Restore Missing Media Feature Pack/WMP in Windows 10 and 11

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:

  1. Right-click Start, click Programs and Features. Click “Turn Windows features on or off”.
  2. Expand Media Features, enable Windows Media Player, and click OK.
    wmp missing windows 10

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.

  1. Open Settings (Win + i)
  2. Click System.
  3. On the left side, click Optional features.
  4. Click on the Add a feature button.
  5. Type media” in the text box.
  6. Select “Media Feature Pack” and “Windows Media Player, and install them.
    media feature pack - optional features - FoD

“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

  1. Open Settings (Win + i)
  2. Click System.
  3. On the right side, click Optional features.
  4. Next, “Add an optional feature”, click on the View features button.
  5. Select “Windows Media Player”, and click Next.
  6. 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

media feature pack - optional features - FoD - dism

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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Ramesh Srinivasan is passionate about Microsoft technologies and he has been a consecutive ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional award in the Windows Shell/Desktop Experience category, from 2003 to 2012. He loves to troubleshoot and write about Windows. Ramesh founded Winhelponline.com in 2005.

7 thoughts on “Restore Missing Media Feature Pack/WMP in Windows 10 and 11”

  1. 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…

    Reply

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