Why does my VLC player keep stopping?

VLC crashes due to multiple reasons including problem with pre-loading of MKV files, corrupted program components or compatibility issues with your system.

VideoLAN is a cross-platform multimedia player that supports streaming ofmusic, videos, DVDs and other media content.

VLC specializes itself as a popular media player with excellent codecs that support multiple file formats.

If your VLC is crashing, heres what you can do to get it working.

Download the Diagnostic

There are certain situations when missing entries in your registry and registry corruption causes this problem. Try running a registry scan to identify if there are any such issues.

1. Click the button below to download and install the Diagnostic
2. Perform a Registry scan and fix any problems detected.
3. Restart your computer.

Estimated Download Time: 10 Seconds

Reset Preferences

If your application settingswere recently changed, it is more likely they are the culprit.

Sometimes, we tweakthe application settings and end up making the program unstable.

Restoring default VLC settings might help.

Reset VLC Preferences

For Windows 10/ 8.1/ 8/ 7/ Vista/ XP:

1. Open VLC Media Player.
2. Press the Ctrl + P keys simultaneously.
3. In the Preferencesdialogbox, click on Reset Preferences.
4. When youre asked to confirm, click OK.

Disable Hardware Acceleration

The Hardware Acceleration feature in Windows provides better video playback performance.

VLC crashes may occur when the hardware acceleration is enabled on an unsupported system.

Use the Preferencesto disable this feature.

For Windows 10/ 8.1/ 8/ 7/ Vista/ XP:

1.Press Ctrl + P keys simultaneously.

2. Click on the tab Input/ Codecs.

Input/ Codecs Tab

3. Set the Hardware Acceleration Decoding to Disable.

Disable Hardware Acceleration

4. HitSave, and restart the player.

Fix Corrupted Program Files To Get Rid Of VLC Crashes

VLC crashing issue primarily occurs when the program does not load and recognize data fromVLCRCfile.

Heres how you canrestore the corrupted/ damaged component:

ForWindows10:

1.ExitVLC Media Player.

2. Double-click This PCicon on your Desktop.

This PC

3. Click the View tab on the Ribbon interface and check Hidden items.

Hidden Items

4. Open the following directory:

• C:\Users\User_Name\AppData\Roaming\VLC

5. Right-click a file namedvlcrc, and choose Rename.

File Explorer

6. Name it as vlcrc_old.

ForWindows8.1/8/7/Vista/XP:

1. Press WindowsKey + R.
2. Type AppData
3. Click OK.
4. Open the following directory:
   • \Roaming\VLC
5. Rename vlcrcasvlcrc_old

Troubleshoot Compatibility Settings

Windows compatibility settings allowyou to run programs made for older versions of Windows with the currentversion.

Compatibility Mode

For Windows 10/ 8.1/ 8/ 7/ Vista/ XP:

1. Open theFile Explorer.
2. Navigate the following directory:
   • Windows 64-bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC
   • Windows 32-bit: C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC
3. Right-click VLC.exe, choose Properties.
4. Click the Compatibility tab.
5. Check Run this program in compatibility mode forand select a previous Windows version.
6. Click OK.

Disable Pre-loading Of MKV Files

Just like MOV, AVI and ASFfile formats, MKV is a video container format.

Some users reported they fixed VLC crashes by disabling pre-load of MKV files.

For Windows 10/ 8.1/ 8/ 7/ Vista/ XP:

1.Open the VLC Media Player.

2. Click on Tools and choose Preferences. Or pressCtrl + P.

3. At the bottom left corner of your screen, select All under Show Settings.

Show All Settings

4. Expand the following nodes:

• Input/ Codecs
• Demuxers
• Matroska

Codecs Settings

5. Un-check Pre-loadMKV files in the same directory.

6. Click on Save.

Reinstall TheProgram

This problem may also occur when some program files are not found or corrupted.

Try reinstalling the program as shown below:

Uninstall VLC

For Windows 10:

1. Press Windows Key + X combined, select Apps and Features.
2. Select VLC Media Player from the list of installed programs.
3. Click Uninstall.
4. Follow the removal wizard and then reboot your PC.
5. Visit the official website and re-download the setup.
6. Double-click the installer and follow the on-screen instructions.

For Windows 8.1/ 8:

1. Press the Windows Key.
2. Locatethe VLC Media Player application you would like to uninstall.
3. A check mark will appear on the VLC icon.
4. Click the Uninstall icon on the bottom toolbar.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions and reboot your machine.
6. Aftersuccessful removal, re-install it again.

For Windows 7:

1. Click Start, select Control Panel.
2. Click Uninstall a Programunder the Programs category.
3. Select the VLC Media Player, and click Uninstall.
4. Followthe wizard.
5. Restartyour PC and then re-install the program again.

For Windows Vista:

1. Click Start, select Control Panel.
2. Click on Programs.
3. Click Uninstall a Program under Programs and Features category.
4. Choose VLC Media Player, and click Uninstall on the toolbar.
5. Follow the Windows Installerinstructions.
6. After successfully uninstalling the program, restart your machine and re-install it again.

ForWindowsXP:

1. Click Start, choose ControlPanel.
2. Double-click AddorRemovePrograms.
3. Select VLC MediaPlayer and then click Uninstall.
4. Follow the uninstaller and then re-install VLC again.

Want to learn how to bulk rename your VLC songs and media files? Read more in details here.