Why Restore Default Settings

Windows Media Player 12 relies on its configuration settings to run smoothly. There are settings for the program to use and custom ones saved when you make a change—like customizing the view or adding music folders. However, things can go wrong with these configuration scripts. Usually, corruption is the reason why you suddenly get a problem in Windows Media Player 12. For instance, when you run the program, a problem might arise, such as:

You can’t get any audio to play.Errors appear when burning CDs.Media indexes become corrupted.Video playback issues with formats that worked before.Windows Media Player 12 crashes or doesn’t run at all.

Learn how to reset Windows Media Player.

How to Run the MSDT Tool to Reset Windows Media Player

If you have a stubborn configuration problem in Windows Media Player 12 that you can’t fix, instead of uninstalling WMP 12 and starting again, all you might need to do is reset to its default settings. In Windows 7 or higher, one of the best tools to use for this job is called the MSDT (Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool). It detects any corrupt settings in WMP 12 and can be used to reset them to the original settings. To discover how to do this, follow the simple tutorial below.

How to Run the MSDT Tool in Advanced Mode

If you want to switch to the advanced mode to view the diagnostics in verbose (detailed) mode, click the Advanced hyperlink and clear the Apply Repairs Automatically check box when starting the tool. If you have problems with the music library in Windows Media Player, you might want to read about rebuilding WMP’s database.