The VideoLAN Forums

Hello. I downloaded VLC Player 1.1.5 "Windows zip packages (No installer needed)", choosing this version because I like the idea of not needing to install anything and being able to carry the folder with me anywhere using a USB drive.

I thought using the zip version would mean that all of my preferences and "usage tracks" would remain in that folder, but I was a little upset to see the player create new files in my Application Data folder with information about the videos and DVDs I played.

My questions are:
1. Is there a way to set the player to not create all any files or make any changes outside of its own folder?
2. How can I seek out all of the files/changes that the player has already created outside of its own folder? I would like to delete them.

This is a privacy issue for me, as I am not using my own computer. The computers I used are all Windows XP SP3.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

1. No. Config file can be stored to chosen location, but QT4 stuff + album art is stored to %appdata%\vlc folder.
2. %appdata%\vlc should be only place where VLC writes its settings.

Thanks, VLC_help.

If the player must change stuff outside of its own folder, I'm glad %appdata%\vlc is the only place it's happening. Am I right in guessing that the player doesn't make any changes in the registry?

Oh, I also discovered that a prefetch file gets made in %windir%\prefetch, but I guess that's a Windows thing that can't be stopped.

I hope that in the future, everything stays in the player's own folder so that it can truly be 100% portable...

Am I right in guessing that the player doesn't make any changes in the registry?

It does if you touch Tools -> Preferences and Set up associations..., but that should be only component in VLC that writes to registry directly.

Thanks again, VLC_help. I haven't touched the Set up associations part.

For anybody else who's following this saga, I've been testing out and playing different file types to see if anything changes outside the player's folder. So far, not much new's been happening, but I did find out that playing a .iso creates a dvdcss folder in %appdata%.

I'll keep testing and report back if I find anything else new.