GTA error: Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system

Are you experiencing the “Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system” error while playing the Grand Theft Auto game? Many GTA players have experienced this error when launching the game. Some users have even faced this error while installing the game. When triggered, here is the full error message that is prompted:

Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your System. Please Install Windows Media Player, then try launching Grand Theft Auto V again.

You might also get this error message while installing the game:

Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your System. Please Install Windows Media Player, then retry the installation

As the error message suggests, it is triggered if Windows Media Player is not installed on your system. However, there can be some other underlying reasons for the error. Now, if you are facing the same error, this guide is for you. In this post, we will show you fixes to help you resolve the error.

What causes the Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system error on GTA?

Here are the potential causes of the Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system error on GTA V:

It is highly likely that this is caused by a missing or disabled Windows Media Player on your PC. Hence, try enabling Windows Media Player to fix the error.
It could also be caused by an outdated Windows OS. So, update your Windows and check if the error is resolved.
You might also face this error if you are dealing with corrupted or missing game files. If applicable, try verifying and repairing the game files to fix the error.
A corrupted installation of the game can also cause this error. So, you can try reinstalling the game to fix the error.

Fix GTA error Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system

Here are the fixes you can try to resolve the Unable to detect Windows Media Player on your system error on GTA V:

Reboot your system.
Make sure your Windows OS is updated.
Enable Windows Media Player.
Update Windows Media Player.
Verify the integrity of game files.
Troubleshoot in a clean boot state.
Reinstall GTA V.

Let us discuss the above fixes in detail.

1] Reboot your system

The first thing you should do to fix this error is to restart your PC. This error might be caused by some temporary glitch in your system or even the game. In that case, a simple restart should fix the problem for you. Hence, try rebooting your PC, then launch the game to check whether the error is fixed.

If restarting your system doesn’t work, you can try some other troubleshooting methods from this post.

2] Make sure your Windows OS is updated

You are likely to face this error if you are using an outdated version of Windows. Hence, you need to ensure that your Windows is up-to-date to avoid such errors. To update Windows, you can follow the below simple steps:

Firstly, press Windows + I to open the Settings app.
Now, go to the Windows Update tab and press the Check for updates button. Windows will now detect all the available updates that you can install.

After you are done updating your PC, it will restart. You can then try opening the game and check if the error is now resolved or not.

Read: Fix Grand Theft Auto V Launcher has stopped working.

3] Enable Windows Media Player

This error could be caused if Windows Media Player is disabled on your system. Hence, you need to enable it to fix the error at hand. For that, you can follow the below steps:

Firstly, open Control Panel from the taskbar search.
Now, click on the Programs and Features option.
Next, from the left-side pane, tap on the Turn Windows features on or off option.
In the Windows Features dialog window, scroll down to the Media Features category.
After that, make sure that the checkbox associated with the Windows Media Player option is enabled.
Finally, press the OK button and try opening GTA V to see if the error is fixed.

If the error still persists, try the next potential fix to resolve the problem.

4] Update Windows Media Player

Outdated applications are known to cause errors on PC. If you are using an outdated version of Windows Media Player, update the app and then try running the game. To update Windows Media Player, you can follow the below steps:

Firstly, open Microsoft Store from the taskbar search option.
Now, go to the Library section from the left-side panel.
Next, press the Get updates button to scan and download available updates for installed apps.
Once done, reboot your PC and check whether the error is resolved.

If you still get the same error, try the next fix to resolve it.

Read: Fix Error Code 134 in GTA on Windows PC.

5] Verify the integrity of game files

In many cases, game launch errors like the one at hand are caused by corrupted or broken game files. So, this error could very well be facilitated if there are corrupted, broken, or missing game files of GTA V. Hence, if the scenario is applicable, all you have to do to fix the error is to verify the integrity of the game files and repair the bad ones.

If you are using Rockstar Games Launcher, you can follow the steps below to verify and repair the game files of GTA V:

Firstly, open Rockstar Games Launcher and click on the Settings option from its home screen.
Now, navigate to the My installed games section which is available in the left-hand side pane, and choose the GTA V game.
Next, tap on the Verify Integrity button available under the Verify game file integrity option. The launcher will now verify and repair your game files.
Once the verification process is finished, you will get a popup message.
Finally, you can reopen GTA V and check whether it runs properly without the error in question.

In case you play the GTA V game on Steam, you can try the steps below to verify the integrity of the game files:

Firstly, open the Steam client and move to LIBRARY.
Next, select the GTA V game and press the right-click on it.
After that, tap on the Properties option from the appeared context menu.
Then, go to the Local Files tab and click on the Verify Integrity of Game Files button.
Once the game files’ verification is done, relaunch the GTA V game and check if the error is resolved now.

If the problem persists, you can try the next potential fix to resolve the error.

Read: Fix GTA online not working on Windows PC.

6] Troubleshoot in a clean boot state

If none of the above solutions helped you fix the error, you can try performing a clean boot. There might be third-party app conflicts causing the error at hand. Hence, restarting your PC in a clean boot state should help you fix the error. Here is how to do that:

First, open the Run dialog with Win+R, then type msconfig in the Open field.
Then, press the Enter button to open up the System Configuration window.
Now, move to the Services tab and check the Hide all Microsoft services option.
Next, click the Disable all button to turn off all non-essential services, then click the Apply button.
After that, move to the Startup tab, press the Open Task Manager option, and then disable all the startup programs in the open Task Manager.
Finally, restart your Windows PC and check whether the error is resolved.

7] Reinstall GTA

The last resort to fix the error is to reinstall GTA V. In a few instances, this error could also be caused by corrupted game installation files. Hence, you can try uninstalling the game and then reinstalling it to fix the error.

How do I fix the GTA launcher error?

If you are unable to launch GTA on your PC, you can try running the game as an administrator. If that doesn’t work, verify the integrity of GTA 5 game files, update your graphics driver, reinstall Visual C++, delete the cache files, disable your antivirus, or disable your NVIDIA device. Other than that, you can also try reinstalling the Rockstar Games Launcher and Social Club applications to fix the problem.

Hope this helps!

How do I fix Media Player error?

The fixes to resolve a Windows Media Player error depend upon the error you are receiving. For example, if you are experiencing the Server Execution Failed error in Windows Media Player, you can try running Video Playback Troubleshooter or disable the WMP Network Sharing service.

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