Title: Troubleshooting VLC not playing video files with long paths on Windows
Introduction
VLC Media Player is a popular, open-source media player that supports a wide range of multimedia formats. However, it may encounter issues when playing video files with long file paths on Windows systems. This article aims to help you resolve this problem by enabling NTFS long paths on your local computer.
Enabling NTFS Long Paths
- Press
Win + Rto open the Run dialog box. - Type
gpedit.mscand pressEnterto open the Local Group Policy Editor. - Navigate to
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Filesystem. - Find the policy named
Enable NTFS long pathsand double-click it. - Set the policy to
Enabledand clickOK. - Close the Local Group Policy Editor.
- Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Verifying the Change
- Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
- Type
fsutil file set shortnames offand pressEnter. - Create a new folder with a long path name, such as
C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents\Long Path Folder\Very Long Path Folder\Another Long Path Folder. - Try playing a video file located in the long path folder using VLC Media Player.
Troubleshooting
If you still encounter issues with VLC not playing video files with long paths after enabling NTFS long paths, try the following:
- Make sure the VLC Media Player is up-to-date.
- Ensure the video file is not corrupted.
- Check if there are any antivirus or firewall settings that might be blocking the video file.
- If the problem persists, consider using a different media player that supports long file paths.
References
- Microsoft Docs: Enable or disable long paths and filenames
- VLC Media Player: Download
- TechNet: Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and Group Policy Settings
- How-To Geek: How to Enable Long File Names in Windows