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

[ashttreylil]

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]

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 http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html
Jerry

 

[ashttreylil]

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 http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html
Jerry

i have no installation cd or usb drive

 

[boohbah]

also ,for future refrence when you add the wmploc files to the sys wow and system 32 ,you need to rename the original wmploc files to wmploc.old then add the new wmploc files, that way if wmp wont open or there is a problem you delete the newly added wmploc and rename the old wmploc to the original name.
failing that try using 7tsp and find a 7tsp wmp theme to use.
if you want i could post one.

 

[Bongo]

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 http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html
Jerry

i have no installation cd or usb drive

Here is a link to Windows 7 ISO that you can download and burn to a DVD then you can do the repair install just scroll down to your version of Windows Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River « My Digital Life
Jerry

 

[ashttreylil]

i dont have any dvd's to burn but ive done a repair from hard drive before i just dont remember how to get to it. if not im gonna have to do a full wipe -__-

edit: also i tried to uninstall SP1 and now it cant reinstall, i ran the repair tool suggested and it didnt work, and ive been through like a hour long checkdisk that did nothing

 

[boohbah]

i think its press F8 repeatedly before you see the startup animation . to get to the repair from hdd menu

 

[ashttreylil]

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?

 

[ashttreylil]

is it against forum rules to bump?

 

[boohbah]

have a look at this tutorial to make a bootable usb .

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2432-usb-windows-7-installation-key-drive-create.html

 

[ashttreylil]

have a look at this tutorial to make a bootable usb .

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2432-usb-windows-7-installation-key-drive-create.html

does the recovery require a bootable one?

 

[ashttreylil]

i think i just soled my own problem......after a million boots (i dual boot win8 dev) i thought why not just make a partition for my media and personal files and do a clean install on my c drive. then if i ever have a problem again with all my tweeks i can easily repeat this instead of going through all these problems again.