Please help - Media Player 9 for XP

[Dr. Mac]

Greetings folks

I would really appreciate some help.

My girlfriend has WinXP pro and it was installed with Windows Media Player 8.

Now, I have WMP 9 installed. It has the same GUI as version 8, but more features. So, that is what I wanted to install on her machine.

Over the week-end I went to the MS site to download an update, and they said that they no longer supplied WMP 9 for XP, so I downloaded version 10 and installed that.

My girlfriend does NOT like the "new look" at all and wants to go back to the layout and GUI she knew.

O.K. Two problems ...

1) We had just completed a full virus scan so System Restore was TURNED OFF when we installed WMP 10. So ... rolling back is impossible.

2) We do not have the original WMP 8.

Now, Microsoft does have version 9 available for download, but says it is for Win 98, ME and 2000. I suspect that once upon a time MS was saying it was fine for XP as well (because both 2000 and XP use the same file system) And so ...

* Will this v.9 work on XP?

* Can I use Add/Remove to uninstall the WMP 10 on her system, and then install the above version 9?

* If this version will NOT work on XP, does anyone know where the version 9 that is suitable for XP can be downloaded from?

Thanks folks - I do appreciate your advice and input.

Dr. Mac

[tarquel]

* Will this v.9 work on XP?

No, it will not.

* Can I use Add/Remove to uninstall the WMP 10 on her system, and then install the above version 9?

Providing you have System Restore enabled when you installed v10, you should be able to uninstall version 10 from Add/Remove Programs and you will have the old version back again.

You should try playing with version 10 some more though, as u may be able to configure it to look like the old[er] version.

There is quite a bit of difference between 8, 9, and 10.

Plus, remember, version 11 is on its way

[i may have a install for ver 9 at home btw if u really need it]

Cheers

Nath

[Jeremy]

Or show her Media Player Classic.

[tarquel]

Bah... I left out that comment *doh!*

[Ctrl-X]

AFAIK, WMP 9 was included with XP SP2... Doesn't she have that installed? If not, maybe uninstalling WMP 10 and then installing SP2 will solve her problem.

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

scroll to the player you want

http://oldapps.com/windows_media_player.htm

[Jeremy]

Notice how the filesize gets bigger... and bigger... and bigger...

[Dr. Mac]

You guys are absolutely briliant!

Thanks so much for your input.

Right now, I'm kinda in the dog-house with my girlfriend for screwing up the type of interface (WMP v. 8) that she knew how to use! I have kinda been "warned" to get it sorted ... or else ... !!!

SP2 - no, she doesn't have that. She bought her PC which had WinXP SP1 installed on it from a Internet cafe that went out of business. Unfortunately, our attempts to download updates recently have failed - Microsoft says something about needing a licenece or registration number before we can download updates!!! I cannot see a public Internet cafe using illegal software so I'm sure it must have had a licence. We used to update it it before, but now we cannot.

Anyway, point is it is still very well protected using 3rd party software like Zone Alarm, excellent anti-virus and spyware/malware programs etc.

BUT ... back to the point at hand.

Thank god you told me NOT to go and try to install the version 9 for 88, ME and 2000 ... because then I really WOULD have had a court case and divorse on my hands !!! OR she would have just gone ahead and killed me!

So ... THANK YOU for showing me where to get the NT version of WMP 9. Thank you very very much!

The only problem I now have would be uninstalling the present version 10. Nope - as I said - System Restore was NOT on. But I knowq that Win98 never had a System Restore, and it is still possible to uninstall programs using the Add/Remove facility, So, hopefully I will be able to do the same on her XP machine, then install the NT version of WMP 9.

If there is anything else I should know about uninstalling that version 10 (remember - NO System Restore available to help out) then I sure would appreciate any extra tips. I mean ... you wouldn't want to read in the papers tomorrow, "Bungling boyfriend found in ditch with computer monitor smashed over his head"

Thanks folks.

Dr. Mac

[Zxian]

SP2 - no, she doesn't have that. She bought her PC which had WinXP SP1 installed on it from a Internet cafe that went out of business. Unfortunately, our attempts to download updates recently have failed - Microsoft says something about needing a licenece or registration number before we can download updates!!! I cannot see a public Internet cafe using illegal software so I'm sure it must have had a licence. We used to update it it before, but now we cannot.

Anyway, point is it is still very well protected using 3rd party software like Zone Alarm, excellent anti-virus and spyware/malware programs etc.

Tsk Tsk Tsk... you think that because of your anti-virus and firewall, you're secure without SP2? Unfortunately that's not the case - Service Pack 2 is a must in my books. Anyone who doesn't run it either doesn't understand the benefits, or they can't install it because they're using a pirated copy of XP. I don't think that a business would be stupid enough to use pirated software, so you've probably got a legit copy. Does the computer have a COA somewhere on it?

You can download the full SP2 installation here and install that at your leisure.

Oh... and WMP11 is much better than WMP8 or 9. Tell her to upgrade and get used to the new UI. Once she uses it for a bit, she'll wonder how she ever went back.

[Dr. Mac]

Does the computer have a COA somewhere on it?

A .... WHAT ????

Where would I find that ?

-----------------------------------------------

Also folks, as per my request above, is it possible to use Add/Remove to uninstall WMP10 when a System Restore point was NOT in operation at the time of the install?

Thanks guys.

Dr. Mac

[Ctrl-X]

A .... WHAT ????

Where would I find that ?

A Certificate Of Authenticity See *this page* for more info.

Also folks, as per my request above, is it possible to use Add/Remove to uninstall WMP10 when a System Restore point was NOT in operation at the time of the install?

If it's in the Add/Remove Programs list and it has a Remove button, you should be able to uninstall it.

[Dr. Mac]

Dear Ctrl-X

Thanks for the reply.

Ah! ha! A Certificate of Authentication!

Yup! Knew that all along! Just wanted to see if YOU knew! ... ...

Any idea where to find that though? If I did a "Find files and folders ... " what would I ask Bill to look for?

-----------------------------------------

Great news about "If it is in Add/Remove, then yes ... "

Thank you for that. I haven't had the courage to go visit her for a few days but now, armed with your input, I might go around tomorrow!

Thanks guys. You are ALL stars for helping me out like this.

Dr. Mac

[Ctrl-X]

Ah! ha! A Certificate of Authentication!

Yup! Knew that all along! Just wanted to see if YOU knew! ... ...

Of course

Any idea where to find that though? If I did a "Find files and folders ... " what would I ask Bill to look for?

It's not on the disk; it's a label that's attached to the system case somewhere... Check the page I linked to in my previous post for some examples of what it might look like.