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How To Update Windows Media Player

6 Jul

Having Problems With Updating Windows Media Player? This Guide Will Help You Update Windows Media Player Quickly And Easily.

As with the operating system updates for different versions of Microsoft Windows, Windows Media Player searches for updates and from time to time new features, performance and enhancements either automatically or manually. Here we look at the steps needed to update this media program manually or automatically.

Updating Windows Media Player

To update Windows Media Player, you must be logged on to your computer as an administrator or be a member of the Administrators group, and the PC must have Internet connectivity.

To check updates manually:

Click the Help menu, and then click Check for Updates.
If the Help menu is not visible click on the, show the Classic Menus link (which also provides you access to most of the Player functions).

Manual updates can be helpful if you like to have a lot of control over your media library. It will also help if there are certain features that you want to update, and others you may not want to change.

Updating Windows Media Player automatically, on the other hand, is very convenient when you do not want to think about when an update may be needed. To check updates automatically:

Click the arrow below the Now Playing tab, and then click More Options.
On the Player tab, under Check for updates, click the interval option that you want.

In both instances a prompt box will appear informing you if there are no updates, and on some occasions it will state whether you have the most up-to-date version of Windows Media Player.

If you find over time that Window Media Player is not compatible with your needs, or you would like to change to an alternative, there is always the ever growing popular VLC Media Player or VLC Media Player for Mac. For people who use more than one kind of media player, it may also be worthwhile to consider an independent updater like RadarSync PC Updater or the free Updater from Software.com. That way you can manage all of your software updates through one program.