Windows Media Player keeps deleting itself

I spent about two years using Windows Media Player without a single hiccup. Then, out of nowhere, it just vanished from my system. I reinstalled it, fixed the issue, and felt good—until a month later, it decided to delete itself again. Honestly, it’s been this weird little trench war between me and the software for months now, but I’m tired of just patching the symptoms when there's clearly an underlying disease here.

I’ve got RealPlayer installed too, but the subtitle support is way too limited for my liking, which is why I’m so dead set on getting Windows Media Player back to normal.

What the hell is actually going on?

As long as you aren't dealing with some kind of malware... or perhaps just running a trial version of Windows Media Player...

Justin Phillips15 said:As long as you aren't dealing with some kind of malware... or perhaps just running a trial version of Windows Media Player...

I can tell you right now I definitely have viruses; I've only managed to clear out about a third of them so far. As for the other part of your theory, I'm not entirely sure—my first installation wasn't a trial, but the others could go either way.

Should I finish scrubbing the viruses before I attempt the install again?

VLC Media Player really is in a league of its own, isn't it?

Nathan Ramos said:VLC Media Player really is in a league of its own, isn't it?

You mean VLC Media Player? Honestly, people don't just guess on those ratings. It's a solid 3.5/5.

My entire hard drive is just overflowing with various software suites that have all earned perfect ten-out-of-ten reviews for being completely clean and reliable...
I can't help but wonder, what on earth are everyone else doing differently if they're having such a hard time getting VLC Media Player to function properly?

Nathan Ramos said:My entire hard drive is just overflowing with various software suites that have all earned perfect ten-out-of-ten reviews for being completely clean and reliable...
I can't help but wonder, what on earth are everyone else doing differently if they're having such a hard time getting VLC Media Player to function properly?

The way Windows Media Player automatically pulls in available subtitles right when you hit play just makes everything so much easier. Honestly, that’s the one feature I can't live without.

goldenbison36 said:You mean VLC Media Player? Honestly, people don't just guess on those ratings. It's a solid 3.5/5.

VLC Media Player does its job well enough,😁 but once you start exploring the sheer depth of options available in VLC Media Player, it becomes pretty clear that VLC Media Player just can't compete.🍿

http://www.techcrunch.com/forum/topic/comment...=asc&view=flat

Andrew Miller102 said:VLC Media Player does its job well enough,😁 but once you start exploring the sheer depth of options available in VLC Media Player, it becomes pretty clear that VLC Media Player just can't compete.🍿

http://www.techcrunch.com/forum/topic/comment...=asc&view=flat

Haha, I didn't exactly start this thread to get a sales pitch for different media players. 🤣

I’m trying to get this Windows Media Player mess sorted out, but if I can't make it work, I guess I'll just see what VLC Media Player can do for me. haha.

goldenbison36 said:I can tell you right now I definitely have viruses; I've only managed to clear out about a third of them so far. As for the other part of your theory, I'm not entirely sure—my first installation wasn't a trial, but the others could go either way.

Should I finish scrubbing the viruses before I attempt the install again?

Well, give it a shot... I don't think your antivirus software is just going to delete itself.
Run an anti-malware scan too. Once you've cleared out all that junk, try the install again and you'll see how it goes.

Justin Phillips15 said:Well, give it a shot... I don't think your antivirus software is just going to delete itself.
Run an anti-malware scan too. Once you've cleared out all that junk, try the install again and you'll see how it goes.

Fair enough. 👍

I should probably mention that VLC Media Player handles subtitles just fine for me, though honestly, everything else is pretty much irrelevant... just hit play and enjoy the show.