 at 5:15 pm
I’m Having Problems with WMP10.The Roll back may not work for XP WMP9 is No longer able to be used.
Can i remove it the same way you describe Ken ? I keep being asked for the CD,But it came down as an upgrade for PC from Microsoft.
If I put WMP10 back In will it be a clean version Please? Any help Would be Great.
Thanks and HAGD
James
pc4usa
04/28/2006 at 3:28 pm
You are the GREATEST
Ok….ok…..maybe not the greatest, but I really want to thank you very much to have an easy solution to a pet peave with microsoft.
Un-fortunately microsoft has a terrible sense of DUTY to incorporate uninstallers into all of their softwares.Media player 10 is not a good choice for radio listeners like myself. It blocks almost everything there is to listen out there. I have a few choice words I would like to say to them that I will keep to myself.
Tanya
05/07/2006 at 7:24 am
i never had windows media player 9 before. that’s why it says rollback failed. how do i manage this?
Ray
05/17/2006 at 7:18 pm
I have managed to remove Windows Media Player 10, after having had many of the same problem as the other users have reported here.
First, a little history:
I have been using WMP 9 – I especially like the Auto Play list feature which allows you to build a truly random playlist, unlike WMP 10 and WMP 11.
I had first upgraded to WMP10, because my iriver H10 manual said that it was required (not true). When I saw the problems with the Auto play list, I decided to try the WMP 11 beta. Auto Playlist feature still did not randomize properly. So I uninstalled WMP 11, which rolled back to WMP 10. I then tried to uninstall WMP 10 – and it wouldn’t work. I could not get rid of it. I also could not install older versions of WMP (9, 7.1, 7, 6.4) over WMP 10. I kept getting the message that a newer version of WMP was installed. The odd thing is that I had done this once before, last year. So I hypothesized that one of the service pack or security updates was the reason that I could no longer roll-back or install a version of WMP earlier 10.
I tried to do a system restore to a point before I had installed WMP 10. This is what I would recommend as your first choice. Unfortunately, I had already mucked around in the registry and system restore would not work. Also, this is not much help if you have not had an earlier version of WMP already installed on your computer.
So then it was time to get a little extreme. I uninstalled Windows XP Service Pack 2. This is not for the faint of heart. If you do this many things will happen, like all of your add-ons in Internet Explorer disappear. You will also be vulnerable to attack, so make sure that you disconnect from the internet, or have a firewall that is not dependent on SP2 installed and operating. You will also have to reinstall Service Pack 2 and all of the security updates.
Once you uninstall SP2, and reboot, check Add/Remove Programs in the control panel, and remove anything in the security patches that relate to Windows Media Player 10 – if there is anything still there relating to WMP 10
You should now be able to reinstall WMP9XP (check http://www.oldversions.com) or even earlier versions (I have not tried earlier versions).
Good luck but no guarantees. It worked for me – your mileage may vary.
Now, back to downloading and reinstallin all of those security updates, Google toolbar, etc. . . .
Ray
05/17/2006 at 7:20 pm
Sorry, that should have been http://www.oldversion.com.
Dan
05/23/2006 at 3:38 pm
Uninstalling WMP 10 is makin me angry… Can i just go into My Computer and delete the folder named Windows Media Player and then download WMP 9 off the internet?
Ray
05/23/2006 at 4:02 pm
No, you can’t just delete the WMP folder – or at least, I couldn’t. The weird and clever Microsoft service packs and updates automatically ask you to reinstall WMP10 whenever you try to open a media file, such as a WMA file. You also will not be able to reinstall WMP9 – you will get the message that a more recent version of WMP is already installed. Microsoft REALLY wants you to use WMP10 or later with Windows XP!
The only method that I have found of doing this with Windows XP is the method that I referred to above. I should also mention that after removing and reinstalling SP2 I had to also reinstall Internet Explorer and my VPN connection – so make sure that you have a copy of IE or some other web browser on hand before proceeding. As far as I can tell, nothing else has been affected.
Rock
06/25/2006 at 4:13 pm
Wel I have Win XP SP2, no updates here, so what do I have to do to remove wmp 10….
Please help me out..
Ken Savage
06/26/2006 at 12:26 am
Rock, easiest way is to just reformat the computer and start over. This is the easiest way I’ve found to Uninstall Windows media player 10
Stuck
07/03/2006 at 12:57 pm
Windows Media Player 11 won’t uninstall (rollback) to WMP 10. Via Add/Remove, I uninstalled Windows Media Player 11, Windows
Media Format 11 Runtime and Microsoft User Mode Driver Framework (as suggested on Microsot Website), but WMP 11 still on system.
Unfortunately, can’t use System Restore. Any
other info on how to remove WMP 11 would be appreciated.
Ray
07/03/2006 at 1:20 pm
Stuck,
Actually the latest version of WMP11 not only solved all of my problems with randomized playlists, but is PHENOMENALLY faster than previous versions at uploading files to my IRiver.
If you prefer the older version you can try the following:
Go to the Start/Control Program/Add or Remove Programs and make sure the Show Updates box is checked at the top of the window. Scroll down the list and see if you have an option for Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you do have this service pack installed as a removable patch, you should be able to follow the directions that I gave above. If not, then Ken’s suggestion may be best.
Before removing the service pack, make sure that you have backed up pretty much everything network related, especially your “favorites” in Internet Explorer, because you will have to reinstall Internet Explorer – assuming that this is your browser. I am not sure how it will affect non-MS browsers. Make sure that you have have the settings for any VPN clients that you are running, because these will have to be reinstalled. I would also backup everything in Outlook or whatever local e-mail client you are using.
Good luck.
Chronos
07/12/2006 at 9:42 am
Same problem as Stuck can’t uninstall can’t put the windows back to old state please helppppp!!!!!!!!!!
From Ireland with Love!
03/29/2007 at 3:38 pm
I want to email a .wpl track of me playing the piano to a friend; but she can’t open it – how come!? I can play it on Windows media.
Can I roll back to stone-age version of Windows Media player for it to work?
Kenny
04/05/2007 at 6:25 pm
I really .. hate this version!
… Because it was installed on my new computer, it kept rolling back to itself. It’s like there’s no way I can remove it from the computer to re-install the older version. It gets me pretty frustrated. I would recommend to stay away. Keep deleting the files, they keep coming back.
stacey
04/23/2007 at 6:09 am
thank you so much!!
I have been trying to get rid of windows media player 10 for ages and i came on this website and done what it said and it worked.
thank you ~ stacey x
Lauretta Yates
07/13/2007 at 9:12 am
I was able to put all my old reel to reel tapes on a cassette, and then into my music library, using the old version of media player, now I cannot do this, as it requires a program that I have to buy, how can I go back to version 9. I have 11 now
Lauretta Yates
07/13/2007 at 9:17 am
If i uninstall version 11 will it go back to 10?
Catherine
10/25/2007 at 8:15 am
I did not have system restore active when I installed WMP 10, so the roll back wouldn’t work. I was frustrated at first when I read the article on this page, but started reading the responses. I do agree that the title is misleading, but how many of us disabled system restore for some reason without realizing it would prevent us from reverting to our favorite WMP?
I will try the action of uninstalling SP2, although I’m scared to death of doing it. I can’t get any of my media to play on WMP 10 because it reads I don’t have the proper licenses, but I know I do.
Microsoft is a PITA.
Drew
10/27/2007 at 9:24 am
Have any of you good people noticed that “items played on the internet” and not automatically added to the library, even if the box “add music files to library when played” is checked? They are supposed to, according to the WMP10 help screen corresponding to this issue. Is it just me, or is Microsoft getting a tad frustrating?
Thanks!
April
01/07/2008 at 8:04 am
I don’t SP 2 and I still can’t get it to uninstall WMP 10. What do I do?
Uninstall Windows Media Player « nightblog
01/30/2008 at 10:08 pm
[...] Start -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Show Updates -> Windows XP – Software Updates -> (click) Windows Media Player 10 -> (click) Change/Remove -> follow instructions -> Restart! [via] [...]
Cristhian
05/12/2008 at 9:53 am
To those who are still struggling well I solved it along with some reading from people. To uninstall Media Player 10 and roll back to good old 9 the following needs to be done:
1. regedit to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Media Player\Setup\Installed Versions\ key. In here you should see 3 files that correspond to WMP10. Delete them.
2. Re-install WMP10 using the download from Microsoft. Don’t use update just download the stand alone installer. Its about 13MB.
3. After re-installing run this on your “run” window:
“C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\Setup_wm.exe” /Uninstall
this command will start the rollback and then it will prompt your computer to reboot. When you reboot you have WMP9 again.
Yogui
05/06/2009 at 11:53 am
Hi there.
I have win xp sp2 and I did not had any issue, thanks a lot. I think is just a matter of if you did had wmp 9 before, since I did and it worked for me…
Thanks !!!
Brian
09/24/2009 at 6:23 am
Never saw a meadia player 10 just media runtime 11 and a bunch of updates to media player but not 10. yet media 10 help says it is media 10. I still can’t remove it.