Apps Clear Recent Media History in Media Player app in Windows 11

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brink
  • Start date Published: Start date Updated Updated:

MediaPlayer_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to remove one or all items from recent media history in the Media Play app for your account in Windows 11.

The built-in Media Player app in Windows 11 is designed to make listening to and watching your multimedia content more enjoyable. At the heart of Media Player is a full-featured music library that allows you to quickly browse and play music, as well as create and manage playlists. All your content in the music and video folders on your PC will appear automatically in your library.

By default, Media Player will show all recently played media on the Home page under Recent media to make it easier to access or play again.

You can manually clear your recent media history in Media Player whenever you like.


Removing media from recent media history in Media Player does not delete the actual media file(s) from their source locations.



Contents

  • Option One: Clear Recent Media History in Media Player using Context Menu
  • Option Two: Clear Recent Media History in Media Player using Check Box
  • Option Three: Clear All Recent Media History in Media Player from File Explorer


EXAMPLE: "Recent media" history in Media Player app

recent_media_in_Media_Player_app.png
recent_media_cleared_in_Media_Player_app.png





Option One

Clear Recent Media History in Media Player using Context Menu


1 Open the Media Player app.

2 Click/tap on Home in the left pane. (see screenshot below)

3 Right click on media you want to remove from recent media history.

4 Click/tap on Remove.

recent_media_in_Media_Player_app-1.png





Option Two

Clear Recent Media History in Media Player using Check Box


1 Open the Media Player app.

2 Click/tap on Home in the left pane, and hover on the media you want to remove from recent media history. (see screenshot below)

recent_media_in_Media_Player_app-2.png

3 Check the box for media you want to remove from recent media history. (see screenshots below)

4 Perform one of the available steps below.
  • Click/tap on the Remove button on the toolbar.
  • Click/tap on the See more (3 dots) button on the toolbar, and click/tap on Remove.
recent_media_in_Media_Player_app-4.png
recent_media_in_Media_Player_app-3.png





Option Three

Clear All Recent Media History in Media Player from File Explorer


1 Close the Media Player app if currently open.

2 Open File Explorer (Win+E).

3 Copy and paste the path below into the address bar of File Explorer, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

%localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState​

4 Delete the MediaPlayer.db-wal file.

5 You can now close File Explorer if you like.

MediaPlayer.db-wal.png



That's it,
Shawn Brink


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Last edited:
Click to expand...
I just cleared WMP off of Win 10 and Win 11. :-)


Foobar2000.png
 

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    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.3476 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2 ♦♦♦non-Insider
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    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
It is easy enough to clear the db-wal file off.... but I have a feeling it comes back again....maybe on Windows updates or even when restarting computer or media player. Does anyone know if the DB wall file can come back again and under what circumstances? I seem to remember clearing mine a year or 2 ago and see it back there again today
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Kenny202 said:
It is easy enough to clear the db-wal file off.... but I have a feeling it comes back again....maybe on Windows updates or even when restarting computer or media player. Does anyone know if the DB wall file can come back again and under what circumstances? I seem to remember clearing mine a year or 2 ago and see it back there again today
Click to expand...

Hello Kenny, and welcome. :alien:

It normal for the db-wal file to return, but it'll only populate with recent history when you open something in Media Player.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
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    PC/Desktop
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    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
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    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Brink said:
Hello Kenny, and welcome. :alien:

It normal for the db-wal file to return, but it'll only populate with recent history when you open something in Media Player.
Click to expand...
Than you so much for your initial post and reply.
So essentially it is delete the db-wal file every time you use media player?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Kenny202 said:
Than you so much for your initial post and reply.
So essentially it is delete the db-wal file every time you use media player?
Click to expand...

You will if you wanted to clear the history each time.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
First thing I do with any installation of Windows is clear Windows Media Player ... completely off the device!!

Then install Daum PotPlayer and VLC Player.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 2xH2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-12400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    512GB KIOXIA NVMe
    1TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    BT
    Mouse
    BT
    Browser
    Brave FFox Chrome Opera
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 2xH2 (latest update ... 4ever anal)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
idgat said:
First thing I do with any installation of Windows is clear Windows Media Player ... completely off the device!!

Then install Daum PotPlayer and VLC Player
Click to expand...
Can you uninstall Media player easily or do you need to do something more technical?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Kenny202 said:
Can you uninstall Media player easily or do you need to do something more technical?
Click to expand...

You should be able to uninstall it like any other Microsoft Store app.

www.elevenforum.com

Uninstall Apps in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to uninstall apps in Windows 11. If you no longer want or use an app, then you could uninstall the app to remove it and free up space on the drive. Desktop apps are traditional programs installed by a user. These will not be an app from the Microsoft Store...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Kenny202 said:
Can you uninstall Media player easily or do you need to do something more technical?
Click to expand...

Control Panel > Programs and Features > (LH column) Turn Windows features on or off > untick Media Features

Not quite uninstall, but the best you're gonna get for this abomination.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 2xH2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-12400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    512GB KIOXIA NVMe
    1TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    BT
    Mouse
    BT
    Browser
    Brave FFox Chrome Opera
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 2xH2 (latest update ... 4ever anal)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
The "fix" is to simply browse to %localappdata%\Packages\Microsoft.ZuneMusic_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState, locate the MediaPlayer.db-wal then change the security permissions to deny all for any system accounts or unknown accounts. I also changed my personal account and Administrator accounts to deny write permissions as well. My media player no longer keeps track of my history. It will however, show the thumbnail of the last watch video in the preview on the timeline. This way the file isn't recreated and windows can't write to it.

Cheers friends.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win11

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 2xH2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-12400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    512GB KIOXIA NVMe
    1TB SATA SSD
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    BT
    Mouse
    BT
    Browser
    Brave FFox Chrome Opera
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 2xH2 (latest update ... 4ever anal)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
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