What to Do If AVI Videos Won't Play on Windows 10/Windows 11

AVI should be supported natively on Windows. However, there's still high chance that AVI video files won't play properly on Windows 10/11. Common AVI file not playing errors on Windows 10 include:

• Cannot playback the file. The format is not supported. Error =80040265
• Cannot play back the video stream: no suitable decompressor could be found.
• Windows Media Player cannot open filename. You may need to reboot to complete the installation of a download component. Please verify that the path and filename are correct and try again.
• One or more codecs required to open this content could not be found. Error = C00D10D1

Learn what to do if Windows won't play AVI video files, or you are having an issue with playing AVI files. After trying each method, test your AVI videos again to see if the issue is fixed.

Table of Content

• Way 1. Update Windows Media Player
• Way 2. Play the AVI file with VLC or Other Media Players
• Way 3. Free Download AVI Video Codec or Codec Pack
• Way 4. Convert AVI to Windows Supported Formats

Way 1. Update Windows Media Player

If Windows Media Player is your default media player and it won't play AVI on Windows 10, try updating Windows Media Player. To do so,

1. Open Windows Media Player on Windows
2. Make sure it is in library mode instead of play mode. Under library mode, click the icon with three squares and an arrow. Press "Alt-H" to get the help menu.
3. Choose "Check For Updates…". Then Windows Media Player will automatically update to the latest version when a new version is available.

Way 2. Play the AVI file with VLC or Other Media Players

Many media players are better than Windows Media Player for Windows 10/11. Try other media players such as VLC Media Player to play your AVI video files. The VLC media player comes with various types of codecs, allowing you to play more videos without hassle.

1. Open the VLC Media Player on Windows.
2. Open the AVI video file in VLC Media Player. VLC can fix the damaged AVI video file. Go to Tools > Preferences, choose Input/Codec, find Files, then select Always Fix from the Damaged or incomplete AVI drop-down icon.
3. Try playing the AVI video again in VLC to see if you still get the AVI not playing error on Windows 10/11.

Way 3. Download AVI Codec or Codec Pack

Free download and install AVI codec or AVI codec pack on Windows 10/11 to ensure AVI playback. The lack of AVI codec can cause AVI not to play on Windows 10/11 properly, such as no video with a blank screen, broken audio, Invalid file format error =8004022F, unable to download appropriate decompressor, etc.

K-Lite Codec Pack, Media Player Codec Pack, and X codec pack are popular AVI codec pack for Windows 10/11 to free download. Select any of the codec pack and try your AVI video files again to see if the AVI files not playing on Windows 10/11 error persists.

Way 4. Convert AVI to Windows Supported Formats

If you see error message telling that "Cannot playback the file. The format is not supported. Error =80040265:, or "Cannot play back the video stream: no suitable decompressor could be found.", try converting AVI video format. Free download Winxvideo AI for Windows 10/11. The tool helps convert (4K UHD) AVI to MP4 H.264, or other file formats playable on Windows. Use steps below to convert and play AVI videos on Windows smoothly.

[How-to Guide] Convert AVI to Windows 10/Windows 11

Step 1. Free download and install the AVI video converter for Windows 10/11. Run the AVI video converter. Click the "+ Video" button on the main interface and choose the AVI video that fails to play on Windows 10/11.

Step 2. The AVI video will load quickly and an output profile window pops up. On the profile window, choose MP4 H.264 and click the OK button to save the output format. MP4 H.264 is universally accepted on Windows 10/11 by any media player.

Step 3. Click the RUN button to start the AVI video conversion process. Then try playing the converted AVI video file again with Windows Media Player, VLC Media Player, or other media player you have on Windows.