July 6, 2006
How to Uninstall and Rollback Windows Media Player 11
Rolling back to a previous version of Windows Media Player 11 is a feature of the Windows operating system and cannot be removed entirely. What the hell was Microsoft thinking not letting people uninstall windows media player 11. Windows media player 10 seemed ok. I ever like WMP9 too.
However, in Windows XP, you can roll back to the version of the Player that was previously on your computer. Let’s see how I found the easiest way to do that…
You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to perform the following procedure. Please don’t try this under Windows Vista Beta. It fried me and the computer. haha. Although by now a lot of you already are running the new Windows Vista home or office or whatever they call them now.
- Disconnect any portable music or video devices that might be attached to your computer. For more information, see Issues with devices after removing Windows Media Player.
- In Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove a program.
- At the top of the list, select the Show updates check box.
- In the Windows XP – Software Updates section, click Windows Media Player 11, and then click Change/Remove.
- In each of the two confirmation dialog boxes that appear, click OK.
- When the rollback process is complete (it might take several minutes to complete), click Restart.
- In Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove a program.
- At the top of the list, select the Show updates check box.
- In the Windows XP – Software Updates section, click Windows Media Format 11 Runtime, and then click Change/Remove. If you installed a non-US English version of Windows Media Player 11, the instructions in the dialog boxes that are mentioned in steps 9, 10, and 11 might appear in English.
- In the first confirmation dialog box that appears, click OK.
- In the second confirmation dialog box that appears, select the Do you want to continue with the rollback? check box, and then click OK.
- When the rollback process is complete (it might take several minutes to complete), click Restart.
- In Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove a program.
- Click Microsoft User-Mode Driver Frameworks Feature Pack 1.0, and then click Remove.
- Follow the instructions that appear in the Software Update Removal Wizard. If the Wudf01000 confirmation dialog box appears, click Yes to continue. When the software removal process is complete (it might take several minutes to complete), click Finish.
If you remove Windows Media Player 11 and the Windows Media Format 11 Runtime, and then encounter error C00D271D (”A problem has occurred in the Digital Rights Management component. Contact Microsoft product support.”), you might be able to resolve the problem by installing 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 might not be able to roll back to a previous version of the Player if the hidden folder $NtUninstallwmp11$ is deleted from your computer. Some non-Microsoft programs (such as CCleaner) delete this folder in an attempt to remove unwanted files from your computer.
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Rick Daniel
08/11/2006 at 3:21 pm
re: WMP 11 Rollback
Instructions are verbatim from Microsoft and they do not seem to work starting with Step 5. WMP 11 will not go away and attempts to remove Runtime are fruitless until it does.
“Catagory View” – What’s that?
Microsoft User-Mode Driver Frameworks Feature Pack 1.0 – doesn’t exist
Ken Savage
08/11/2006 at 4:06 pm
I had some funky error there too Rick. I was told somewhere to unplug ALL USB devices to uninstall WMP 11. That helped me through the errors I was getting. Also rebooting after each error too.
Believe me I feel for you. Learned my leasons with installing BETA software from Microsoft.
David
08/12/2006 at 1:09 pm
I think me and rick have the same problem..
jorge
08/16/2006 at 2:50 pm
I cannot delete windows media player 11. The reson I want to is because I found out that my mp3 player only works with windows media 9 or 10. but I can’t download either one because it’s still in the computer and I don’t know how to delete it.
jmb
08/16/2006 at 3:37 pm
I contacted MS about rolling it back in XP. Couldn’t get it done. Got a free tech on the phone. Says I need to download some special software from MS to get rid of 11. It will take 2 to 4 weeks for them to have an open date so I can get in. They will call me the day before to give me the time they will call and when I can start downloading. Never again!
chapster5
08/22/2006 at 11:13 am
Did MS ever ring you back because my windows media play wont roll bac to ten and also wont uninstall it stays in my update section in add/remove programs?when i follow the instructions above when it comes to restarting the computin it says roll back completed succesfully and thats it i click finish and nothing happens and when i try to uninstall that “Windows Media Format 11 Runtime” it says that windows media player 11 wont let it? any help thanks
HELEN JENKINS
08/26/2006 at 5:54 am
I WANT TO DELETE WINDOW MEDIA PLAY 11 AND INSTALL WNIDOWS MEDIA PLAY10
DEsi
08/26/2006 at 1:59 pm
Thank you for this nice explanation. It really helped me out.
If any one needs older versions of Windows Media Player they are available here: http://www.oldapps.com/windows_media_player.htm
jmb
09/08/2006 at 6:12 pm
No they have never gotten back to me attempted to send email twice and got one bounced back yesterday. I will try again because it ain’t going no where…
HomLe
09/09/2006 at 12:36 am
I also have problems removing Windows media player. It dosen’t go away from the add/remove prog. list after i rollback. And when i try to install WMP 10 i get an error saying i can’t cus newer update is installed. Please help.
Clinton lewis
01/17/2008 at 8:51 am
i am having issues as well. for some reason now nothing will work if i try and view it with WMP11, so i tried to roll it back, and it says folders i need to do this have already been deleted?
can anyone help?
Marcus
09/13/2006 at 4:50 pm
Didn’t work… Says that I have a newer version installed when I try to install WMP10. I didn’t take out my USB hard drive is that the reason why?
Jakob
09/13/2006 at 5:10 pm
Worked for me so atleast we all know it works. Windows is a crazy cat, eh?
Tim
09/24/2006 at 9:40 am
It also says I have a newer version installed. Do I have to remove something from the registry or something? Because there really isn’t anything left of the program for it to say that…
jmb
09/25/2006 at 7:01 pm
Well I got another Indian tech support person who knew nothing about 11. After 20 mins, said he would send email to tech team to contact me. That was a week a go no contact. Fun, Fun, Fun.
larry
10/06/2006 at 6:49 am
i am am man
stephen
10/08/2006 at 6:34 pm
Yes i tried the above and no it didn’t work. The reason that I want to uninstall it and roll back to 10 is because using 11 I cannot save any of my playlist, useless eh. Someone must have the answer.
Danity Kane
10/08/2006 at 8:15 pm
Have you tried to download the new Windows Media Player 11 RC2?
alfred
10/09/2006 at 10:14 pm
to completly uninstall wmp11 unhide your folders. open the windows folderand you’ll see a whole bunch of $$uninstall$$ folder (arrange icon by name) will put them at te top of the windos folder. the look for the ($$uninstall$$WMP!!) folder one of the last ones since it starts with a W. open that folder and you will see a another yellow folder named (SPUNINST) open thet folder and click a setup box icon named SPUNINST and will uninstall wmp11 it tell you that you will revert to wmp10. after completion reboot. then you need to uninstall wmf11.. go trhu the same procedure but look for the folder $$UNINSTALL$$WMF!! andgo thru the same routine reboot and you’re set back with wmp10.
DON’T TELL NOBODY PLSSS !!!!
alfred
10/09/2006 at 10:16 pm
sorry about my mistypo errors
Bob
12/02/2006 at 12:25 pm
I deleted the uninstal folder, now what the F am I to do?
demas
12/11/2006 at 8:42 pm
Hi.. all
if you fail to unisnatll wmp11 (rollback to the previous version of wmp) please try the following solution if all other solutions given above fails….. but note this might even take u back to wmp9 (original wmp that comes with winxp).. then u might need to re-install wmp10 again if that’s what u want…
I tried every possible solution that was give in all the sites….. maybe there are even tools which i might have not come across… but the following worked for me… so i hope it will work for u too
GOTO ->
C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallwmp11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe
after the rollback is complete… a restart might be required… then afterwards…
C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallWMFDist11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe
again a reatart might be needed….
good luck all!
p.s. the reason behind unistalling wmp11 was not coz it was bad… coz i did not have any bad experience with it untill now when i got my nokia n91 the mplayer sync driver that came with the player did not work with wmp11… this is due to me upgrading wmp9(comes withg windows) directly to wmp11. i had to install wmp10 1st to make the driver work and then upgrade to wmp11… which fixed my problem…. but the latest wmp11 beta does not work at all with the syn driver anyway….
Clinton lewis
01/17/2008 at 8:54 am
these files were not on my system now what do i do?
Ken Savage
12/11/2006 at 10:12 pm
demas, very good help man thanks a lot. It was hard as hell to uninstall windows media player 11 and I DID NOT want to format the computer and start over. This will help everyone here. Thx.
Benny
12/16/2006 at 11:11 pm
Thanks so much. WMP11 was giving me a lot of headache, by itself REFUSED to be removed. I hate microsoft for tryng to trap me into that crap of a wmp11 by making it so hard to remove.The process you gave rolled me back effectively. Thanks again, you were a great help.
Mike
12/18/2006 at 9:37 pm
Hi Demas,
I tried all solutions and had zero luck. I then tried the way you have posted and it works like a charm. Thanks for the help!!!
Everyone should try Demas’ solution if the other solutions don’t work for them.
katewhit
12/25/2006 at 11:40 pm
I am trying to rollback Windows Media Player 11 to WMP 10 (to use the converter for my sansa e200 mp3 player) and “Windows Media Player 11″ does not show up under “Windows Xp Software Updates” (as suggested above). When I try to remove Windows Media Player 11 in the Add/Remove Programs section of the control panel it tells me to restart Windows to continue with the rollback. I restart and nothing changes. Any suggestions?
thanks,
katewhit
me.
12/27/2006 at 12:23 am
How the hell do I get it off if that damn file has been deleted? I’ve tried reinstalling it and then uninstalling it twice but it doesn’t work… and I don’t have that ‘C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallwmp11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe’ file.
Windows Media Player 11 has the worst media player interface I’ve ever seen. It like deleted entire artists and shit.
Ken Savage
12/27/2006 at 12:27 am
It always makes me want to find the original version of WinAmp. The one that Justin Frankel made before selling to AOL(not that I blame him).
b
01/04/2007 at 3:54 am
what a pc of shit – as a professonal musician, i don’t wanna fuck with it – just wanna use it – where does everthing go? It groups the same band in 3 categories? don’t want art – just music – no darky boy adds – just the shit I got – it’s fucked – what genius figured this pc o shit out?
Dhakor
01/07/2007 at 10:45 am
How i can uninstall it, if my Win Xp Pro is pirate?
It tells “Can’t Roll Back”, seems have an anticopy or copyright
Rich Y
01/11/2007 at 7:59 pm
Hi!
I have Real Player – which I much prefer over WMP (V11 installed). I have Real Player set as the default player, but at times – WMP runs anyway. HOW do I turn WMP off (as opposed to the hassle of uninstalling it)? Thank you. Rich Y.
paul miles
01/29/2007 at 7:49 am
hi ive followed the steps to uninstall wmp 11 as said here in the forum and wen i try to install wmp eirther 9 or ten all it keeps saying is windows allready contains a previous version and ive followed the steps all the way through with the add remove thing updates etc. i uninstalled the player wiv the rollback thing rebooted then took out the runtime programme then the framework thing restarted pc went as i said to install wmp 9 for xp said ive allready got a more recent version on here. even run reg mecanhic still same thing its doing my head in now please why has this not uninstalled as ive done everything it said to do correct.
Car Mun
02/01/2007 at 6:28 pm
I cant find the WMP 11 in the Add/Rem Program window. The show updates tag is checked
Mackila
02/11/2007 at 4:06 am
I have windows media player 10…i’ve updated to 11…and rolled back to 10 a few times. My windows player slows my computer way down for some reason. my CPU usage goes from 1% to 80% everytime i open Media player. I dont know what to do…i’ve had to switch MP3 player to Real Player. Any ideas??
Mackila
asianpride
02/27/2007 at 11:02 am
hey there…how long is the rollback process…i been waiting for 20 minutes…any clues to help me..
Stupid Sound!! - XTREME-SOURCE
03/01/2007 at 10:25 am
[...] rollback to the version that was on your computer previously. Here is a site with instructions, How to Uninstall and Rollback Windows Media Player 11 [...]
nitin
03/05/2007 at 6:05 am
show updates checkbox is not there!
anlzr
03/09/2007 at 5:04 pm
dude..my advice!..dont stick with winamp(i am not saying its not gud,but there are better freebeees out there!),
try JETAUDIO, this is way better!..plays all formats includes even dvd.,(except flv and swf)..with better and easier interface!….
peggy
03/14/2007 at 5:08 pm
followed directions to “remove”.”it said-removed.
now I still have “IT” and have lost the wmp. icon and all I really want to do is to play CDs. Not the bloody URGE that fills my screen with no delete box.
mitch
03/24/2007 at 10:49 am
thanks. it worked for me
victor
04/07/2007 at 9:48 am
THANKS A LOT BECAUSE MY COMPUTER SLOWED DOWN A LOT WHEN I UPDATED MY WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER…….SO THANKS !:)
Bob
04/08/2007 at 7:49 am
Worked fine, Thanks
Elizabeth
04/28/2007 at 6:57 pm
It would not uninstall,, it said
“Program dendancies are blocking rollback” it then listed the following : Windows Media Player10 and Update Rollup for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.. now what?
Cathie
07/21/2007 at 10:56 pm
First, in Add/Remove Programs, Windows Media Player 11 & Windows Media Format 11 Runtime are visible in the main list. They are NOT present in Windows XP – Software Updates. Second, I again searched for $NtUninstallwmp11 (included hidden files) and it is definitely NOT on my hard drive. Third, Windows Media Player 10 is nowhere on my hard drive. I know I have royally messed this up because the main file I need is $NtUninstallwmp11. Do you know where I could possibly download this file?
Cathie
07/22/2007 at 3:12 am
I copied the $NtUninstallwmp11 folder from my husband’s computer and was able to uninstall WMP11.
Simon
08/01/2007 at 11:31 am
Hi Cathie and others,
Why not just use System Restore to rollback to before you ‘upgraded’ Media Player?
I just did this and it sorted me out in about 5 minutes. As long as you realize your mistake with a new piece of software soon enough, ie before making loads of other changes to your system that you don’t want to have to repeat, then it’s pretty fool-proof.
Cheers, Simon.
robin
08/18/2007 at 9:04 pm
i just went all of above to rid myself of wmp 11 back to 10. the final solution was to do a restore back to a previous date like simon. it worked quite nicely.
Gintosia
09/17/2007 at 4:52 pm
okay, i think i will end up killing someone, because I have tried EVERYTHING that people suggested here and so far NOTHING worked.
at first, i tried to uninstall the player by checking ’show updates’ box in add/remove programs, but it didn’t work. then i tried using all those ‘C:\WINDOWS\$NtUninstallWMFDist11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe’ and stuff, but it didn’t work either. it’s just every time after, so called uninstallation WMP11 doesn’t work, but I can’t install WMP10 either, because the pc says that there’s already a newer version of the player in the pc… So yeah, if anyone can really help me I would be more than grateful! Please please please please?
gary
10/11/2007 at 2:06 pm
How do I make WMP 11 playlists work in WMP 10 after rollback to 10? I get this message…
“Windows Media Player cannot play the file. If the file is on another computer, verify that you are connected to the network. If you typed a path, verify that it is correct. If the problem persists, the server might not be available”
??? One computer, all songs on playlists are on it, yet WMP 10 will not play…
And, off the WMP, how do I update Jet Audio player with music files…maybe I’m blind but I seem to sort this out.
Dr Reem
10/19/2007 at 11:40 pm
Thanks … I think it worked.
anonymouse
10/27/2007 at 9:17 pm
a big F.U. to WMP11….what a crappy program!!!!
Thanks for the directions!!!!
Ggmnat
11/02/2007 at 4:00 pm
Wow! Thanks so much for the information on WMP 11 rollback. I had tried for weeks to get rid of WMP 11 but could not uninstall the Media format, which is essential to get back WMP 10. Everything works perectly and I have all my old playlists intact. I learned a lot about those $NTuninstall files I never knew before. Thanks again!
ZachDMS
11/19/2007 at 8:42 pm
I actually try making it easy for you to roll back from WMP11 to your previous version. If the $NTUninstall files/folders are missing, you probably ran buggy third party software that deleted them. You can either reacquire them from a friend (a little dangerous) or get the exact right versions from actual Microsoft product support (more of a hassle, much better idea).
Running the $NTUninstall files directly will leave you in a slightly bad state that may cause data loss. That’s fairly irresponsible to recommend without warning people about the possible data loss. (You’re reverting back to WMP9/10 components that can’t read the WMP11 data store – normally setup_wm finalizes that rollback process, but by using a hacky uninstall process you’re bypassing that goodness.)
(speaking for myself only as always, no warranties express or implied)
Sarah
01/06/2008 at 3:15 am
So since I have a computer w/ vista which was the ONLY OPTION!!!!!!!!(!!!!!)!!!(!!) and severely dislike WMP11 I am damned to a life of “coping”? Is that the gist? God tell my there a solution… I tell you what, I have loved Windows for many many years now but vista has just about driven me into the arms of a Mac (what a nasty taste that leaves in my mouth).
Jman
01/09/2008 at 9:15 pm
Stuck with using it, oh heavens no there are two alternative packages to the 2 most hated media players called real alternative and quick alternative both install a compact version of MP called WMP Classic, quite suitable for my minimalistic needs (interface wise) it essentially functions just like wmp 10 but with no automatic info updates for music (like cover art and such)
Max Wild
01/16/2008 at 4:31 pm
I have windows Vista, and it doesnt show up in the programs and features part on the OS, which is where u uninstall programs. can you help me?
luluw
02/11/2008 at 7:57 pm
i have tried to remove it this way but when i press Remove it tells me to validate and install it.. and it’s already installed..grrrrrrrrr i want WMP 9 back!!! It’s like i’m stuck with the WMP 11 for ever:-(
tiago
05/30/2008 at 12:03 pm
but I have windows vista………….
Rafael
05/31/2008 at 3:00 am
Method 2: Run a program to remove Windows Media Player
1. Click Start, click Run, type %windir%\$ntUninstallwmp11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe, and then click OK.
2. Click Next, and then click Finish.
Naotoaye
06/09/2008 at 3:53 pm
The best way is removing registry entries-let’s follow those steps:
-Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
-Locate and then right-click click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\wmp11
-Click Delete.
-Click Yes.
-Exit Registry Editor.
Clinton
06/09/2008 at 10:57 pm
I’ve tried all of these things. i know how to do them on a computer i have a computer science degree, and NOT ONE OF THESE ANSWERS WORK AT ALL!!!
i do NOT want to reinstall my entire OS just to fix this one Blepping program that’s not working correctly.. NOW do you have any ideas?
Jeff
06/26/2008 at 6:33 am
I’m in the same boat as Clinton. I tried everything. WMP 11 stays in the list of programs on Add/Remove programs. If you click Remove, it says it is going to rollback and then takes only 2 seconds to do so. Can’t install WMP 10 because it says there is a newer version. Did the %windir%\$ntUninstallwmp11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe for the player and the runtime . Delete the wmp11 registry entry. Still can’t install wmp10. About to go to a previous image of my C drive from 3 months ago except I won’t overwrite Documents and Settings. But that is a last resort.
ZachDMS
06/26/2008 at 10:46 pm
What does the spuninst.log file for the WMP11 uninstall say? Are there are any errors there?
Rafael
06/26/2008 at 11:25 pm
Removing any registry key without first uninstalling the software to which the registry key belongs, will not solve the issue, instead it will make it worse.
i removed mine with this
%windir%\$ntUninstallwmp11$\spuninst\spuninst.exe
after that, i proceeded to install the Media player version 9
and then i upgraded to a most recent version..
eddie
07/08/2008 at 9:09 pm
i dont want to uninstall WindowsMedia Centre completly , all i want is to knock it out from always coming up on start up ,its a pain as, before i can procced with anything i have to delete it. If i want it i can always press the button to bring it up wen i want to. Anybody got any suggestions how i can knock it out cos i have nearly given up.
darkflux
07/23/2008 at 10:20 pm
a helpful page. thought i’d share my eXPerience.
ok, so i have Windows XP MCE 2005, and recently reinstalled and updated to SP3. somewhere along my reinstallation of everything i previously had on my system, Windows Media Player 11 got installed. much preferring WMP 10, i went to uninstall (Roll Back) using Add/Remove Programs, but the uninstall was not there… well, determined to NOT use WMP 11, i went thru and deleted all the files in WMP’s “Program Files” folder (and their “auto restore” system protected files). BIG mistake, but then, any big-headed idiot like me who occasionally thinks they know “everything” about PC’s is bound to make mistakes like this at least once a year (more in my case).
darkflux
07/23/2008 at 10:23 pm
>
so i then proceed to install the latest Windows Media Player 10 from MS’s website. it says the “A more recent version of Windows Media Player is already installed.” garbage, and i feel death creeping near. so i proceed to clean out the registry of any and all WMP references (another mistake), since i had already tried M$’s advice, and it just popped up more errors. well, i really dug that ditch deep, and now i was lying in it, waiting to be buried. i had tried reinstalling WMP11 then uninstalling, but the old “more recent version” notice would still pop up, which is when i noticed that it had extracted files before it began the pseudo-install process! so, when the “more recent version” message appeared, i quickly went to my Temp folder and copied the WMP 10 install folder, then clicked Finish on the message. then, i opened the copied install folder, and right-clicked and installed each of the *.inf files one after the other. afterwards i closed the open Temp window, an d clicked on the Restart button on a window telling me Windows needed restarted. when i tried to run WMP, it said there was a version conflict, but it said that the installed version was 10! so i re-ran the installer for 10, and everything was good as new, with WMP 10 back to it’s old self!
now if i could just figure out how to get it to play DVD’s without the DRM error…
darkflux
07/23/2008 at 10:25 pm
btw, sux you can’t put URL’s in the comment…just sayin’
ZachDMS
07/24/2008 at 12:36 am
The “more recent” version message ONLY pops if a newer Player or Format Runtime is installed. If you bypass that, you cause data loss. From what you’ve said, it sounds pretty clearly like you forgot to roll back the Windows Media Format 11 Runtime as well.
Right-click install (setupapi) INF installs won’t work correctly because those aren’t setupapi INFs. The later reinstall probably fixed up that badness, but … this seems like you should just have rolled back the Format Runtime too in order to avoid this pain.
darkflux
07/24/2008 at 8:25 am
nope, i uninstalled WM 11 Format Runtime after i tried to uninstall WMP 11. WMP 11 wasn’t there, but WMF 11 was, so i just uninstalled it, which went ok, but, well, you know the rest…
ZachDMS
07/24/2008 at 7:21 pm
You kind of missed the point: it’s a technical check reporting the technical state of your system. It’s quite possible you were attempting to install the 3646 version on top of the 3802 version at that point. Since the WMP10 installer is broken when installing anything newer than it at all, that will again result in a broken system (notably breaking playback of DRM’d content)
So when you are faced with that dialog, the question isn’t how to avoid the dialog, the question is what the file versions on wmploc.dll and wmvcore.dll are (in this case, were).
The WMP10 installer does some stupid things, and it trying to protect you from itself is a really good thing. Neither the WMP11 nor the WMP9 installer do these stupid things, thank goodness.
darkflux
07/25/2008 at 9:44 am
hmm, i see. another case of M$ over-complicating things in attempt to keep “bad things” from happening, and having it in fact be the problem. “the sickness is in the cure” or something to such an effect?
well then, is there a potential solution? i couldn’t possibly make it worse, and if i did it would just be another reinstall. seriously, if you or anyone has any ideas, i’ve noticed several (at least) other people across the web with the same problem, and if i can be part of the solution for a change…
ZachDMS
07/28/2008 at 9:14 pm
If by “cure” you mean “avoiding data loss” and by “sickness” you mean “Follow the actual steps as opposed to skipping steps”, then maybe we’re vaguely on the same page. Since the components *causing* that error (the protection code) are easy to roll back, I don’t get your problem. Your system was in a corrupt state. Let’s repeat this: your system was in a corrupt state. You triggering the data loss prevention code protects you from … data loss.
Instead of attempting to deal with that in a straight-forward fashion, you went off and hacked your system, using broken SetupAPI INF method installations on MSOOBCI INFs (a special system INF installer used by WMP since SetupAPI does not support WMP’s install). I or any other system administrator would have no idea what you have done to your system at this point, and your system does not have any relevance to any valid system and thus there is nothing to be gained from looking at your system.
I could probably easily have helped fix your actual problem. But since you went off and hacked your system, I have no idea what state your system is in and would serously doubt that anyone else would benefit from an indepth look at your system. What you have done is not supported nor supportable. Please don’t do it. if people have problems with uninstall/reinstall, that’s usually easy enough to sort out. If people decide that they really understand how the installer should work – you’ve clearly taken your system into your own hands and at that point if you’re in over your head it’s either time to take it a computer shop or time to reformat and next time *not* attempt to hack the player installer.
As a final note, *very* few WMP-related INFs are meant to be right-clicked installed – please don’t do that unless you’re 100% of what you’re doing.
darkflux
07/29/2008 at 10:38 am
okay i THINK i understand what you’re saying. i’ll probably end up reinstalling WinXP (again).
so then, in case this happens somehow again, how would i have gone about fixing the problem PROPERLY. if i have WMP 11 (which i’m NOT sure how it got there), and no Add/Remove Programs option, and installing the latest WMP 11 and uninstalling it leaves me with no WMP, what SHOULD i have done. i love learning, and would seriously like to know, if you’ve got the time to tell it. oh also, i should mention that i had SP3 on the system (could THAT have installed WMP 11???)
also, a point of reference, i wouldn’t really consider what i did hacking. hacking actually ACCOMPLISHES something (heh heh), so to speak. what i did was more like “jacking”, lol. and i sure jacked things up…
ZachDMS
07/29/2008 at 7:06 pm
SP3 doesn’t install WMP11.
Since I don’t know what state you were in, it would be hard to comment upon how you got there. If people ever get into weird setup states, taking it to the microsoft.public.windowsmedia.player newsgroup would likely get it to my attention and we could likely sort it out then.
darkflux
07/29/2008 at 10:03 pm
so there’s no “general fix” then? i’ve noticed several people online at various web sites with this problem (even more of those with the “protected disc” error). i was just thought there might be a generalized solution by now. thanks for your time.
darkflux
07/29/2008 at 10:08 pm
by the way, i should also probably remind everyone that NO ONE should do what i did. i only do what i do so that i can learn, and am using a system that i don’t really care if it crashes or whatnot as long as i can learn to fix the problem in a PC with “odd states”, so that when someone who’s screwed their computer comes to me (as happens more frequently than not), i can offer THEM support.
anyways, as soon as a programmer makes something foolproof, they start to come out with better fools
ZachDMS
07/30/2008 at 2:19 am
There’s no general fix available for the abstract issue you describe. Any sound developer would want to further understand what exact state the system is in, as that would circumscribe the relevant solutions and thus ensure that no *additional* damage was done to the system as part of any proposed “”solution”".
My FAQ page covers the basic elements of most adequate troubleshooting in this arena. The installer does things for a really good reason generally. Aberrant issues are generally indicative of a system problem, and glossing over those generally is going to make things worse. I would strongly suspect that anybody selling a generic/general fix here is selling snake oil. A rollback failing because the files were deleted is one problem. A rollback failing because the Service Pack Updated is broken is another. And so forth. It’s not rocket science, but it DOES require investigation and thought to make sure the appropriate remedy is applied.
It’s probably a waste of both of our times to keep nattering on about abstract versions of this issue. If somebody has a *concrete* issue that’s actually happening, that might be worthy of further discussion, but I think this particular horse is beat to death for now.
Beat
08/09/2008 at 12:57 pm
Demas
Thanks, your steps worked perfectly. I wish that MS would realize that making things complicated does not win them any admirers. I got screwed by the automatic update -
barry
08/27/2008 at 2:04 am
when I play a cd WMP 11 goes to a not responding mode and at the same time IE 7 doesn’t repond . I have to restart to get the IE back. The WMp 11 works fine except for not playing the cd’s. I uninstalled and Now what??
locheejames
09/23/2008 at 1:06 pm
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: wmplayer.exe
Application Version: 11.0.6001.7000
Application Timestamp: 47919356
Fault Module Name: AlbumArt3D.dll
Fault Module Version: 1.0.0.1
Fault Module Timestamp: 441e0e9a
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00003179
OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 2057
Additional Information 1: fd00
Additional Information 2: ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160
Additional Information 3: fd00
Additional Information 4: ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160
This occurs when I try to start Wmp, I have Windows Home Vista o/S and can’t delete it and re-install any help would be appreciated, it’s damn annoying.
ZachDMS
09/24/2008 at 2:48 am
See how it’s crashing in the Album Art 3D visualization you installed? You would want to remove that.
ceejay
10/02/2008 at 1:28 am
help!!!
what if the $NTUninstall files from the WMP folder were all deleted…I sort of deleted it coz I was so pestered when the WMP asked for validation…Does that mean I can’t remove the updates anymore?? or can this folders be sent or anything like that???
help please!!! anyone…
please e-mail me the said folders if possible…
christina_110287@yahoo.com
tnx in advance.
ZachDMS
10/02/2008 at 3:52 am
You would at this point want to contact actual support who should be able to figure out what combination of $NTUninstall files you need in order to begin a restore process. Please don’t delete those files – these aren’t intended to be accessed by normal users, and deleting them as you have noticed is going to cause hiccups.
James
10/06/2008 at 2:45 pm
@locheejames – I tried that but to no avail, still can’t get it running. Any help would be appreciated.
adam
01/02/2009 at 11:46 am
I found a Solution, the EASIEST AND PROBABLY BEAT.
-Go to C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player
DELETE file : setup_wm.exe
another one will appear and when you run wmplayer.exe it shows a message. It creates a new setup_wm.exe that is designed for v9
Run Wmplayer.exe and IT will install WMP9
jairo gusmao
01/10/2009 at 8:21 pm
I pretend to clean only the musics of the WMP 11, after to reinstall the CD´s.
Thank you very much.
jairo gusmao
lttlmrmd
02/10/2009 at 1:48 am
can someone help me,please!!! I am having trouble burning Cds with WMP11 how can I find out if is missing files or something.
ZachDMS
02/11/2009 at 3:58 pm
If you are missing files, you could simply run the system command “sfc /scannow” to repair those.
Note that Uninstalling/Rolling Back/Reinstalling the player would not be expected to be the answer to all the world’s problems. Most problems are NOT caused by problems that can be fixed in that fashion, but rather by other external factors that impact the player. The player’s just the victim.
JP
03/01/2009 at 11:21 am
Thanks Ken! Your instructions worked like a charm! Having grown tired of the constant reminders that an update is available, I clicked okay in a moment of weakness and instantly regretted doing so.
Zen_Master
04/21/2009 at 6:02 pm
Ok, so I have an interesting version of this problem, if anyone’s still following these posts…
I’ve read numerous methods to remove wmp11, and for some stupid reason, not one of them seems to apply to my system. Most notably,
Method #1 – Using Add/Remove Programs in control panel.
This would work great if it showed up in the list of programs, but even with “Show Updates” selected, nothing appears.
Method #2 – Using $NTUninstalls
I use Ccleaner, and therefore have no $NTUninstalls. Starting to rethink my frugal nature with disk space…
I absolutely *need* wmp10 back as I’m attempting to recover some files off a friend’s mp3 player, which for some stupid reason won’t allow me to install the bleeding driver without wmp10 OR LESS. Those of you with the Creative Zen Microphoto will know exactly what I’m talking about.
Anyway, all I’m asking is if anyone might have any hints I could follow to get rid of wmp11. I have the installer for 10, and an itchy mouse finger. Any help would be fantastically awesome.
ZachDMS
04/22/2009 at 1:02 am
XP or Vista?
If it doesn’t show up in Add/Remove Programs, that indicates it’s a baseline feature of your version of Windows, and removing it is probably going to break Media Center. I’m just guessing here because you’ve provided very little information, but that’s what it indicates so far. What file version is ‘wmploc.dll’?
marekas
05/01/2009 at 5:49 am
thx DEMAS u saved my but from restarting my windows
Inara-Jade
05/20/2009 at 3:54 am
I’ve only yesterday updated to WMP 11, but it’s asking me to validate my version of windows before I’m able to run it. As I’m unable to validate it currently, I’m thinking of attempting to do this rollback thing. Will it work in my situation just as well?
And the restarting windows thing… Will that cause any data loss or anything, or is it essentially the same thing as restarting your computer?
Please excuse my lack of knowledge.. :$
dave
07/20/2009 at 3:07 pm
i am using vista i want to remove windows media player 11 or roll back to 10 but it won’t let me. HELP!!!!!!!!
ZachDMS
07/23/2009 at 4:57 pm
Yes, that is correct. WMP11 cannot be removed sanely from Vista, and WMP10 is not compatible with Vista. You would want to address your problem/concern in some other fashion.
If you want Vista without WMP11, you might want to use Vista “N” instead.
preeti
08/22/2009 at 7:20 pm
RUN-REGEDIT-EDIT-FIND-WMP11
AND I DELETED IT ALL EVEN FROM CONTROL PANEL,,,,
YET IT WONT LET ME DWNLD WMP 10…………..
PLZ HELP I WILL APPRECIATE STEP BY STEP GUIDE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I THINK WMP 11 IS LIKE VIRUS,,,,BULLS,,
FRUSTRATED BABY,,
ZachDMS
08/23/2009 at 11:03 pm
WMP10 cannot be installed safely/sanely over the top of WMP11. How you handle this depends upon the exact scenario. If you’re trying to install it on Vista, that won’t work. If you’re trying to install it on XP, you need to remove the Windows Media 11 Format Runtime first.
This is due to the limitations of the WMP*10* installer, which was written years(?) before WMP11 and thus does not know about WMP11 and cannot safely handle installing over the top of it.