How to Fix a Computer That Won't Play Videos & How to Fix YouTube

– How to Fix a Computer That Won’t Play Videos –

It’s frustrating if the videos you want to watch are not being played on your computer. It could be caused by a variety of problems, depending on which videos you’re having trouble with.

Video streaming problems, such as failing to play YouTube videos, may be caused by web browser settings, filtering features, or poor internet connectivity.

Issues concerning playing video files may mean that you need additional software. Problems with DVD or Blu-ray playback could be due to faulty equipment.

YouTube is one of the most popular streaming video sites available online. The videos are embedded on the web pages of others and can be played directly via the website and app of the service.

If there is no replay of a YouTube video, search to see if any error message appears. You may sometimes see a notice that you are not authorized to view the video in your country or region, or that the video has been deleted or private.

Videos can be accessed by anyone who uploads them to YouTube, or deleted by the site itself if they violate YouTube laws. You won’t be able to view the video in either of these situations, but by searching YouTube you may be able to find a related video or another version of the same one.

Alternatively, if it does not work on a third-party platform, try clicking the YouTube logo on an embedded video to view the video directly on YouTube!

Issues Related to YouTube

When YouTube Won’t Load

If the YouTube site is not loading at all, or loading but not playing videos, you may have some setting in your firewall or network settings that blocks YouTube.

Check to see if YouTube is blocked for other users, or contact your IT department directly if you are on a work or school connection, as it may be blocked by a setting that your organization has set up.

If you have any browser extensions or other software designed to filter out advertisements or malware, try turning them off and seeing if it makes a difference. Also try using another web browser, or another device on your network, to see if YouTube works normally.

You may want to check the news or even social media if the problem arises suddenly, to see if there’s a problem at YouTube.

If Streaming Is Slow

If streaming on YouTube or other video streaming sites is slow, or the video is low quality, this may be a sign of a poor internet connection or a computer multitasking between too many operations.

Try moving your computer closer to the wireless router if you have one. Close other programs and browser tabs to see if the streaming speed improves.

Make sure you’re using a recent version of your web browser, and consider trying another one to see if the situation improves. If your internet connection seems atypically slow in general, contact your internet provider to see if the situation improves.

Problems Opening Video Files

If you have a video file stored locally on your computer and it won’t play, you may not have the proper software to play it or maybe using the wrong program.

Video software like Apple iTunes, Windows Media Player, and VLC all support particular video formats, using tools called codecs that can handle specific formats. In some cases, you may need to download a particular codec plugin to play certain videos.

If someone sent you a video that you’re having trouble playing, you can ask what software they used to play it or ask them to send it in a different format.

Trouble Playing Videos From Disc

If you’re having trouble playing a video from a disc, such as a DVD or Blu-ray disc, it may be a problem with your drive or the disc.

Check to make sure the disc is clean and free from scratches. See if it will play in another device if you have a compatible one handy.

If it does, you may have a problem with your drive. See if the drive will play another disc, and if it has similar issues, consider replacing it or having it serviced.

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What Can I Do if Videos Aren’t Playing on Windows 10?

1. Uninstall and Reinstall the Display Driver

Right click Start and select Device Manager
From the list of devices, select Display drivers to expand the list
Right click on the device and click Uninstall
Ensure the option to delete the driver package from the system is checked/selected so that the driver package installed is deleted
Go to Action menu
Select Scan for Hardware changes, to reinstall the driver
Close and restart the computer

2. Update Drivers Automatically

If you don’t have the necessary computer skills to in order to follow the steps above, don’t do it. You can permanently damage your computer by downloading and installing the wrong driver versions.

In order to prevent that, we strongly suggest to do it automatically by using Tweakbit’s Driver Updater tool.

This tool is approved by Microsoft and Norton Antivirus and will help you update all outdated drivers safely. After several tests, our team concluded that this is the best-automatized solution. Below you can find a quick guide on how to do it.

Download and install TweakBit Driver Updater
Once installed, the program will start scanning your PC for outdated drivers automatically. Driver Updater will check your installed driver versions against its cloud database of the latest versions and recommend proper updates. All you need to do is wait for the scan to complete.
Upon scan completion, you get a report on all problem drivers found on your PC. Review the list and see if you want to update each driver individually or all at once. To update one driver at a time, click the ‘Update driver’ link next to the driver’s name. Or simply click the ‘Update all’ button at the bottom to automatically install all recommended updates.
Note: Some drivers need to be installed in multiple steps so you will have to hit the ‘Update’ button several times until all of its components are installed.

Disclaimer: some features of this tool are not free.

3. Install Missing Plug-Ins

You may be missing Adobe Flash or Silverlight plug-ins that could enable video playback, especially for Internet Explorer. Get the right or missing plug-ins and then check if the video is playing again.

4. Open Video in Browser

Some sites have online videos that cannot play from other applications. Try opening through your browser by pressing Esc to dismiss the video, right click on the video and click Open Hyperlink.

If it doesn’t open, check that the plug-ins are enabled. To do this:

Open Internet Explorer.
Click Tools
Click Manage Add-ons
Under Add-on Types, click Toolbars and Extensions.
Under Show, click All add-ons.
Select the Flash and Silverlight add-ons
Click Enable and try playing the video again

5. Check if The Proper Codec Is Installed/run Optimize Compatibility

If your Videos are not playing on Windows 10, it could be that you don’t have the proper codec installed. For example, someone could send you a PowerPoint presentation with media based on a codec that your PC doesn’t have.

The best solution is for the author of the presentation to run Optimize Compatibility before sending the file to anyone else.

Determine which codec you need to run the media, or install a third-party tool that can examine a media file and determine which codec it needs. Then install the codec required to run the media.
Download a third-party media decoder and encoder filter, such as ffdshow or DivX, which will allow you to decode and encode a variety of formats.
If you created a presentation on a PC and decide to deliver it on a Mac, use media with the .mp4 file format extension.

6. Check for All Available Windows Updates

1. Click Start and select Settings
2. Click Update and Security
3. Click Windows Updates
4. Click Check for Updates
5. Install the updates that are pending

7. Use Software Rendering Instead of Gpu Rendering

Click Start and select Control Panel
Select the Network and Internet
Select Internet Options
An additional window titled “Internet Properties” will open. On this window, select the tab labeled Advanced
You will see a section titled Accelerated Graphics.
There is a check-box underneath labeled, “Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering“. Check it.
Scroll down the list until you see an additional section labeled “Security”.
Find the check-box labeled, “Enable 64-bit processes for Enhanced Protected Mode*” and check it.
Now select Apply and OK
Restart your browser, and try watching a video again. If it still does not work, restart your device and try again.

8. Turn Off X-Reality Setting

If you’re using a Sony VAIO, you can fix the Videos not playing on Windows 10 issue by checking the settings.

Something in the pre-installed Sony software prevents playback, so go to the VAIO control center app, under the Image quality tab, and find the X-reality for mobile setting. Turn it off.

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