How To Delete Files From Recent Files List In Windows

This tip requires a change to the Windows Registry . Please see the MSFN Guide "Backup Your Registry" if you are new to the Windows Registry .

Windows Media Player ( WMP ) is a built-in application that allows you to play multimedia files . Like many other applications , WMP remembers the most recently played files and displays them in the Recent File List under the File menu . This feature is useful if you regularly play certain files , but you may want to clear the list if you share the computer and a user account or create archives and CDs .

There are two ways you can clear the list :

The ClearMRU .exe Utility is available for free in the Windows Media Player Bonus Pack from Microsoft , but Microsoft does not support this tool .

You can also manually delete the list through the Windows Registry :

Start the Windows Registry Editor , regedit .exe , by typing regedit in the Windows Run Command Line .

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER|Software|Microsoft|MediaPlayer|Player|RecentFileList .

Delete the RecentFileList subkey .

If you've also streamed content from the Internet , you can delete the RecentURLList subkey .

Exit the
Registry Editor .

Restart the computer .

To keep certain files in the list , don't delete the entire key . Deleting individual entries within the key will get rid of the files that you no longer want in the Recent File List .
Thst's it .