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How do I reset the Windows Media Player video cache?

Intended For
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Windows 2003
Windows 2000
Windows Me
Windows 98
Windows 95
When you play a video file (such as .mpg, .avi, .wmv, .avi, and .asf) with a recent version of the Windows Media Player, it stores certain information about the video to improve performance the next time the video clip is opened. If the video changes, however, either due to editing or replacing the file, Windows Media Player will continue to use the old data, which may affect the video controls or even disable the clip altogether.

Here's a common scenario: Say you're downloading a large video clip from a website or using a file sharing program like WinMX. In the middle of downloading, you play the video, either out of impatience or to see if it's worth completing the download. When you play the video, it works fine (see Notes, below if it doesn't) - however, Windows Media Player stores certain statistics about the clip, such as its length. When download is complete, the video is, of course, longer - but Windows Media Player still thinks it's the length of the first clip, and the "slider" control reaches the end before the video is over, making it impossible to control.

Here's how to reset the Windows Media Player cache so that it re-reads video information:

Solution 1:

  • Since Windows Media Player stores information about videos using their filenames, all you have to do is rename the video file or move it to a different folder. This will effectively reset the settings for that file only.

Solution 2:

  • To reset the Windows Media Player cache for all videos, delete the file wmplibrary_v_0_12.db. It can be located in any of the following places:
    • your \Windows folder
    • the \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Index folder (Windows 2000 and Windows XP only).
    • the \Program Files\Common Files\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Index folder (Windows 9x and Windows Me only).
    Note that this file can be quite large; I've seen it as large as 80+ mb!
  • When the file is deleted, it will simply be recreated the next time you play a video. To have the file deleted automatically, say, every time you start Windows, just write a Windows batch file or WSH Script that deletes the file, and include it in your Startup folder. For more information on scripts and batch files, see Windows 98 Annoyances or Windows Me Annoyances.

Notes:

  • Windows Media Player will allow you to play certain video file types while they're downloading (such as .asf files). If WMP complains that the file is in use by another process, you can play it by first making a duplicate of the file, and then opening the duplicate.
  • If you can't play a certain video file that you know is incomplete (hasn't finished downloading), and you've tried duplicating the file, it could be an .avi file. The video index, which allows Windows Media Player to read the video data is stored at the end of .avi files (rather than at the beginning, like most other types); this means that incomplete .avi videos can't be played. To repair an incomplete .avi file, use DivFix to rebuild the index. (If you wish to subsequently continue downloading the file, make sure to "strip index" first.)


Written by: Annoyances.org
Last updated: Wednesday, February 7, 2007

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