Error 80040265 Cannot Playback The File. The Format Is Not Supported

You have probably come across the "Error 80040265" while trying to play a video on Windows Media Player. This common problem is usually attributable to some sort of corruption of the video files or damage to the Media Player itself.

Fortunately for you, most of the issues can easily be resolved and that is exactly what we are going to do today.

Part 1: What Does "Not Supported" File Format Mean?

The "Not supported" file format error essentially means that some factors make it impossible for Windows Media Player to play a video file and hence Windows notifies you to take corrective measures to fix such errors.

The factors that could cause such impediments are explained below:

The Error 80040265 is sometimes displayed when Windows Media Player itself has a problem that needs to be rectified.

Although Windows Media Player supports multiple file formats, there are some file formats that it does not support. As such, if the format of the video is not supported, even a health video file would display the error.

Codecs are programs for encoding or decoding of digital data signals. If the specified codec needed to process the video is not installed, the Error 80040265 would be displayed.

In some cases, even though codecs are installed, they may be of different specifications and are thus unable to process and play the videos.

When a media file becomes corrupted due to file transfer errors, improper system shutdown, or even virus infections, the Error 80040265 could be displayed.

Part 2: How to Fix Video Not Playing on Windows Media Player?

It might come as a surprise to some that even the all-powerful Windows Media Player does not support all types of file formats. That is why the first step you should take in fixing the Not playing error is to confirm if windows media player supports the format of the video you are trying to play.

Solution 1. Confirm the unsupported file format

Windows Media Player only supports the following file formats:

To ascertain the formats of video files, do the following:

Solution 2. Validate the codec for the media file

If the file you are trying to play is in the list of supported formats but it refuses to play, then the codec of the file may be missing or incompatible with the file.

To install the required codec, do the following:

Solution 3. Use Recoverit video repair

Repairit Video Repair is an advanced video repair tool that allows for the repair of Videos due to errors such as Change in video format File, read and write errors, Playing Video errors like "video not playing or "error loading media file" issues amongst others.

Repairit can easily rectify flickering in videos, choppy videos, video playback interruptions all with a mere click of a button.

This highly efficient tool supports multiple video formats such as MOV, MP4, M2TS, MKV, MTS, 3GP, AVI, and FLV. This wide range of formats means that it almost a certainty that Repairit would be able to handle whatever you throw at it.

To ensure a very high rate of success when repairing videos, Repairit has a range of features such as:

Follow the steps below to use Recoverit in simple repair mode.

Solution 4. Reinstall windows media player:

If the required codec is downloaded but the video file still refuses to play, then Windows Media Player may be damaged. You should uninstall it and install a new version by doing the following:

Solution 5. Fix wrong audio device

You should try to and rectify the wrong audio device fix by setting the proper audio device in the media player by doing the following:

Solution 6. Update your sound card drivers

Solution 7. Check the status of your video

If Windows Media Player still refuses to play your video, you can use System File Checker to attempt and fix your video by following the instructions below:

Solution 8. Registry fix

Sometimes, there could be a problem with the Registry of your computer

You may need to modify it to resolve the errors.

Please note that when you are dealing with the registry of your computer, you should follow the instructions given, word for word, and very carefully to avoid creating problems.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{DA4E3DA0-D07D-11d0-BD50-00A0C911CE86} \Instance\{083863F1-70DE-11d0-BD40-00A0C911CE86}

Double click on it and enter the value {083863F1-70DE-11d0-BD40-00A0C911CE86} and click OK

Part 3: How to Prevent Video Not Playing?

To ensure that that your system always plays your videos, it is important that your software and its operating environment are up-to-date.

Tip 1. Update windows media player

Your Windows Media Player should always be up to date to ensure that the latest security patches and bugs are fixed. Accordingly, you should always enable auto-updates on your player to save you the stress of manually searching for updates.

Tip 2. Update the driver for your graphics card

It is important to ensure that your Graphics Card is up to date to prevent recurring problems with video not playing errors.

follow the steps below to update your Graphics Card:

Closing Words

It is hard to believe that Windows Media Player has been with us since 1991 and still going strong. While it indeed has some problems, its advantages far outweigh and imperfections it may have.

Furthermore, as shown in the article, most of the problems associated with the player are usually not directly the fault of the player itself and even at that, they can easily be resolved.