How Do I Set Windows Media Player As the Default Player for Video Files?

Windows Media Player is a video player packaged with Microsoft's Windows operating systems. Windows Media Player can play a variety of media files, but if you install a new media player program, that program may set itself as the default device for playing certain types of files. This can be an annoyance if you are used to having Windows Media Player open files by default; Windows Media Player can be reset as your default media device by following a few simple steps.

Instructions

Setting Windows Media Player on Windows XP

1. Click "Start," then "Control Panel."

2. Click "Add or Remove Programs" under "Pick a Category," then click "Add or Remove Programs."

3. Click "Set Program Access and Defaults," and then click "Custom."

4. Select Windows Media Player and click "OK" under "Choose a default media player."

Set Windows Media Player to Default in Vista

1. Click "Start," then click "Default Programs."

2. Click "Set your program defaults."

3. Select Windows Media Player and then click "Set this program as default" and click "OK."

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't want to completely reset your defaults, you can right-click on a video file, select "Open with," and then choose to open it with Windows Media Player.

• Windows Media Player is not compatible with all types of video files, so even if you set it as your default player it will not open incompatible files (It becomes the default player for any type of file it can open.).

References

• Windows: Change which programs Windows uses by default
• Windows Media: Set Windows Media Player 11 as Your Default Digital Media Player