Installation

You can safely install on top of your current version. The installer will detect when it is necessary to uninstall the older version first, and it will offer to do it automatically. This is usally only needed when there have been some big changes, such as added or removed components. In most cases the existing version can be upgraded directly and all your settings are preserved.

No, that is not required, unless it explicitly says that it is required. Simply click 'No' to keep your existing software.

It is however highly recommended to uninstall other codec packs. This to avoid problems and keep your system as clean as possible.

Silent install with default settings:

Use these command-line parameters for silent installation: /verysilent /norestart

If you want to display progress indicator then use /silent instead of /verysilent

If you don't want the installer to create file associations for the included MPC-HC player, then add: /nofileassociations (this option is available since version 15.0.4)

Customized unattended installation:

If you want to create an unattended installation with fully customized settings, then use command /unattended and follow the instructions in the wizard.

Yes. Simply run the installer again, and uncheck the components that you want to remove.

Yes. The uninstaller will remove everything that that pack has installed. It also reverts all tweaks and other changes that it made to your system. There are no left-overs!

The software can be removed through the Windows Control Panel. You can also find a shortcut for the uninstaller in the Windows Start menu.

Do not use any third party removal tools to remove our software. Such tools often remove too much or forget things. They may even break your system.

This registry error will occur when the security permissions for a registry key are incorrect.

To fix the problem, open the Registry Editor:
Start -> Run -> regedit.exe

In the Registry Editor, navigate to the key that gave the error. Right-click on that key and select 'Permissions'. Then make sure that the Administrators group has 'Full Control'.

Microsoft:
This is the default splitter. It sometimes has problems playing incomplete and truncated files.

LAV:
The advantage of this splitter is that it contains a stream switcher. That is useful for playing AVI files that have multiple audio tracks (which are quite rare) in players that don't contain an audio switcher themselves, such as WMP and Media Center. It also has good handling of strange and broken files. This splitter is used by default by MPC-HC.

The solution is to install the exact same version of the codec pack that you currently have installed on top of your existing installation. That will recreate the missing file, allowing you to uninstall again.

The system restore function of Windows may cause the file to go missing. System restore should only be used to fix your system in extreme situations, such as BSODs or driver issues. You should never use it to undo changes that can easily be undone otherwise, such as removing software.

This is a generic message that Norton shows for any file that has not been downloaded enough times to build "reputation". It does not mean the file is bad! It simply means it is a new and unknown file. What usually works as a solution is to just wait a few hours and try again.

To completely disable this bogus detection in Norton:
Settings > Detailed Settings > Firewall > Intrusion and Browser Protection > Download Intelligence > Off

How to recover a removed file from quarantine

You can scan any suspicious file with multiple scanners using the free VirusTotal website.

This usually means that you have a damaged installer file.

Clear your browser cache, and then download a fresh copy of the file. If you are using Chrome and the problem keeps happening, then use another browser (Edge/Firefox) to download the file. Chrome can sometimes corrupt downloaded files.