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I have a Windows Media Player installation which is behaving strangely. I know I have the correct codecs installed for a piece of video,

  1. because it is Windows Media Video
  2. because the Zune software plays it just fine
  3. this is a recent problem; this type of video played just fine a week ago, but I have been unable to isolate the change that borked things (and I have System Restore disabled because the space on this SSD is cramped as it is)

When I try to view any video in Windows Media Player, the video does not play, and I just get this:

blank WMP window

and none of the media buttons have any effect.

I have already tried the following:

  1. Uninstalling and reinstalling the KLite Codec Pack
  2. Uninstalling and reinstalling Windows Media Player via "Add or Remove Windows Features"
  3. Removing and allowing WMP to rebuild it's media library by erasing the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows Media directory.
  4. sfc /scannow

How can I troubleshoot this problem?

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  • Have you tried the video in another, non-MSFT player? (VLC will play nearly anything)
    – BinaryMage
    Mar 30, 2012 at 4:09
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    @BinaryMage: VLC works but destroys battery life; it appears to be incapable of doing the kind of GPU offloading that WMP does. (And as I mentioned the Zune software works too as a workaround; I just want WMP back)
    – Billy ONeal
    Mar 30, 2012 at 14:33
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    Well, since what steps you took should have fixed a WMP issue, I'd try updating your videocard drivers. If WMP is using the GPU, that could be an issue.
    – BinaryMage
    Mar 31, 2012 at 3:22

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