After buying a brand-new Windows 10 or 11 computer, double-clicking a video file opens it in Films & TV (or Movies & TV), and the Windows Media Player shortcut is nowhere to be found. This makes one wonder if Windows Media Player has been removed in Windows 10 and 11. The good news is that the classic Windows Media Player program is included in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Windows Media Player can be accessed by clicking Start, All apps, Windows Media Player. If the Windows Media Player shortcut is not available in the list, check whether the WMPlayer.exe file exists in the Windows Media Player folder in the “Program Files” directory. Or press WinKey + R to bring up the Run dialog, and type:
C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe
If it says “Windows cannot find wmplayer.exe“, the Windows Media Player package may not have been installed.
Install Windows Media Player (legacy) and Media Features
Option 1: Install WMP legacy using the Windows Features dialog (for non N/KN Editions)
This method applies to the regular Windows 10/11 Editions (i.e., not the N or KN editions). In the N and KN editions, the “Media Features” section will be missing from the classic Windows Features dialog.
To install Windows Media Player in regular Windows 10/11 editions, follow these steps:
- Press Win+R to open the Run dialog. Type optionalfeatures.exe and click OK.
- Expand Media Features, enable Windows Media Player, and click OK.
- Restart Windows if prompted.
Windows Media Player not listed in Windows Features?
Windows N and KN editions
If the Optional Features window doesn’t list Media Features/Windows Media Player and the filewmplayer.exedoesn’t exist, then you’re probably using Windows N or KN Edition. Windows N (for Europe) and KN (South Korea) variants don’t include media features by default due to competition law rulings in both countries. As a result, Microsoft had to maintain separate Windows versions for these markets.What exactly is missing in these Editions:
The N and KN editions of Windows 10 include the same functionality as Windows 10, except for media-related technologies (Windows Media Player) and certain preinstalled media apps (Music, Video, Voice Recorder, and Skype). You must install other software from Microsoft or another company for this communication functionality and to play or create audio CDs, media files, and video DVDs, to stream music, and to take and store pictures. New features such as Cortana, Windows Hello, and PDF viewing in the new Edge browser rely on Windows Media files that are not present in these editions.
Option 2: Install Windows Media Player and Media Feature Pack Using Settings
On Windows 10 N & KN editions (v1909 and higher) and Windows 11, there is no direct download link for the Windows Media Feature Pack. You can add or remove Windows Media Player via Windows features in Settings. Follow these steps to install them.
Windows 10
- Open Settings (Win + i), and click System.
- On the left side, click Optional features.
- Click on the Add a feature button.
- Type media in the text box.
- Select Media Feature Pack and Windows Media Player, and install them.
Windows 11
- Open Settings (Win + i), and click System.
- On the right side, click Optional features.
- Next, click Add an optional feature, and click View features.
- Type media in the text box.
- Select Windows Media Player Legacy (app) and Media Feature Pack.
- Click Add, and click Install.
Option 3: Install Windows Media Player and Media Feature Pack Using DISM
The DISM command can be used to install Windows Media Player or Media Features. Run the following commands to install the Media Feature Pack and WMP on Windows 10 or 11.
Note: You don’t have to install “Media Feature Pack” on regular Windows 10/11 Editions, as it’s already integrated.
Open an admin Command Prompt and run the following command to install WMP (legacy) on all editions:
dism /online /add-capability /capabilityname:Media.WindowsMediaPlayer~~~~0.0.12.0
And then run the following command (only for N and KN Editions) to install Media Feature Pack.
dism /online /add-capability /capabilityname:Media.MediaFeaturePack~~~~0.0.1.0
Restart Windows.
If you get the error code 0x80070490, “Media Feature Pack couldn’t install”, please try the following commands:
dism /online /remove-capability /capabilityname:Media.MediaFeaturePack~~~~0.0.1.0
and then run:
dism /online /add-capability /capabilityname:Media.MediaFeaturePack~~~~0.0.1.0
List of Media Feature Pack Modules
COLORCNV.DLL CastingShellExt.dll CoreMmRes.dll DMRServer.dll DiagPackage.dll DolbyDecMFT.dll LAPRXY.DLL MFCaptureEngine.dll MFMediaEngine.dll MFPlay.dll MFWMAAEC.DLL MP3DMOD.DLL MP43DECD.DLL MP4SDECD.DLL MPG4DECD.DLL MSAC3ENC.DLL MSAMRNBDecoder.dll MSAMRNBEncoder.dll MSAMRNBSink.dll MSAMRNBSource.dll MSAlacDecoder.dll MSAlacEncoder.dll MSAudDecMFT.dll MSFlacDecoder.dll MSFlacEncoder.dll MSHEIF.dll MSMPEG2ENC.DLL MSOpusDecoder.dll MSPhotography.dll MSRAWImage.dll MSVP9DEC.dll MSVPXENC.dll MSVideoDSP.dll MSWebp.dll PlayToReceiver.dll PortableDeviceApi.dll PortableDeviceClassExtension.dll PortableDeviceConnectApi.dll PortableDeviceStatus.dll PortableDeviceTypes.dll PortableDeviceWiaCompat.dll RESAMPLEDMO.DLL VIDRESZR.DLL WMADMOD.DLL WMADMOE.DLL WMASF.DLL WMNetMgr.dll WMPMediaSharing.dll WMPNSSUI.dll WMSPDMOE.DLL WMVCORE.DLL WMVDECOD.DLL WMVENCOD.DLL WMVSDECD.DLL WMVSENCD.DLL WMVXENCD.DLL WPDShServiceObj.dll WPDSp.dll WebcamUi.dll Windows.Media.Audio.dll Windows.Media.Editing.dll Windows.Media.Renewal.dll Windows.Media.Streaming.dll Windows.Media.Streaming.ps.dll Windows.Media.dll WmpDui.dll WpdFs.dll WpdMtp.dll WpdMtpDr.dll WpdMtpIP.dll WpdMtpUS.dll WpdMtpbt.dll Wpdcomp.dll asferror.dll audiodev.dll cewmdm.dll dlnashext.dll dxmasf.dll evr.dll gnsdk_fp.dll mf.dll mfAACEnc.dll mfasfsrcsnk.dll mfaudiocnv.dll mfcore.dll mfds.dll mfdvdec.dll mferror.dll mfh263enc.dll mfh264enc.dll mfmjpegdec.dll mfmkvsrcsnk.dll mfmp4srcsnk.dll mfmpeg2srcsnk.dll mfnetcore.dll mfnetsrc.dll mfperfhelper.dll mfplat.dll mfps.dll mfreadwrite.dll mfsrcsnk.dll mfsvr.dll mftranscode.dll mfvdsp.dll mfvfw.dll mpvis.DLL msmpeg2adec.dll msmpeg2vdec.dll msvproc.dll mswmdm.dll spwmp.dll sqlcecompact40.dll sqlceoledb40.dll sqlceqp40.dll sqlcese40.dll sqmapi.dll winmde.dll wmcodecdspps.dll wmdmlog.dll wmdmps.dll wmerror.dll wmidx.dll wmp.dll wmpdxm.dll wmpeffects.dll wmploc.DLL wmpnssci.dll wmpps.dll wmpshell.dll wmvdspa.dll wpd_ci.dll wpdbusenum.dll wpdshext.dll
Installing an older version of the Media Features Pack (via the standalone installer) on a more recent Windows build might cause WMVCore.dll missing errors.
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Thanks , I thought that no windows media player inside win10.
I downloaded Windows Media Features for Windows 10 N but still have the same problem((( I have no Windows Media Player and also, because Windows 10 N has no Media Features, I can not run icloud…
windows media player has never played well ever for more than a few weeks at a time 10 years
Thanks.
The last option worked for me.
@jonnie: Great, thanks for the feedback.
Great,
The last option worked for me as it was missing from windows features.
Very helpful thanks again.
You rock! Awesome, precisely what I needed.
Ramesh, thanks so much for this post. Brief, informative & successful. I’m a long term follower of your helpful posts going back to the early days of XP.
@Ian: Since the XP days… Great, I’m very glad to hear that. Thank you very much for reading.
When attempting to install via DISM, error: 5 (Access denied). When attempting to add a component from system settings, error: Failed to add. HELP!
Windows 10 LTSC 21H2
@yuhrim: Which antivirus do you use?
Please share your CBS logs on OneDrive and post the download link here.
dopo infinite ricerche sul web per ripristinare la funzionalità di windows media player in windows 11,ho trovato qui la giusta soluzione. Grazie.