Troubleshooting WMP - Windows Media Player Not Installed Properly

Troubleshooting WMP - Windows Media Player Not Installed Properly
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Windows Media Player has been a standard for Windows users since it first premiered in 1991, with the inclusion of video playback instituted with Windows 95 and Windows NT 4. WMP allows for the playback of music and video and displays images. The newest version of WMP is Windows Media Player 12, which is included with the new WIndows 7 operating system.

Even if you don’t have Windows 7, you can still download the player. Sometimes, installation may run into issues, causing Windows Media Player to not work correctly. Errors include that it wasn’t installed properly or that a file doesn’t match what the computer is reading. Below are some common problems and solutions should you encounter an issue.

Interruption

The most often cause of an installation gone bad is an interruption in Internet service. Something, whether the service or the computer itself, has done something that made the download suddenly pause or disconnect. The simple answer to this is to just restart your download. If you started the WMP download at a bad time, such as during a high traffic time or right before a bad weather front hits, downloading at another time or perhaps even another computer should solve any issues.

WMP.dll issue

Windows Media Player has files and services it needs in order to run and play media properly. A frequent complaint is when a user gets an error message that an instance of 11.00.xx.xx is shown when 11.00.xx.xx was expected and that WMP needs to be reinstalled. This error message just means that the computer was expecting a version of WMP and it is reading a different version.

WMP Version Error

The solution to this is to update Windows Media Player. This is easily done by going to Windows Update, which can be found on most versions of Windows. If you’re running Windows 7, you can access updates through the Action Center in the lower right of the task bar. If you feel comfortable with working on your computer, you can also try updating it through the run command. After pulling up Run, you will type in the command -

c:\windows\inf\unregmp2.exe /UpdateWMP

Another issue with this file may cause a conflict with Explorer itself. This error, that explorer has a conflict with WMP.dll, can be fixed by just registering the file. Again, you’ll want to use the Run utility and then type in -

regsvr32 wmp.dll

Keeping Current

It’s also important that you keep other components on your computer updated. Find out if there are updates for your video card or sound card. Check the manufacturer’s website to see if there are any updates or patches available.

If you’ve downloaded codecs for WMP, you may want to make sure that they are compatible with the version of WMP that you’re using. Some of these, like some files for Ahead Nero’s programs, don’t work with WMP, while others, like the files for the DivX player, will work, however it’s best that these be updated when possible.

For a list of issues with WMP, see this FAQ page.

Image content: WMP logo via Wikipedia; Error message via askvg.