How to delete the recent play list from Windows Media Player

This article describes how to remove the recent entries from the Windows Media Player play list.

Use either of the following methods to remove the most recent entries from the Windows Media Player play list:

• Use either the ClearMRU.exe file in the Windows Media Player Bonus Pack for Media Player 7.1 or the Windows Media Player Bonus Pack for Windows XP. To download the Windows Media Player Bonus Packs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9194bb10-00ea-4500-859d-9a319738d4d8 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9194bb10-00ea-4500-859d-9a319738d4d8)
  Note The Media Player Bonus Pack used to be known as the Windows Media Player PowerToys utility.
  
  
• Use Registry Editor to manually delete either the RecentURLList key or the RecentFileList key.
• Use the Clear History feature in Windows Media Player 9 Series.

Using Registry Editor

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
To remove the play list entries:

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate, and then click the following registry key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\RecentFileList
3. If you are using Windows Media Player 6.4, click RecentURLList, and then click Delete on the Edit menu.
   
   If you are using either Windows Media Player 7, 7.1, or Windows Media Player for Windows XP, click RecentFileList, and then click Delete on the Edit menu.
4. Quit Registry Editor.

Note This registry key is re-created the next time you open a file in Media Player.

Remove Items from the Registry

To remove items from the play list, you can clear either of the following registry keys:

• To remove content that has been streamed from a particular Web site, clear the following registry key:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\RecentURLList
• To remove the entire file list that you recently played, clear the following registry key:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\RecentFileList

Both of these settings exist for the Media Player 7 and later. If you clear the RecentFileList setting, you may not remove sufficient content. Some URL files may still appear on the player screen.

Removing recent entries in Windows Media Player 9 and 10 series

1. Click Options under the Tools menu.
2. Click the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Clear History button to clear Windows Media Player's recently played files list.
4. If you are using Windows Media Player 9, click the Clear CD/DVD button to clear Windows Media Player's recently played CD and DVD list.
5. If you are using Windows Media Player 10, click the Clear Caches button to clear Windows Media Player's recently played CD and DVD list.