Wings Mob Blogs

The error about the absence of the ffmpeg.dll file may occur after loading the operating system or during the launch of an application installed on the user’s computer. From Windows XP to the latest versions of Windows 10 – The bug is not exclusive to any particular version of Microsoft OS. The error message contains the following information:

The program cannot start because ffmpeg.dll is missing on the computer. Try reinstalling the program.

Users complain about a similar error during the launch of a number of programs, with very different purposes. However, it often occurs after the Microsoft Teams program is launched. Before doing anything, we strongly recommend that you start updating all the drivers on your computer. Plus, it would not hurt to install all available updates for the Windows operating system. Once done with this, launch the desired application or restart your PC and check if the error with the ffmpeg.dll file appears again.

The problem was not resolved? Then use the methods below.

Method # 1 Deleting the cache of the problematic application

Applications use the cache to improve their performance on the user’s system. However, in some cases, such a useful thing becomes the initiator of all sorts of problems, including our today’s mistake. The solution is to delete the cache. This procedure is incredibly easy, and now we will show you how to do it.

• Right-click on the taskbar and select “Task Manager”;
• close all running processes of the problematic application, for example, Teams.exe;
• press Win + R and run the following commands:
  • % appdata% Microsoft teams cache
  • % appdata% Microsoft teams blob_storage
  • % appdata% Microsoft teams databases
  • % appdata% Microsoft teams GPUcache
  • % appdata% Microsoft teams IndexedDB
  • % appdata% Microsoft teams Local Storage
  • % appdata% Microsoft teams tmp
• delete all files in each of the opened folders;
• restart your computer;
• if nothing has changed and the error with the ffmpeg.dll file still occurs, press Win + R and run% appdata% Microsoft ;
• right click on the application folder, for example, Teams, and select “Delete”;
• confirm uninstallation and restart your PC.

Check again for an error with the ffmpeg.dll file.

Method # 2 Reinstall the problematic application

In some cases, the ffmpeg.dll error can occur as a result of damage to the files of the application you are launching, including the file specified in the error. If deleting the cache did not help you, then we recommend not to bother and reinstall the application you need. Try the following:

• press Win + I to open System Options;
• click LMB on the “Applications” cell;
• go to the “Applications and Features” tab;
• find the required application in the list, for example, Microsoft Teams, and click on it with LMB;
• double click on the “Delete” button next to the application;
• restart your computer;
• press the combination Win + R to bring up the “Run” window;
• write in an empty line the value “% localappdata% Microsoft ” and press Enter;
• in the window that opens, right-click on the “Teams” folder and select “Delete”;
• close all open windows;
• then press Win + R to call “Run”;
• write down the value regedit and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter;
• go to the branch HKEY_CURRENT_USER SOFTWARE Microsoft Office Teams using the line at the top of the window;
• find the parameter “PreventInstallationFromMsi” in the right part of the window and delete it;
• restart your computer.

Now install the remote application and see if the error appears again with the ffmpeg.dll file. As a rule, deleting the cache and reinstalling the application will help resolve the situation. However, if the DLL error still persists, we advise you to try some more experimental methods. It’s not a fact that they will help, but it’s still worth a try.

Method # 3 Replacing old files with new ones

If you tried to reinstall the application, forgetting that residual files from a previous installation are still present on your computer, then you can use the latter to get rid of the ffmpeg.dll error. Simply put, we copy the contents of the new installation to the folder with the old one, and the problem will disappear. Let’s take an example using the Microsoft Teams program.

• Open Task Manager (RMB + taskbar) and close all processes related to Microsoft Teams;
• press Win + R to call “Run”;
• paste in a blank line% localappdata% and press Enter;
• open the Microsoft folder, then – Teams;
• move everything in the current-s1 folder to the current folder (confirm the replacement!);
• restart your computer.

The same method can be used with respect to other applications suffering from an error with the ffmpeg.dll file.

Method # 4 Recovering system files

Some users claim that they were able to resolve the error with the ffmpeg.dll file by using the System File Checker (SFC) utility. Apparently, the application will fail to access this dynamic link library (DLL) if certain system files have become corrupted. One way or another, to restore system files, you need to do the following:

• press Win + R on your keyboard;
• enter the cmd value in an empty line and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter;
• paste the sfc / scannow command into the console and press Enter;
• wait for the SFC utility to finish and see the results;
• restart your computer.

Method # 5 Creating a new account

If you are still facing ffmpeg.dll file error, then the last thing to try is to create another account. It’s not entirely clear why this helps to get rid of the error, but some users claim that the method works with a new account.

• Press Win + I to open Options;
• select the “Accounts” section;
• go to the “Family and other users” tab;
• click on the “Add user for this computer” button;
• in the new window, click on the item “I do not have data to log into this person”;
• then select “Add a user without a Microsoft account”;
• enter the required username, password, security question and answer, and then click “Next”;
• restart your PC and go to your new account.

We hope that one of the above methods helped you get rid of (or at least work around) the error with the ffmpeg.dll file.