How to Solve Videos not Playing on Your Computer

Movies may not play on your machine because you are using the wrong program or your computer lacks the necessary software to play them. Standard media players such as Windows Media Player, Apple iTunes, and VLC process and play particular video formats using tools known as plugins. To add plugins to Windows Media Player 11:

1. Display the menu bar by right-clicking on the top left corner of the media player.

2. Click Tools, then Plugins, and go to Options.

3. Choose the category of the plugins you want on the left of Options. The plugins in that category will display on the right side of the window.

4. Click on the name of your desired plugin to select it.

5. Click the checkbox to activate the plugin and click Apply.

If you create movies using the Windows Movie Maker program, be sure to choose the correct format when saving it. Making flash videos requires that you have a flash player on your system.

So, your computer won't play videos on YouTube? Being a popular video streaming site, you most probably access online videos using it. But you hit a snag when your video doesn't play at all. Instead, you see an error screaming on a dark background stating that you are not allowed to view the video in your country or region. Sometimes you see a message telling you that the video is no longer available or that it has been made private.

If you can't view a video on YouTube because it is geo-restricted, you could try installing a VPN to hide your IP address. You may not need to purchase a premium version because it can be so expensive. Trial versions may do the job, especially if you won't need the VPN all the time.

But if your YouTube videos load but don't play well, you may need to check your internet connection. Weak signals may cause the video to stall or display in poor resolution. You can move closer to the router to get a stronger signal.

Media players play specific video formats depending on their internal algorithms. You may find a few that can handle almost every popular format, but some won't play all formats. Older versions of Windows Media Player, for instance, don't support DVD playback. You won't be able to perform any magic to get this media player to play your DVD videos.

You have to consider alternative media players, such as VLC, which can play almost anything. But before you install any third-party media player, make sure you get it from a reputable site to limit the chances of getting malware. Some malicious individuals disguise viruses and trojans as legitimate software to compromise the security of your computer.

You want to play footage from an iOS device on your Windows PC, but you run into compatibility issues. Worry not because you can download individual plugins from the Apple store but be sure you select those plugins meant for Windows.

In some cases, your videos aren't stored locally on your computer hard disk, and neither are they online. You have them on an optical disk which may either be a VCD or DVD but can't play on your machine. Before you can give up on the disk altogether, make sure its surface is clean and has no scratches. You may also want to test it on other laptops to see if it plays. If the disk doesn't play on different computers, then the problem may not be the optical drive on your computer.

What if the disk plays smoothly on other computers with similar software and architectures as yours? The problem could be your optical drive. Consequently, you have to replace it. Be sure to consult the manual or manufacturer of your laptop before setting out to purchase a new optical drive.