Fix Windows Media Player Crashing/Lagging with Troubleshooter

Windows Media Player is one of the best and world-wide favorite media app for Windows users. It is trusted by more than half of the world as it has been around and proving itself best for years. It is freely available on the internet for people to download, watch videos, and play songs on it. It works great for the majority of the people. However, there is a minor chunk of people who complain about windows media player not working problems. The people who find it working in the best way possible feel amazed by complaints but we assure you that there are times when there is the need for a windows media player troubleshooter.

If you are someone who is facing some issues related to the windows media player, we have some solutions for you in mind. There is no need for you to be a tech guru to apply these fixes because they are really simple and do not take more than an hour or so (in the exaggerated cases).

Part 1. Fix Windows Media Player Crashing/Lagging with Troubleshooter

One major issue that the majority of the people have the same complaint about windows media player which is a windows media player crashing. They complain that as soon as they open an audio or video file the software either does not open or if it opens, it freezes right away. This causes the users to wait for a long time and wait for the software to respond. However, the screen stays frozen for as long as the software is open. In the end, they have to choose to close the software and as a response, the screen displays a prompt asking the user whether he would like to wait for the software to respond or he would like to kill the process.

The people who face this issue for the first time prefer to wait for the software to respond while the people who are aware of this issue directly kill the process. Are you someone who is facing the same issue? If yes, then we are aware that you have tried to load the file more than twice and got the same results which made you surf the internet for the solution to fix this issue. There are a couple of errors that could be causing the problem so there are multiple fixes. We have gathered a list of the possible issues along with their possible solutions for you.

Tip 1. Run the Built-in Troubleshooters

Like every other software, windows media player comes with its troubleshooter which is capable to fix almost every issue the users face. If you are facing a windows media player error, it is best to try the built-in troubleshooters first. This software comes with not one but two troubleshooters- Windows Media Player Settings, Windows Media Player Library, and Windows Media Player DVD. It is totally up to you to select the troubleshooter you want to go with. We would recommend you to choose the troubleshooter that goes well with the problem you are facing. In case your software did not come with any troubleshooter, you can easily download them from the internet without paying anything.

1. First of all, open the troubleshooter. To do this you can use the Windows short-key for it which is Windows Key + R. You can also open the Run dialog box from the Start menu if you do not want to use the short key. You will see the option to run the troubleshooter. Once you run it, there are high chances that your problem will be fixed.

2. If you believe that either your issue is not fixed or it does not belong to the first category, you can choose to run the Windows Media Player Settings troubleshooter. To do so, open msdt.exe and type -id "WindowsMediaPlayerConfigurationDiagnostic" to open the troubleshooter. You will see the Advanced tag, choose to Run as Administrator, and check the Apply Repairs Automatically box. You can choose to leave the box unchecked if you like but we would suggest that you check it. Now, click "Next" and follow the prompts. This would fix your software within a few minutes.

3. Now, if no fixing technique has worked so far, it is time for you to go for Windows Media Player Library troubleshooter. You need to open msdt.exe again, write WindowsMediaPlayerLibraryDiagnostic, and press enters to open the Windows Media Player Library troubleshooter. You will notice a tab of Advanced again, we suggest you to choose to Run as Administrator and check the box of Apply Repairs Automatically. Click on the "Next" button and follow all the prompts coming along the way. If the first two fixing techniques did not work, we are sure that this would work for you.

4. Well, good for you there is another way to fix the issue you are facing. This includes the use of the Windows Media Player DVD. Open msdt.exe –id once again and type WindowsMediaPlayerDVDDiagnostic. The Windows Media Player Library troubleshooter will open on your screen. Again under the tag of Advanced, select to Run as Administrator and check to Apply Repairs Automatically box. Keep selecting "Next" and follow the prompts. Hopefully, your issue will be fixed.

Tip 2. Check video itself and repair it

In some cases, the reason for Windows Media Player crashing or lagging is the videos are corrupted. You can try Recoverit Video Repair to repair the video first.

Recoverit Video Repair is a special tool that has been invented to repair all types of videos that are not accessible, corrupt, broken, or damaged in MOV, MP4, M4V, M2TS, MKV, MTS, 3GP, AVI, FLV, and more file formats. It doesn't matter which brand of camera you have, it is workable on all kinds for example Canon, Sony, Go Pro, Olympus, Nikon, Fuji, Samsung, Panasonic, DJI, Parrot, Skydio, and all others. This program has been specifically designed to support all kinds of corrupt videos it helps to fix the video is not playing, audio-video sync problems, video playback disrupted, still videos, not clear videos, etc. Here are the steps to repair the corrupted video.

Step 1- Add the corrupted videos

Now launch the app either from the start menu or from the shortcut created at the desktop at the time of installation. The screen opened will give you the option to upload all the corrupted media. You can either open the folder from the app to upload the media or simply drag and drop.

Step 2- Start repairing the media

The software will initiate the uploading within a few seconds and it will take some minutes for the media to be uploaded. Then click the "Repair" button to start repairing the corrupted video.

Step 3- Preview the repaired video

It's a bit time taking process and once it's done repairing, a message of successful fix will pop up on the computer screen. After this, you can preview the video by clicking the "preview" button.

Step 4: Advance mode for highly corrupted video (optional)

You can click the "Advanced Repair" button for those videos which have not been successfully fixed by the instant fixing method, normally it happens with the videos that are highly corrupted.

Then add a video file that you want to repair.

Step 5: Save repaired video

The last step is very simple, all you need to do is clicking on the "Save" button to save the repaired video file anywhere in your laptop or desktop, whatever you are using.

Tip 3. Use System Restore to RollBack

There are times when none of the above-shared techniques work. Does that mean that you need to stop watching movies and enjoy listening to songs? Surely, not! The best solution at this stage for you is to restore to an earlier restore point. There are always a few older versions of Windows Media Player present on your computer. Just look for the perfect one and restore it.

Tip 4. Reinstall Windows Media Player

We are aware that you would have lost your patience by now as you might have tried all the solutions mentioned above. If nothing was able to fix windows media player lagging or the issue kept returning after a few intervals, then you need to uninstall the software. Check different websites to download the new version from a credible source and install it. New versions are better than the previous ones and come with bug fixes so they are guaranteed to work.

Tip 5. Run the Fix WMP Utility

If the issue is stubborn enough to give up easily, we have another fix for it. Multiple free apps can re-register windows media DLL files for the user. Among all these apps, Fix WMP is the best and the most reliable app. It re-registers all Windows Media DLL files to eliminate the bugs causing your Windows Media Player to run poorly or give multiple errors. Luckily, this software is simple enough to be even used by someone who is not very much into tech. All you have to do is to run it and then select "Run Utility". You can also choose the option to "Exit" if you do not want to proceed further. It will take no more than a few minutes to re-install all the DLL files and once it is done, you will receive a notification. Now, you can close the app and enjoy different videos and audios without any issues or errors.

Tip 6. Choose Windows Media Player to Play Media Files

Sometimes you want to view media in the windows media player but it keeps opening into another app. This happens when you have not selected windows media player as your priority for opening the videos and audios. You can do that by following these easy steps:

Step 1: Click the "Start" button and open the menu to select settings.

Step 2: Select "System ((Display, notifications, apps, power) to open this option.

Step 3: Click the option of Default apps and scroll down to see the Music Player section.

Step 4: You will notice Groove Music is the default music or media player. The reason behind this selection is that newer versions of Windows have made this app a default app for videos and audios. To change the default player, click on the Groove Music entry.

Since the majority of the people are using a newer version of Windows, we have provided the process only for that. However, if you are using some other version, you can check the process on the internet.

Part 2. Other issues you may see with Windows Media Player

Windows media player lagging is not the only issue faced by the users of this software. There are some other issues as well that do not get more attention from the world as they are faced rarely. Here is the list of other issues you may see with the Windows Media Player.

No software is perfect and carries some issues along with different phases of its life. In the case of Windows Media Player, windows media player crashing is the major issue. Thank technology there are multiple ways to tackle this issue now. The time taken for any of these solutions to work depends highly on the strength of the issue and the efficiency of the solution. We hope that the above-mentioned solutions have helped you and you do not need to look anywhere else for help. In case the issue persists, we suggest you search forclass alternatives to this particular software as the market is full of new and better software.