I don't know about the Fritz end of the issue, but...
Are you using Windows 10? Wikipedia's discussion of WMP states:
"Beginning with the Fall Creators Update of Windows 10, WMP is disabled by default and must be reinstalled through the Programs and Features control panel."
Reference 3 of the article discusses the issue, and Reference 4 shows a procedure for reinstalling WMP.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Player
If that's not your problem, then I'm outta ideas. 
EscherehcsE,
I am using Win 7 and WMP will not reinstall under any circumstances. Is there any other chess software that utilizes other media players? It seems the "only" way to get WMP back is to do a reinstall of Win 7. I really like Fritz but it appears I am "dead in the water".
No. Never have used one. Won't that delete all my files? Is the repair disc the disc I was "supposed" to make after starting the PC for the first time?
Just googled and read that system restore "will" delete programs "up to a point" whatever that means. So, it looks like I will have to purchase a cheapo PC just for chess. Walmart has HP's for $270. Thanks for your input EscherehcsE.
No. Never have used one. Won't that delete all my files? Is the repair disc the disc I was "supposed" to make after starting the PC for the first time?
I don't think it will delete any files - It's just supposed to repair broken/missing files. It may need you to insert a Windows 7 install disk, I don't remember.
I think it may make a difference whether your Win7 is a "clean" install that used an original Windows 7 install disk, or whether it's an OEM "crapware" install like you get when you buy a PC from a big-box store with Windows preinstalled.
Is your system an OEM Windows or a "clean" Windows? Also, is it Home Premium or Professional, 32-bit or 64-bit?
Just googled and read that system restore "will" delete programs "up to a point" whatever that means. So, it looks like I will have to purchase a cheapo PC just for chess. Walmart has HP's for $270. Thanks for your input EscherehcsE.
No, I think "system restore" is different from a "system repair". System restore uses restore points, which sets your system files back to an earlier state. A system repair just repairs any problems with existing system files.
Just a bit of advice - Before you start trying to repair the Windows damage, you might want to make a backup image of your hard drive, assuming you have large enough external hard drive capacity.
I never could get the hang of the Windows imaging system (I couldn't get it to work right/couldn't understand it.) I use the free Clonezilla, however Clonezilla isn't real user-friendly. There are other freeware imaging programs that might work for you. A good freeware one to try might be AOMEI Backupper:
https://www.aomeitech.com/aomei-backupper.html
No. Never have used one. Won't that delete all my files? Is the repair disc the disc I was "supposed" to make after starting the PC for the first time?
Here's an article that gives a brief explanation. I don't think it would hurt anything to create a system repair disk, then run the "Startup Repair" option. I'd be nervous about trying the "System Restore" option, though. It would roll back the system files to an earlier restore point, which means that some system files might be deleted or added. Myself, I would image the hard drive before trying a "System Restore".
The system repair disc sounds like the best option, I'll give it a try.
The system repair disc sounds like the best option, I'll give it a try.
Cool. Let me know whether it works.
The system repair is "only" for "Startup Repair", nothing is wrong with starting Windows. Restore points only go back until 11-6-17, "useless". All I am trying to do is play Fritz Trainer videos. It appears I need a chess software program that does "not" use WMP. I found no way to associate a different media player in Fritz. According to the Fritz manual the "Chess Media System" plays the .wmv extension but "only" plays them through WMP. Wonderful!!! Well, thanks everybody for your help, at least I now have a system repair disc. 
The system repair is "only" for "Startup Repair", nothing is wrong with starting Windows. Restore points only go back until 11-6-17, "useless". All I am trying to do is play Fritz Trainer videos. It appears I need a chess software program that does "not" use WMP. I found no way to associate a different media player in Fritz. According to the Fritz manual the "Chess Media System" plays the .wmv extension but "only" plays them through WMP. Wonderful!!! Well, thanks everybody for your help, at least I now have a system repair disc.
Well, assuming this is an OEM Windows system, you really should make those system recovery disks, too. That will ensure that if your hard drive goes belly up, at least you'll be able to reinstall Windows on a new hard drive and have Windows as it was when you bought it.
Regarding the system repair disk, did you actually try the "Startup Repair" option, or did you just assume it wouldn't work? (Maybe it does more than fix startup files, who knows?)
My WMP went belly up, cannot reinstall it no matter what I do; keep getting all kinds of error messages...
Did you try this procedure?
Yes, I tried the Startup Repair and "nothing is wrong". The "turn off/on feature" was the first procedure I tried; WMP is just gone into space. I do have a recovery disc I made after the Dell purchase but I will grow old trying to find and reinstall "all" the programs I have now.
Is there a WMP icon on the taskbar, or did it disappear?
Also, my WMP files are located in the "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Media Player\" folder. Is your folder still there with all the WMP files, or is it gone?
What exactly happens, or what error messages appear, when you try to open WMP?
...I do have a recovery disc I made after the Dell purchase but I will grow old trying to find and reinstall "all" the programs I have now.
Yeah, that's why I've started making backup clone images of my hard drive. If something goes wrong with the working hard drive, I'll always have a spare image I can reinstall, with only a few weeks lost at most.
Interesting point about the folder. After the turn off/on procedure it was suggested to copy any missing files from a known working WMP. So, I copied files from my wife's Dell win 7 in my PC in the hope that would solve the problem but no luck. She had files in both program and program 86 folders so I copied them both. The folder was still there but two files were missing I think and one of them was "wmpdui.dll" which I think is important. When I search with the "Start" button I do not get a hit for the file. When I do the "turn off/on windows feature" both the boxes (WMP and windows media center) are unchecked. If I check both boxes the window goes away; if I only check WMP I receive "an error has occurred. Not all of the features were successfully changed". After restart of PC I do a "start button" search and again get no hits. Go to "turn off/on feature" and the boxes are still unchecked.
Files on wife’s PC in Program files/WMP: 6 folders plus – mpvis.dll, setup_wm.exe, wmlaunch.exe, wmpconfig.exe, wmpdmc.exe, wmpdmccore.dll, wmpenc.exe, wmplayer.exe, wmpmediasharing.dll, wmpnetwk.exe, wmpnscfg.exe, wmpnssci.dll, wmpnssui.dll, wmprph.exe, wmpshare.exe, wmpsideshowgadget.exe
Files on wife’s PC in Program files 86/WMP: all of above except - wmpnetwk.exe, wmpnscfg.exe, wmpsideshowgadget.exe
I forgot another option I tried. Tried installing from the .exe file above and received error message that “WMP is not installed properly do you want to go to website and install it”. Install failed due to error.
The file I mentioned above (wmpdui.dll) was downloaded from the internet because something I read mentioned that this file may be missing. However, this file is “not” included in my wife’s PC folders.
My WMP went belly up, cannot reinstall it no matter what I do; keep getting all kinds of error messages. I have read on the net that a plugin is embedded in Fritz that will not use anything else but WMP to play the Fritz Trainer DVD's. Does anyone know of a solution? Joe