When it comes to playing videos on Windows PC, the VLC Media player instantly comes into our mind. Lately, VLC also has gotten into some issues because of which it either stops working or eventually crashes. In this post, we will discuss what causes VLC not working issue on Windows 11 and what to do to overcome this problem.
Why is VLC Media Player not working?
VLC Media Player may stop working on Windows PC when your device meets one or a combination of the below issues –
- You download VLC from third-party sites
- Enabled Hardware Decoding
- Automatic pick-up of Video Outputs
- Issues within File, Disc, and Network
How to Fix VLC not working on Windows 11
Now that you know what possibly could have gone wrong with your VLC Media Player, follow and apply the below fixes one by one. Make sure to apply these workarounds in the same order as they were put in.
Tip: If you had installed VLC from third-party sites, and it stopped working or opening, you better install it by visiting its official site. Doing so will prevent your device from becoming vulnerable to online threats or malware.
1] Disable hardware decoding
If you do use hardware decoding or hardware acceleration on VLC, this media player might stop working. VLC not working issue may occur too frequently when you are on Beta or Dev Channels of Windows 11. This happens as your system can’t process the request correctly. In order to resolve this issue, you either leave Windows Insider Program or simply disable hardware acceleration on VLC. Here’s how to perform this task –
- Press Win + S, and search for VLC in the text field.
- Click on the best-matching result to start VLC Media Player.
- Go to Tools > Preferences next, and hit the All radio button. You may find this option under Show settings, available in the leftmost bottom corner.
- On the succeeding screen, select the Input / Codecs section.
- Expand the Video Codecs menu by clicking on “>” available on its left side.
- Select FFmpeg, and move to its right side.
- Scroll down to Hardware decoding and using its drop-down menu, select Disable.
- Click Save to confirm the above changes and restart VLC.
- Hopefully, VLC will start working normally when you restart it.
2] Configure Video Output Settings
VLC Media Player chooses the output device from the available ones automatically. However, as it is not working, you should manually set the right output for it. Here’s how to configure the output settings manually on VLC –
- Launch VLC first and go to Tools > Preferences.
- Head over to the Video tab next.
- Use the drop-down menu available next to Output and select DirectX.
- Click Save to confirm the latest changes and close VLC.
Now, check if this media player runs efficiently.
3] Reset File, Disc, and Network Cache Setting
The stored cache on File, Disc, and Network may also cause VLC to stop working on Windows 11. To overcome this issue, one must reset these settings to their default values. Here’s how to perform this task –
- Launch VLC Media Player first.
- Go to Tools > Preferences, and tick the All radio button available under “Show settings“.
- Select the Input/ Codecs option on the left pane and head over to the right panel.
- Scroll down to the Advanced section and do the following changes to it –
File Caching - 300
Disc Caching - 300
Network Caching - 1000
- Click Save to confirm the above changes and restart the VLC Media player.
- Relaunch VLC and check if this starts working normally.
4] Reset VLC
Being an open-source project, VLC provides way too many options to choose from. If this stops working after you make some changes on it recently, you better reset VLC to its default settings. Here’s how to reset VLC on Windows 11/10 –
- Open VLC and go to Tools > Preferences.
- Under Privacy/ Network Interaction, click on Reset preferences.
- Wait for the VLC to restore its default settings and close it.
- Relaunch this media player and check if this starts working properly on your Windows PC.
If the problem still persists, either update or uninstall/reinstall this media player.
5] Update VLC Media Player
VLC regularly brings new patches to resolve the occurring issues on it. If you hadn’t yet updated your VLC, you better try updating this software. Who knows, there are some internal issues within this app that gets resolved after you update it. Well, here’s how you check for available updates on VLC and install them –
- First of all, start the VLC media player and go to the Help tab.
- Click Check for updates when the help menu expands.
- If there is any pending update on your PC, the same will be displayed on a pop-up window.
- Click Yes when prompted to download the latest version of VLC.
- VLC will soon start downloading the pending updates on your computer.
- As soon as the download completes, VLC will install it.
- When the installation completes, you may close and restart VLC.
Now, check if this media player starts working normally on Windows 11/10.
6] Reinstall VLC Media Player
VLC is open-source software and is available on different third-party websites. When you get its setup file from there, you often end up installing some bloatware. This happens as they (3rd-party sites) include their own applications as well with the VLC setup file. Though it will work, as usual, it may at times stop working for no reason.
If you do remember downloading its setup file elsewhere, we suggest visiting its official site and downloading the latest updates from there. Make sure to download the 64-bit architecture version as Windows 11 supports only this and ARM64 architecture on it. Do so and check if the problem resolves this way.
Note: Though there are some new applications that have taken place of old players, VLC is still considered the best. However, if the problem persists any longer, you may switch to KM Player or another media player temporarily.
Which Media Player is best for playing Movies on Windows 11?
Though there are hundreds of good media players that you may go for, we suggest opting for this VLC. This is because it is an open source and its interface is clearly the best when it comes to fast-forwarding a movie or adding subtitles to it.
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