Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 is the perfect and final release from its developer (Microsoft). The developer release WMP beta version 2 after the previous version of WMP beta version 1. The developer release WMP beta version 2 after the previous version of WMP beta version 1. Windows Media Player 12 is the default media player for Windows 7 and it supports all the video and audio formats supported by the preceding version windows Media Player 11 including 3GP, AVI, AAC, AVCHD, WMA and WMV. Windows Media Player (WMP) is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices.
- Download Windows Media Player 12 64 Bit
- Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 Windows 10
- Microsoft Windows Media Player
- Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 Codec Pack
- Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 Privacy Statement
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Windows Media Player has been part of Windows operating system for a long time but it’s not the default media player in Windows 10. Groove Music Player is set as the default audio player in Windows 10 whereas the new Films & TV app is the default video player.
Microsoft has not really updated Windows Media Player post the release of Windows 7 back in 2009. In fact, it has lost a couple of handy features such as the support for DVD playback. There are tens of better media players out there for Windows 10 and most users have stopped using Windows Media Player.
Windows Media Player 12 for Windows 10
Although Windows Media Player is offered with Windows 10 Home and Pro editions of Windows 10, Windows Media Player is not present in Windows 10 N and KN editions.
Not all users running N and KN editions of Windows 10 want to install and use Windows Media Player but since many other features relay on Windows Media files, it’s important to install and keep Windows Media Player. The PDF viewer in Microsoft Edge doesn’t work without Windows Media Player and Windows Media files, for instance.
If you’re using Windows 10 N or KN edition and want Windows Media Player, you need to download and install Media Feature Pack for N and KN editions of Windows 10.
The Media Feature Pack for Windows 10 N and KN editions installs Windows Media Player 12 and some other apps such Groove Music, Video, Skype, and Voice Recorder.
After downloading the Media Feature Pack setup file, run the same by double-clicking on it, and then follow the straight-forward on-screen directions.
What all features included in the Media Feature Pack?
By installing the Media Feature Pack, you get Windows Media Player, Windows Media Format, Groove Music, Skype, Video, Voice Recorder, support for different audio and video formats and Media Player ActiveX control.
Please note that the Media Feature Pack is only for N and KN editions and doesn’t work on other editions of Windows 10.
How to set Windows Media Player as the default media player in Windows 10 guide might also be of interest to you.
Windows Media Player 12 relies on its configuration settings in order to run smoothly. Not only are there settings just for the program to use, but also custom ones that are saved when you make a change — like customizing the view or adding music folders.
However, things can go wrong with these configuration scripts. Usually, corruption is the reason why you suddenly get a problem in Windows Media Player 12. For instance, when you run the program, a problem might arise such as:
- You can't get any audio to play.
- Errors appear when burning CDs.
- Media indexes become corrupted.
- Video playback issues with formats that worked before.
- Windows Media Player 12 crashes or doesn't run at all.
Download Windows Media Player 12 64 Bit
If you've got a stubborn configuration problem in Windows Media Player 12 that you can't seem to fix, then instead of uninstalling WMP 12 and starting again, then all that you might need to do is reset back to its default settings.
One of the best tools to use for this job is actually already built into Windows 7 (or higher). It's called MSDT (Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool). It will detect any corrupt settings in WMP 12 and can be used to reset them back to the original settings. To discover how to do this, follow the simple tutorial below.
Running the MSDT Tool
- Click the Start button in Windows and type the following line in the search box: msdt.exe -id WindowsMediaPlayerConfigurationDiagnostic.
- Press the Enter key to run the tool.
- The troubleshooting wizard should now appear on the screen.
- If you want to switch to the advanced mode in order to view the diagnostics in verbose (detailed) mode, then click the Advanced hyperlink and un-check the Apply Repairs Automatically option.
- To continue with the diagnostics and repair process, click the Next button and wait for any problems to be detected.
Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 Windows 10
Normal Mode
If you have chosen to run the MSDT tool in the default mode, then you'll have 2 options.
- Either click the Apply This Fix to reset WMP 12's settings back to defaults, or click the Skip This Fix option to continue without making any changes.
- If you elected to skip, there will be a further scan for any additional problems — the option to choose will either be the Explore Additional Options or Close the Troubleshooter.
Microsoft Windows Media Player
Advanced Mode
Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 Codec Pack
- If you are in Advanced mode, you can view extended information about any problems found by clicking the View Detailed Information hyperlink. This gives you the chance to discover any found issues in detail — click Next to exit this information screen.
- To fix any corrupt WMP 12 settings, leave the Reset Default Windows Media Player option enabled and click Next.
- On the next screen, click the Apply This Fix option, or to avoid making any changes choose Skip This Fix.
- Just like in the normal mode above, if you elected to skip the repair process, a further scan is performed to find any additional problems — after which you can either click the Explore Additional Options button or choose Close the Troubleshooter.
Microsoft Windows Media Player 12 Privacy Statement
If you've got problems with the music library in Windows Media Player, then you might want to read about rebuilding WMP's database.