How to get back the Internet Online Stream Radio by uninstalling Windows Media Player 11

Who loves listening to Internet Radio while you are working or coding? Yes, it is me. I like Internet Radios, and that is why I think the Internet is so great. Since I like music, especially listening Chinese songs while I am coding to stop the outside world from interrupting me at that moment, I sometimes use online stream radio to enjoy the no-stop new/old music playing because the traditional radio wave can not cross the ocean for me.

But suddenly I could not connect to some of my favorite Internet Radio stations any more, name a few, Taiwan Kiss Radio, etc. This made me very frustrated, since I could not be focused on coding without radio music. But the trouble shoot for this issue made me more frustrated. I tried to close all my anti-virus, and google search on “can not listen online radio” return invalid solutions.

After a few days of listening to CD music, I figure out the problem was caused by one of Microsoft’s recent updates. MS just upgraded my Windows Media Player from version 10 to version 11. And for no reason, starting from Windows Media Player 11, it does not support mms:// protocol any more. And a lot of radio stations are still using mms:// instead of rstp:// protocol.

I know it is so stupid for doing such thing on a so-called popular stream audio/video player. But hi, it is MICROSOFT. What is the difference of rstp:// and mms:// anyway.

OK, to get back my Internet Radios, my only choice is to un-install Windows Media Player 11 and use the previous version of Media Player (Unfortunately all of my favorite online radios do not use Realplay stream format, it is sad).

To make sure you will not run any problem, here is some of my suggest steps to un-install Windows Media Player 11.

Method 1, Rolling back to a previous version of the Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player is a feature of the Windows operating system and cannot be removed entirely. However, in Windows XP, you can roll back to the version of the Player that was previously on your computer.

You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to perform the following procedure. And you need to reboot your system for at least twice, so you are recommended to print out the following procedures for your own conveniences.

1. Prepare the un-installation. Disconnect any portable music or video devices that might be attached to your computer.
2. Remove Windows Media Player 11 main program.
   1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
   2. In the Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove a program.
   3. Click Windows Media Player 11, and then click Remove. If Windows Media Player 11 is not displayed in the list of currently installed programs, then try the following:
      • At the top of the list, select the Show updates check box.
      • In the Windows XP – Software Updates section, click Windows Media Player 11, and then click Change/Remove.
   4. In each of the two confirmation dialog boxes that appear, click OK.
   5. When the rollback process is complete (it might take several minutes), click Restart. And your machine will shut down and reboot.
3. Remove Windows Media Format 11 Runtime.
   1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
   2. In the Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove a program.
   3. Click Windows Media Format 11 Runtime, and then click Remove.If Windows Media Format 11 Runtime is not displayed in the list of currently installed programs, then try the following:
      • At the top of the list, select the Show updates check box.
      • In the Windows XP – Software Updates section, click Windows Media Format 11 Runtime, and then click Change/Remove.If you installed a non-US English version of Windows Media Player 11, the instructions in the dialog boxes that are mentioned in steps 9, 10, and 11 might appear in English.
   4. In the first confirmation dialog box that appears, click OK.
   5. In the second confirmation dialog box that appears, select the Do you want to continue with the rollback? check box, and then click OK.
   6. When the rollback process is complete (it might take several minutes to complete), click Restart. And your system will reboot again.
4. Remove Microsoft User-Mode Driver Framework Feature Pack 1.0.0
   1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
   2. In the Category View of Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Remove a program.
   3. Click Microsoft User-Mode Driver Framework Feature Pack 1.0.0, and then click Remove.
   4. Follow the instructions that appear in the Software Update Removal Wizard. You might see a warning window saying a lot of other programs are using this feature, just ignore that. If the Wudf01000 confirmation dialog box appears, click Yes to continue. When the software removal process is complete (it might take several minutes to complete), click Finish.

You might not be able to roll back to a previous version of the Player if the hidden folder $NtUninstallwmp11$ is deleted from your computer. Some non-Microsoft programs (such as CCleaner) delete this folder in an attempt to remove unwanted files from your computer.

If you can not remove Window Media Player 11 from the above method, please try the following method 2.

Method 2, Using System Restore to get the previous version of Windows Media Player

If you remember when the damn Microsoft updated your system, you may return to a previous version of WMP (that was part of your original version of Windows) using System Restore.

For me, I could not remember when I have been upgraded to WMP 11, so I used the method 1 to roll back to the Windows Media Player 10. After two reboots, and viola, all my favorite internet radios are back.

So happy to write this blog entry while listening to some Chinese Music again!

[Some detailed steps' Credit goes to all-streaming-media.com]

Tags: Internet Radio, Windows Media Player

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