WMP problems: I want 9.0 but Windows insists I should use 10

I've XPSP2. For ages I've contentedly used WMP 9. I looked at WMP 10; do not like it, period.

I've no idea what causes the following behavior.

If I insert a CD in my CDROM or go Start > Programs > WMP I get the message: "Thank you for installing WMP 10..." thought I've not installed it. It continues: "During setup, WMP 10 will be the default player."

OK. If I try and install WMP 9 from its exe (or its setup exe) on my HDD, it starts to install and almost immediately announces "Your version of Windows on this computer already contains a more recent version of WMP. WMP 9 will now exit." I click "OK" and the announcement vanishes. And that is that!

What can I do to get WMP 9 working again?

Yeay, I can use RealPlayer--that works just fine. But I prefer WMP 9.

If you have installed Windows Media Player 10, you can roll back to the version of the Player that was on your computer before installing Windows Media Player 10.

To roll back from Windows Media Player 10 to a previous version, do the following:
In Control Panel (Category View), click Add or Remove Programs.
Click Remove a program, and then do one of the following:
If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, select the Show updates check box (at the top of the list), click Windows Media Player 10 (in the Windows Updates section), and then click Change/Remove.
- or -
If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 1 or earlier, click Windows Media Player 10, and then click Change/Remove.

You can also use System Restore to roll back to the previous version of the Player.

How do I uninstall Windows Media Player 9 Series or later?