# I want to get rid of Real Player

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-get-rid-of-real-player/141153>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [December 7, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-get-rid-of-real-player/141153 "2002-12-07T18:13:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-get-rid-of-real-player/141153/1 "2002-12-07T18:13:59Z")

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At least as my default player, I’d prefer Windows standard player.

Any ideas?

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**Author:** ![Tuco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tuco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuco)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-get-rid-of-real-player/141153/2 "2002-12-07T18:34:27Z")

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Open up Windows Media Player, go to Tools --\> Options, then click on the ‘File Types’ tab, then tick the boxes of the formats you want Windows Media Player to be default on.

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**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-get-rid-of-real-player/141153/3 "2002-12-07T18:47:28Z")

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You can manually change the file associations as **Tuco** described, but RealPlayer may try to grab them back. You can disable this feature in its Preferences. You may have to poke around a little to find it; in version 8 it’s the **Auto Restore Settings** button under **Edit|Preferences|Upgrade**.
