When launching a game or application like Teams or WhatsApp on a Windows 11/10 PC, an error message may appear stating that the ffmpeg.dll file is missing, it could not be located/registered, the system did not find ffmpeg.dll, the point in the procedure was not found, Access Violation etc.
The ffmpeg.dll library is responsible for operating other audio and video files, and by default, it is not available in Windows 11 or 10. The ffmpeg.dll file appears in the system only when a program, game or driver is installed.
How to Fix Missing ffmpeg.dll on Windows 11 or 10
1. Reinstalling the program
When installing the program, the antivirus could work falsely and block the ffmpeg.dll file, further leading to its absence in Windows 11/10 when the software starts. If you use any player to play audio or video like VLC or codec pack like K-Lite Codec, then reinstall.
2. Checking system files
Run Command Prompt as Administrator.
Now you have to execute the commands below in order.
sfc /scannow DISM /ONLINE /CLEANUP-IMAGE /RESTOREHEALTH
3. Download ffmpeg.dll
It is a risky method, and it is not recommended to do it if you have important files on your computer since you will be offered to download the Ffmpeg.dll file from a third-party site and upload it to your PC. Most of these sites usually bind the virus to DLL files, even if the site was previously safe. You must be aware of the risk.
- Find the DLL download site and separately download the Ffmpeg.dll file for Windows 11/10.
- Next, paste it to your computer along with the path C: \ Windows \ System32
- Library registration may be required. To do this, run CMD as admin and enter regsvr32 Ffmpeg.dll
4. Ffmpeg.dll error when loading the system
It is noteworthy that the error can appear even when starting Windows 11/10. On the Microsoft forum, the culprit was the initialization of this library by the Microsoft Temas program. In this situation, you need to reinstall the Microsoft Teams program. If it did not help, then most likely, the program did not wholly delete, and the cache remained. We’ll clean it up manually.
- Sign out of your Teams account and close the program from the taskbar for the process to stop working.
- Press Win + R and enter % appdata% \ Microsoft \ team
- Delete all folders and files and re-download Microsoft Temas for installation.
We will also add that it may be another program that tries to process a library that does not exist. In this situation, you need to press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager and go to the Startup tab. Disable all unnecessary startup programs.
5. Error ffmpeg.dll when launching WhatsApp
If you encounter ffmpeg.dll error when starting the desktop WhatsApp messenger, then:
1. Open File Explorer and click on the “View” tab and check the “Filename Extensions” and “Hidden Items” boxes.
2. Next, go to the path C: \ Users \ username \ AppData \ Local \ WhatsApp, and you will find two versions in folders like app-2.2134.10 and app-2.2137.13. Delete the entire app-2.2138.13 version folder.
3. Go to the latest app-2.2134.10 of the WhatsApp folder and right-click on WhatsApp.exe, then Send > Desktop (create shortcut). Run the newly created shortcut for the WhatsApp application on the desktop, and the error with the ffmpeg.dll file will be eliminated. (you can delete the old shortcut).
Note: If WhatsApp displays ffmpeg.dll error, uninstall it via uninstallation of programs ( method 1 ) and delete residual files along with the path C: \ Users \ myWEBpc \ AppData \ Local by deleting the entire WhatsApp folder. Next, download the messenger from the official website and install it.
