How to run XNA framework game without installing Windows Media Player?

Question

I have a steam game that uses Microsoft XNA framework. This has a dependency on some Windows Media Player (WMP) dlls. For some reason I'm unable to reinstall WMP via "Turn windows features on or off" ("An error has occurred. Not all of the features were successfully changed").

Answer 1

Hacky work-around:

1. Search for wmp.dll in C:\Windows\WinSxS\. They should be in a folder C:\Windows\winSxS\wow64_microsoft-windows-mediaplayer-core_*\*
   E.g. wow64_microsoft-windows-mediaplayer-core_31bf3856ad364e35_10.0.15063.0_none_26d246aabc4934f8
2. Copy wmp.dll and wmploc.dll to C:\Windows\SysWOW64 (or C:\Windows\system32 if using 32bit Windows).
   Note: For newer versions additional files might have to be included: wmp.dll, wmploc.dll, dxmasf.dll and gnsdk_fp.dll
3. Open cmd as admin
4. In cmd window enter regsvr32 c:\windows\syswow64\wmp.dll (or regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\wmp.dll if 32bit Windows).
5. A "Succeeded" message should appear.
6. Start the game.