Share via

How to set a default app when double-clicking on an external USB DVD Drive icon in Windows 10?

Anonymous
2024-05-10T14:54:45+00:00

I'm using Windows 10 Pro 22H2 with an external USB DVD drive and I'm having issues with the DVD icon (selected in the image below). I have VLC Media Player associated with DVDs, and it works the way I want when:

  • inserting a DVD, (i.e. it autoplays in VLC);
  • right-clicking on the icon and selecting "Play with VLC media player" in the context menu, (i.e. it plays in VLC); and
  • right-clicking on the icon and selecting "Open AutoPlay..." in the context menu, (i.e. it plays in VLC).

Whenever I double-click on the icon or right-click and select "Play" in the context menu, however, an error message appears saying "This file does not have an app associated with it for performing this action...".

How do I associate VLC with double-clicking and the "Play" option?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Settings

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

  1. Anonymous
    2024-05-10T15:41:43+00:00

    Hello , sorry about your problems. My name is Marco and I will do my best to help you.

    First, ensure that VLC is set as the default media player for DVDs. This can sometimes resolve the issue without further adjustments.

    -Press Win + I to open the Settings app.

    -Click on "Apps".

    -Click on "Default apps" on the left sidebar.

    -Click on "Choose default apps by file type" at the bottom.

    -Scroll through the list of apps, find VLC Media Player, and click on it.

    -Click on "Manage" and set VLC as the default for DVD movie playback (usually the file types associated are .vob, .ifo, or the protocol DVD).

    1. Adjusting AutoPlay settings can help ensure that VLC automatically plays DVDs when inserted or when certain actions are triggered.

    -Press Win + R, type control, and press Enter.

    -Click on "Hardware and Sound".

    -Find and click on "AutoPlay".

    -Under "DVDs", choose "Play DVD movie (VLC media player)" from the dropdown menu next to each DVD option.

    -Click on "Save" at the bottom.

    3.If the above steps don’t resolve the issue, you might need to edit the Windows Registry to associate the "Play" action directly with VLC. This step is more advanced and should be done carefully.

    -Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.

    -Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DVD\shell\play\command.

    -Double-click on the default value and change it to the path of VLC's executable, followed by %1. It should look something like "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" %1.

    -Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

    ( Important, before making a change in the registry, make a backup, here is how: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/how-t... )

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments

1 additional answer

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2024-05-10T16:11:32+00:00

    Hi Marco,

    Many thanks for your help and your quick response. I forgot to mention that I'd already done the first two of your suggestions, however I didn't know about the third and it's worked perfectly.

    (Incidentally, "Press Win + R, type control, and press Enter" started up "Control", which really confused me for a moment until I realised what had happened!!)

    0 comments