Video Keeps Freezing – Top Proven Fixes
Have you tried playing a video on your computer, but it keeps freezing? Frozen videos can be very frustrating and irritating. Fortunately, you can fix your freezing video problem with our guide.
We’ll help you understand a video freeze and similar problems. We’ll also introduce the top eleven methods to try when your video keeps freezing. Let’s dive in.
What Is a Video Freeze?
A video freeze happens when a video gets stuck at a particular frame. A video freezing while playing is not rare, compelling you to play it again or wait for the problem to resolve.
Video freezes happen due to various reasons. Some of the most common reasons for video freezing include:
- Video player issues – If your media player is faulty, doesn’t have the right codecs, or doesn’t support specific video formats, you’ll experience problems playing videos.
- Video corruption – If your video is corrupted, you could have trouble playing it, such as the inability to play or constant video freezes.
- Internet connection – If you have a poor internet connection, your video can freeze and annoy you. Thus, check your internet connection to fix the problem.
- Performance issues – Your video could glitch and freeze due to your computer’s performance problems. That can happen due to a high video resolution, maximum used storage, or accumulated cache and cookies.
- Outdated system or graphics drivers – If your operating system or graphics drivers don’t have the latest version, you’ll encounter various bugs and glitches, including video freezes.
Other Problems Related to Video Freezes
Besides video freezes, you could experience other video issues while playing. Some of the most common problems related to video freezes include:
- Video lagging – delays in the playback;
- Video stuttering – skipping frames;
- Video artifacts – distortions and pixelations during playback;
- Sync issues – out-of-sync audio and video;
- Buffering – constant video pausing due to pre-loaded data segments.
How to Fix the “Video Keeps Freezing” Problem
Numerous ways exist to fix your freezing video and make it watchable again. We’ve prepared eleven proven methods to help you repair your frozen videos. Follow our step-by-step instructions, and your video will be as good as new quickly.
Fix 1: Update Your OS
If your Windows operating system is outdated, you’ll experience different bugs and glitches. That includes your videos freezing while playing. Thus, you can fix the freezing video problem by updating your operating system.
Follow these steps to update your Windows OS:
Step 1: Click Start or press the Windows key and open Settings.
Step 2: Go to Update & Security and select Windows Update.
Step 3: Click Check for updates.
Step 4: If any updates are available, click Download and wait for the new Windows update to download and install.
Fix 2: Reinstall Your Media Player
If your video keeps freezing due to a faulty media player, you can fix the problem by reinstalling it. Media players can have several issues, including corruption and outdated software. That can also cause your videos to keep freezing. Thus, reinstalling your media player can resolve the issue.
We’ll use Windows Media Player for this example. Follow these steps to reinstall it:
Step 1: Click the Windows button and type features into the Search box.
Step 2: Click Turn Windows features on or off.
Step 3: Find Media Features and expand it.
Step 4: Untick the Windows Media Player checkbox and click OK.
Step 5: Restart your computer.
Step 6: Return to the Media Features.
Step 7: Tick the Windows Media Player checkbox and click OK.
Step 8: Restart your computer again, and your OS will reinstall Windows Media Player.
Fix 3: Check Your Internet Connection
If your video keeps freezing, you might have problems with your internet connection. You’ll have various issues playing online videos if you have a poor internet connection. Thus, check your internet connection before repairing your videos and media player.
Fix 4: Fix Corrupted Video Files With Wondershare Repairit
If your video keeps freezing, it might be corrupted. A corrupted video file can manifest in different ways, like the inability to play or the constant freezing. Thus, you can use a video repair tool to fix the problem.
Wondershare Repairit is a powerful video repair tool that can help you fix corrupted videos in just a few clicks. It has two repair modes—Basic and Advanced Repair. Thus, you can choose one according to the severity of the video corruption.
Follow these steps to repair your freezing video using Wondershare Repairit:
Step 1: Install and launch Wondershare Repairit on your computer.
Step 2: Click Video Repair > Add to upload your frozen video.
Step 3: The program will display the uploaded videos that you want to fix. Click Repair to start the process.
Step 4: Once it’s complete, click OK.
Step 5: Preview the repaired videos by clicking Preview. If the results meet your expectations, click Save. Otherwise, select Advanced Repair.
Step 6: Choose a secure location for your repaired video files.
Step 7: A success message will notify you once the program saves your repaired video files. Click OK.
Fix 5: Update Your Graphics Drivers
Your videos could freeze or glitch if your graphics card drivers need an update. Outdated graphics drivers can cause numerous issues, including video freezes. Thus, updating them can solve the problem.
Check their version beforehand; if it’s old, you can update them and fix your frozen videos. Follow these steps to check and update your graphics drivers:
Step 1: Click the Windows button, search for Device Manager, and open it.
Step 2: Expand Display adapters.
Step 3: Right-click your GPU and select Properties.
Step 4: Go to the Driver tab and write your GPU model and version number on paper.
Step 5: You can check for an update now that you’ve noted the graphics driver version. To do that, go to your graphic card manufacturer’s website and check their latest drivers.
Step 6: If the version on the website matches your GPU driver, you don’t need an update. Otherwise, install the newest version from the site. Then, play your videos to see if the problem is gone.
Fix 6: Set the Correct Resolution
Depending on your computer’s specifications, it may be unable to support some video resolutions. That can result in video freezes. Thus, set the correct video resolution to avoid video freezing.
If you’re unsure which resolution works best, set your video to its native one, and you’ll fix the freezing problem. Besides that, you can lower the video resolution to resolve the issue.
We’ll use VLC Media Player to show you how to do it. Follow these steps to set the correct resolution for your video that keeps freezing:
Step 1: Open VLC Media Player.
Step 2: Click Tools and select Preferences.
Step 3: Select All under Show settings.
Step 4: Go to the Inputs / Codecs section.
Step 5: Under Track settings, expand the Preferred video resolution drop-down list and select Standard definition.
Fix 7: Free Storage Space
If your storage space is at capacity, you may experience different performance issues, including freezing videos. Therefore, if your computer’s storage is almost full, you must free up some space.
Either delete some files or extract them to an external hard drive. Try playing your frozen video again once you free up some storage space.
Fix 8: Restart Your Device
Sometimes, videos can keep freezing due to minor problems like computer bugs. If your computer glitches and causes your video to freeze, you can fix it by restarting your device. That will refresh it and eliminate issues.
Follow these steps to restart your computer:
Step 1: Press the Windows key.
Step 2: Click the Power icon and select Restart.
Fix 9: Clear Cache and Cookies
Cache and cookies accumulate on your device as you use it. They allow quicker access to previously visited pages by creating and storing their copies on your device. While they make it easier to access those pages, they take up space on your device.
Thus, clearing cache and cookies can improve your computer’s performance and fix the freezing video issue. Follow these steps to delete them from your browser (we’ll use Google Chrome as an example):
Step 1: Open Google Chrome.
Step 2: Click the Menu icon. Go to More tools > Clear browsing data.
Step 3: Expand the Time range and select All time.
Step 4: Tick the Cookies and other site data checkbox and the Cached images and files checkbox and click Clear Data.
Fix 10: Install the Latest Codecs
Video codecs are necessary to play your videos. If they need an update, you’ll have video playback problems. Outdated codecs can cause video freezing or the inability to play a video. Thus, updating your codecs to the latest version should fix the problem.
Follow these steps to install the latest codecs on your Windows Media Player so you can fix your frozen video:
Step 1: Open Windows Media Player and go to Tools > Options.
Step 2: Tick the Once a day checkbox under Automatic updates. Click Apply > OK.
Windows Media Player will now check for updates daily and update codecs regularly, letting you play videos smoothly without freezes.
Fix 11: Use a Different Video Player
If your video keeps freezing during playback, your video player may not support that video format. Moreover, it could be damaged or corrupted. Thus, you can try playing your video with another media player. If the video plays smoothly, uninstall the initial player and switch to the new one.
Conclusion
If your video keeps freezing, it can be frustrating to keep watching. Video freezes can happen for numerous reasons, such as corruption, media player issues, poor internet connection, outdated drivers, or performance problems. Besides video freezes, you may experience lagging, stuttering, video artifacts, sync issues, buffering, etc.
Fortunately, you can resolve this problem with several straightforward fixes. You can fix a video that keeps freezing by updating your OS, codecs, and graphics drivers, restarting your computer, clearing cache and cookies, reinstalling or changing your video player, setting the correct resolution, or using Wondershare Repairit.
