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 seen. This makes one wonder if Windows Media Player has been removed in Windows 10 and 11. Windows Media Player very much exists in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
(If you bought the computer from Europe or Korea and have Windows N or the KN Edition, then skip directly to the last part of this article.)
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, then check out if the file WMPlayer.exe exists under 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” then the Windows Media Player package may not have been installed.
Install WMP/Media Features on Windows 10 and 11
Using the classic Windows Features dialog
To install Windows Media Player:
- Right-click Start, click Programs and Features. Click “Turn Windows features on or off”.
- Expand Media Features, enable Windows Media Player, and click OK.
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 file wmplayer.exe
doesn’t exist, then you’re probably using Windows N or KN Edition. Windows N (for Europe) and KN (South Korea) variations don’t have media features included by default, due to competition law rulings in both countries. Due to this, 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.
Using Optional/Windows Features in Settings
Install Windows Media Player on Windows 10
For Windows 10 v1909 (and higher) N & KN editions, no direct download link is available for Windows Media Feature Pack. You can add or remove Windows Media Player via Optional features.
- Open Settings (Win + i)
- 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.
“Media Feature Pack” may be listed only on N Editions. Because, in regular Windows Editions, “Media Feature Pack” is integrated. Whereas, the “Windows Media Player” Feature-on-Demand component would be listed on all editions.
Note: In earlier Windows 10/11 versions, “Optional Features” was present under “Apps & Features”.
Install Windows Media Player on Windows 11
- Open Settings (Win + i)
- Click System.
- On the right side, click Optional features.
- Next, “Add an optional feature”, click on the View features button.
- Select “Windows Media Player”, and click Next.
- Click Install.
WMP and “Media Features” Missing in Windows Features?
If WMP/Media Features is missing in Windows Features and the “Optional Features” Settings page, you may try installing the components manually.
Install Media Features and WMP using DISM
Run the following commands to install the Media Feature Pack and WMP on Windows 10 or 11. Note that you don’t have to install “Media Feature Pack” on regular Windows 10/11 Editions.
Open an admin Command Prompt and run the following command:
dism /online /add-capability /capabilityname:Media.WindowsMediaPlayer~~~~0.0.12.0
And then run (the following command is only for N and KN Editions:)
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 standalone installer) in a more recent Windows build might cause the WMVCore.dll file 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.