v3.0.2 slow startup on Win10

[zajin]

Another fix:

Go to C:\Program Files\VideoLAN (or C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN).
Right click the VLC folder -> Properties -> Security. Click on Edit where it says "To change permissions, click Edit".
Click Add, type in "Everyone", click OK. Check the "Full Control" box, click OK, then OK again on the Properties window.

[karendebilt]

I have a fairly fast computer, however, I thought that the startup was sluggish.
My VLC is installed in C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC which is a directory that requires administrative permissions to modify.
I noticed in C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC\plugins that there was no "plugins.dat" unlike any of the 2.x versions.

So, bringing up an administrative command prompt set to the C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC directory, I issued...
vlc-cache-gen c:\Program Files\videolan\vlc\plugins
... which generated a plugins.dat that was around 286 KB.

Time will tell if that will speed up the startup. I only see some sluggishness on the first startup of the day.

You sir, are a life-saver. This is the solution for this problem.

[webgrunt]

I have a fairly fast computer, however, I thought that the startup was sluggish.
My VLC is installed in C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC which is a directory that requires administrative permissions to modify.
I noticed in C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC\plugins that there was no "plugins.dat" unlike any of the 2.x versions.

So, bringing up an administrative command prompt set to the C:\Program Files\VideoLan\VLC directory, I issued...
vlc-cache-gen c:\Program Files\videolan\vlc\plugins
... which generated a plugins.dat that was around 286 KB.

Time will tell if that will speed up the startup. I only see some sluggishness on the first startup of the day.

This worked for me! Thank you!! It went from taking around ten seconds to start to taking about one second.

[Bulldog]

Thank you aitte (posting on Thu Dec 20, 2018 8:23 pm)!

I already had a plugins.dat but VLC was still slow to open. Your idea of not scanning for new plugins did the trick. VLC now opens almost instantly. I was ready to search for another media player. You saved the day.

[BeethovenZmafia]

This is driving me nuts. My issues, in all likelihood, probably stem around the size of my library. It's sometimes better for me to open VLC before going to sleep at night so I can use it tomorrow. This is not productive. I am to the point of needing a replacement as I continually experience issues with it.

[Psiberman]

No ... none of these things work. New laptop as of October 2021. If rolling back to 2.8.8 (or whatever the last 2.? version was) I'll need to find a replacement for VLC. After more than 10 years of uneventful happy use (plus donations to the cause), I'll be saddened to leave ... but waiting more than a few seconds (the average wait is 26 seconds for each of 5 videos in the playlist) is unacceptable.

[Hitchhiker]

Try a different output module. In this thread changing it to "Open GL video output for Windows" worked for that user.

If none of them work please create a log file as follows.

1. Before starting a video hit Ctrl + M to open the Messages window.
2. At the bottom of the window change Verbosity from 0 to "2 (debug)"
3. Leave it open and go play a video.
4. When it finishes, go back to the Messages window and either click Save As, or place the cursor anywhere in the log and hit Ctrl + A to highlight followed by Ctrl + C to copy it to the Windows Clipboard.
5. Next, go to https://pastebin.com/ and in the New Paste window on that site hit Ctrl + V to paste the log you just created. (no need to create an account there).
6. Scroll down to the bottom, give the pasted log a name and click the Create New Paste button. That will change the URL at the top.
7. Copy that URL and paste it here into your next post.

If you prefer, use the context menu right click --> Select All / Right click ---> Copy and right click Paste instead of the keyboard commands, but I'll leave that up to you.