Failed WMP skin install, disabled WMP feature, cant re-enable (LONG)

last night i decided to add to the tweeks on my machine and attempted to install a custom WMP skin, the skin came packaged in a zip with 2 wmploc.dll files. since i use 64-bit windows 7 i installed one in the system32 and one in syswow64.

after i rebooted my machine i tried to open WMP but got the error "Windows Media Player is not installed properly and must be reinstalled. Do you want to install the Player from the Microsoft Website? however there is no option to download WMP 12 on the site.

ive tried these methods so far without success
replaced the files with the backups i made before installation

repair problem with startup (windows recovery enviroment)

repair problems with memory

regsvr32 wmp.dll in elevated command prompt

unregmp2.exe /updatewmpversion in elevated command prompt

sfc /scannow in elevated command prompt

all with restarts before and after. the last solution i tried was to disable and re-enable media features through the windows features menu. it worked fine disabling and after restart when i tried to re-enable them i get "An error has occured. Not all of the features were successfully changed" i know that windows media center will not install without media player and have tried to install them separately and in every order and combination.

i cant do a system restore beacuse every time i restart my computer i lose restore points (completely different problem). i have 5 dics for my computer but have no idea what is on 3 of them, i used file explorer and there are folders with "zzimage" on all of them so i'm guessing their system images. the other 2 are just drivers and windows recovery environment.

i would like to do this without wiping all of my files (clean install), i dont care much about the tweeks beacuse it's only a windows them that i can reinstall quickly.

i had found a workaround to access WMP by going to "view network devices" and clicking on my computer but after my last restart that is no longer there and it appears to have broken my "devices and printers" menu too beacuse that is now blank. i know all of this is probably beacuse of how fragile w7 is.

sorry i wrote a novel XD

Bongo said:

Welcome to the Seven Forums
With what you have tried already and the fact that you are having troubles with system restore I would recommend doing a Repair Install
Jerry

i have no installation cd or usb drive

theres no repair from hdd, idk where it went to, do you think i could put the iso on a usb and repair from there? it's asking for a system image and ie tried everything i have with no results. would i have to make it a bootable iso or would it work fine as is?

is it against forum rules to bump?