Oct 12, 2010  I am currently running Windows 7 Home Premium. My computer recently installed a Microsoft update on and the next time I booted up my PC my Windows Media Player was uninstalled and completely erased from my PC. The library has most famous artists, hottest playlists, and genres. Apart from listening to music, the application is an all in one music manager that gives you the chance to download songs to Windows Media Player with ease. Step-by-Step Guide for How to Download Music for Windows Media Player from iMusic Built-in Music Library.

As you may already know, Windows Media Player 12 becomes an optional feature with recent updates to the final version of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. The app gets removed automatically, so you might want to restore it back in the OS. In this article, we will see how it can be done.

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Windows Media Player was bundled with Windows for a long time. Starting with Windows 98, every new version of Windows came with an improved version of the app. Windows Me was the first OS where Windows Media Player got a media library, skins and visualizations. The Windows XP era was when there were several updates to Windows Media Player, starting from version 8 to version 10. Windows Vista brought Windows Media Player 11, and Windows 7 brought version 12.

Besides local playback of audio and video content stored on your drive, the player also features integration with the OS Libraries, metadata, ratings and album art management and can handle Internet streams with multicast. It can play media with fast forward, reverse, file markers (if present) and variable playback speed. WMP can also be used to sync content on devices which support Media Transfer Protocol, legally rip audio CDs, or burn a disc. It has a graphic equalizer, subtitle and caption support, plugins which support DSP effects, crossfading and auto volume leveling, auto-playlists and remote control features. Full keyboard-based operation is possible in the player. For video formats, WMP includes universal brightness, contrast, saturation and hue adjustments and pixel aspect ratio control. DVD playback was supported in Windows 7's version of WMP but removed later.

Windows 10 comes with Windows Media Player 12, but it has been improved upon in various ways. Support for FLAC audio, MKV container format and HEVC video was added. Support for the latest IDv3 tag standard for MP3s was also added. Also, the Play To feature was replaced by a greatly improved (Cast To feature) which can use either DLNA or Miracast to stream content to smart TVs and other devices and is more robust and compatible.

In recent Windows versions such as Windows 10, Windows Media Player is not the default app any more because it is not based on UWP. In Windows 10, Groove Music is the new default music player app and Movies & TV is set as the default video player app.

Windows Media Player

If you are extremely unhappy with Windows Media Player's removal, here is what you can do to restore it.

To restore Windows Media Player in Windows 10, do the following.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to Apps > Apps & features.
3. On the right, click on the link Manage optional features.
4. Click on the button Add a feature at the top of the next page.
5. Find the optional feature named Windows Media Player in the list under Add a feature.
6. Click it. The install button will appear as shown below. Click on the Install button and you are done.

Tip: Using this method, you can also remove Windows Media Player from Windows 10. This will free up around 60 MB of space on the system drive - not much. In Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Manage optional features page, select Windows Media Player and click Uninstall to remove it from the OS.

There is an alternative method to add or remove Windows Media Player in Windows 10. It can be done with PowerShell. Here is how.

Restore Windows Media Player in Windows 10 using PowerShell

1. Open an elevated PowerShell.
2. To restore Windows Media Player, use the following command:
3. To remove Windows Media Player, use the following command:

That's it.

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Review

Developed by Microsoft, Windows Media Player is multimedia software developed to play media content. With this latest download version, this is a more coordinated platform. It allows for the reproduction and synchronization of pictures, movies and music to mobile devices through its Remote Media Streaming technology. All you have to do is plug your device in to your PC and choose the files from your media libraries to transfer.

Windows Media Player 12 is available for Windows 7 and Windows 8, introducing many Windows 8 innovations. For example, creating playlists is much easier with this application thanks to improvements to its search engine. When you find the lists you are searching for, drag-and-drop them into the Windows program and your music compilation will begin.

Advanced functions

This application offers tools to copy and record audio discs, so you only have to choose the data you want and place it on the CD. Burning your collection on your CD takes just a few moments. You can also extract music from CDs, while with its online connection, Windows Media Player has library updates providing you with new information about albums.

It offers a friendly environment and an improved system for connecting to external devices

Thumbnail taskbar. The latest version has added a simplified Windows player that offers a friendly and intuitive experience. Users can choose between the classic or new setup, where principal menu tools (play, previous and next, and the buttons to access to the library and insert media information) are rearranged, and it offers many themes and skins to customize its appearance.

There are also many add-ons to enhance your audio experience, such as listening to different Internet radio stations. Moreover, video and audio can be customized for decibels levels, brightness, rates, saturation, and contrast, among other options. This program doesn’t include natural codecs, but you need to get special codecs to play a file, you can get them for free online.

Windows Media Player 12 Features

New features of Windows Media Player 12 include:

• Burn, split and reproduce your own CDs
• It’s a simple program. Effortlessly play your audio or video files
• It includes options such as reverse, fast-forward or even the option to add bookmarks to a file
• Shortcuts. It offers the option to control actions through the keyboard
• Organize your library. Arrange your files based on the singer, style, album or release date
• Quick Access Panel. The main window includes a button to efficiently search your library
• Many visualization options, such as Battery, Alchemy, Waves and Bars
• Supports many video formats, such as MOV, MP4 or 3GP
• Modify its appearance. Customize the color interface and different skin modes
• Construct your own ActiveX button on the Internet
• Option to add additional programs such as effects, masks and views

Free Music For My Windows Media Player Classic

If you require further information about this software before you download it, feel free to visit the author’s website

System Requirements

The minimum system requirements to download and install this program are:

• Operating System: Windows 7 or better
• Processor: Intel Pentium II 233 MHz
• RAM: 64 MB
• HDD Space: 200 MB of free space

Conclusion

Windows Media Player, also known by the acronym WMP, is evolving with the market. With this latest version, it offers a friendly, well organized and searchable environment with improved connectivity for external devices.

• It supports many digital file formats
• Improved internal search engine
• Integrates online functions
• Provides sync options

• It only works with the latest Windows versions