Fix VLC Media Player Crashes when Playing MKV Files

If you are using VLC Media Player to watch videos, you may have encountered a lot of .MKV files. While this file format is being widely used these days, there are cases when VLC crashes after playing .MKV files. You only see a blank screen or frozen pictures. In some cases, the video lags or skips until the player itself crashes.

When this happens, you will then see the error message, “Oops: VLC media player just crashed”.

There are different reasons why your VLC player crashes when playing .MKV files. There may be compatibility issues with your system or you have corrupted components. But, don’t worry. There are ways on how you can fix this kind of problem. Check out the solutions below:

Method 1 – Update your VLC Media Player

Look for the latest update on your VLC player. Visit their official website and install any updates available. The company may have added new updates that can solve the problem.

Method 2 – Reinstall your VLC Media Player

An update alone may not solve the problem so reinstall the latest version. First uninstall your VLC Player.

• Press Windows key + X simultaneously.
• Click Apps and Features.
• On the list of apps, choose VLC Media Player.
• Right click and select Uninstall.
• Follow the instructions on how to successfully uninstall the application.
• Next, go to their official website.
• Download the latest version of the VLC Media Player.
• Follow the instructions on how to install the application.
• Check if the error still exists.

Method 3 – Disable Hardware Acceleration Decoding

Streaming video files often used up a lot of processing power that playing high-definition .MKV files crashes due to insufficient power. To ease up processing power and load your video, you can disable hardware acceleration.

• Open your VLC Media Player and on the launch icon, right click to open drop down menu.
• Click Run as Administrator.
• On the menu bar, select Tools and click Preferences.
• Look for the Input/Codec and click to open.
• Look for the Codecs tab and under it you will find Hardware-accelerated decoding. Set it to Disabled.
• At the bottom of the menu, click Save to apply the changes and exit.
• Restart your VLC Player and check if the problem is still there.

Method 4 – Disable Pre-loading .MKV Files

One of the reasons why your VLC Media Player last or crashes is because of re-loaded files as .MKV is a video container format.

• Open your VLC Media Player.
• On the menu bar, click Tools and choose Preferences.
• Look for the Show Settings option at the bottom of the screen and select All.
• Next, look for Input/Codecs and expand menu.
• Look for Demuxers and expand the menu option.
• Click Matroska.
• Uncheck Preload MKV Files in the same directory.
• Click Save to apply the changes and restart your Media Player.

Method 5 – Enable DirectX Video Acceleration 2.0

• Click the launch icon and select Run as Administrator.
• Select Tools and click Preferences.
• Choose Input/Codecs to open and look for Hardware-Acceleration Decoding.
• Click on the drop down menu option and select DirectX Video Acceleration 2.0.
• At the bottom, click Save to apply the changes.

Method 6 – Restore Default VLC Settings

There might be recent changes in your settings that affects video playing. To reset to default, follow the instructions below.

• On your menu bar, choose Tools and click Preferences to open.
• Go to the Interface tab and at the bottom, you will find Reset Preferences. Click to restore default settings.
• Click OK when ask for confirmation.

Final Thoughts!

VLC Media Player is an excellent application to stream your videos anytime. There may be frustrating errors along the way but you will always find solutions that will fix these problems. What do you think of the methods above? Let us know if these methods are helpful.