Change default Windows Media Player 32-bit to 64-bit?

ThePerryholic

New Member
Messages
6
​​Hi, I recently bought a notebook with Windows 8 core pre-installed. The system type is 64-bit OS, and x-64 bit processor. How can I set the Windows Media Player to default 64-bit?:huh: It's currently running at 32-bit as shown by the Task Manager.


Please someone help!
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Core x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP g6 Pavilion 2202tx
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M(3rd Generation)
    Motherboard
    Intel B75 Express
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7670M 1GB Dedicated
    Sound Card
    HD Audio, Dolby Advanced Audio v2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6 inch HD Brightview Widescreen LED Backlit Display
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 Pixel
    Hard Drives
    SATA 500 GB @ 5400 RPM

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
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    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Core x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP g6 Pavilion 2202tx
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M(3rd Generation)
    Motherboard
    Intel B75 Express
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7670M 1GB Dedicated
    Sound Card
    HD Audio, Dolby Advanced Audio v2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6 inch HD Brightview Widescreen LED Backlit Display
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 Pixel
    Hard Drives
    SATA 500 GB @ 5400 RPM

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
You're right! I think I did it, it doesn't show 32-bit notification now. What do you think?

WMP64BIT.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Core x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP g6 Pavilion 2202tx
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M(3rd Generation)
    Motherboard
    Intel B75 Express
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7670M 1GB Dedicated
    Sound Card
    HD Audio, Dolby Advanced Audio v2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6 inch HD Brightview Widescreen LED Backlit Display
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 Pixel
    Hard Drives
    SATA 500 GB @ 5400 RPM

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Core x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP g6 Pavilion 2202tx
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M(3rd Generation)
    Motherboard
    Intel B75 Express
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7670M 1GB Dedicated
    Sound Card
    HD Audio, Dolby Advanced Audio v2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6 inch HD Brightview Widescreen LED Backlit Display
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 Pixel
    Hard Drives
    SATA 500 GB @ 5400 RPM

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Core x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP g6 Pavilion 2202tx
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M(3rd Generation)
    Motherboard
    Intel B75 Express
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7670M 1GB Dedicated
    Sound Card
    HD Audio, Dolby Advanced Audio v2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6 inch HD Brightview Widescreen LED Backlit Display
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 Pixel
    Hard Drives
    SATA 500 GB @ 5400 RPM
If it's 32bit, you'll see the indication, and if it's a 64bit process, you don't. The reason 32bit processes are still the default is for add-on compatibility - similar to IE, backwards compatibility with WMP add-ons (and other software that may host or otherwise use WMP) means having both, and defaulting to the "older" 32bit app. If you explicitly set the 64bit app as the default, you could be potentially breaking interop, although you'd probably know if you had apps that didn't work relatively soon afterwards. Also, I'm not sure there's a real advantage (yet) either performance-wise or app-wise for using a 64bit WMP process over the 32bit one, but if you want to do it I suppose it's not difficult to accomplish ;).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4790K @ 4.5GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus Hero VII
    Memory
    32GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce GTX970
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 250GB SSD
    4x WD RE 2TB (RAIDZ)
    PSU
    Corsair AX760i
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R4
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15
If it's 32bit, you'll see the indication, and if it's a 64bit process, you don't. The reason 32bit processes are still the default is for add-on compatibility - similar to IE, backwards compatibility with WMP add-ons (and other software that may host or otherwise use WMP) means having both, and defaulting to the "older" 32bit app. If you explicitly set the 64bit app as the default, you could be potentially breaking interop, although you'd probably know if you had apps that didn't work relatively soon afterwards. Also, I'm not sure there's a real advantage (yet) either performance-wise or app-wise for using a 64bit WMP process over the 32bit one, but if you want to do it I suppose it's not difficult to accomplish ;).


Thanks for the insight!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Core x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP g6 Pavilion 2202tx
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3210M(3rd Generation)
    Motherboard
    Intel B75 Express
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7670M 1GB Dedicated
    Sound Card
    HD Audio, Dolby Advanced Audio v2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6 inch HD Brightview Widescreen LED Backlit Display
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768 Pixel
    Hard Drives
    SATA 500 GB @ 5400 RPM
Solution Offered by Microsoft Support is Incomplete

Windows Media Player always defaults to x64 for me--and I don't mess with any of that shít any more. Since WMP has no native .srt support, you can kill two birds with one stone by installing Local Subtitles for WMP.

  • It's a background plug-in--not a filter--so it imposes no performance overhead.
  • It does not interfere with the Media Foundation pipeline.
  • It positions subtitles underneath the video frame (instead of overlaying text over video content.
And oh yeah--you can tick a box during the install process to make WMP default to the x64 version.


Written by Alexander Demidov, the plug-in has been hosted at SourceForge for a couple of years, so you know it's safe--be sure to select the 64-bit version.

Or--as suggested by Shinmila H of Microsoft Support--you could tangle with these entries:

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\wmplayer.exe
  • HKLM\Software\CLASSES\CLSID\{cdc32574-7521-4124-90c3-8d5605a34933}\LocalServer32
  • HKLM\Software\CLASSES\CLSID\{45597c98-80f6-4549-84ff-752cf55e2d29}\LocalServer32
  • HKLM\Software\CLASSES\CLSID\{ed1d0fdf-4414-470a-a56d-cfb68623fc58}\LocalServer32
and still have to pick through the registry and manually eliminate (x86) from every remaining instance of %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player. What a bunch of bullshít.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Yes, you're right


... and still have to pick through the registry and manually eliminate (x86) from every remaining instance of %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player. What a bunch of bullshít.

Hi patronanejo,


yes, you're right the Solution Offered by Microsoft Support is Incomplete and manually eliminate (x86) from "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player" thruout the registry is indeed bullshit.

Please have a look at this: How to Set 64-Bit Windows Media Player 12 (WMP12) As Default Player (My Digital Life)

"In fact, WMP x64 has been included since 64-bit Windows Vista, and the WMP 11 x64 has also not been made as default player. There is workaround to switch or change and set 64-bit Windows Media Player 11 as default player in Vista (Switch, Change or Set 64-Bit Windows Media Player 11 (WMP11) in Windows Vista x64 as Default « My Digital Life). However, the simple trick to switch to 64-bit player does not work anymore as Windows 7 locks the registry key that required to be changed to alter the file associations related to WMP. The change is to improve system security so that malicious code cannot modify the WMP play and enqueue commands.

As a result, Windows 7 users who want to use 64-bit WMP has to performed extra steps to unlock the registry key."

All steps to set 64bit WMP to default is offered as program Win7-WMP-x64.zip which sadly doesn't exist anymore.
I've reconstructed this little program and attached it. It uses SetACL.exe provided by Helge Klein (Download Delprof2, SetACL (Studio) and uberAgent)

Have a nice day,
Chris
 

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Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 64bit
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
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