How to Fix Powerpoint Won’t Play Audio Or Video On Windows 10

Microsoft Powerpoint won’t play audio or video on Windows 10?

Powerpoint has been around for a long time. Out there, there is a figure that says Powerpoint delivers over 30 million presentations each day, worldwide. 

Yes, that’s a lot. 

These big numbers also indicate that millions of users depend on Powerpoint for their professional presentations, and a slight error in the application can cost them a lot. 

Recently, several users reported that Powerpoint won’t play audio or video on Windows 10, which has been affecting their work performance. We had a look into the issue and found that it can be caused due a variety of reasons, including compatibility issues and corrupt files. 

If you are facing a similar issue on your computer, you are in the right place. 

This guide will walk you through several effective methods that will resolve the issue in no time. 

Let’s get started.

1. Check if the Format is Supported.

If PowerPoint cannot play audio or video on Windows 10, then you must first make sure that the video you are trying to play is supported by Powerpoint. 

In case you are using Powerpoint 2010, then you must know that mainly uses WAV files. If you using an MP3 file, then probably incompatibility is the issue. Similarly, Powerpoint does not support a wide range of formats when it comes to videos. 

You can also check the official Microsoft page to check Video and audio file formats supported in PowerPoint.  

In case the format is not supported, you can convert the audio and video files into supported formats using a third-party application on your PC. 

2. Clear the TEMP Folder.

If you are sure that the audio/video format you are using is supported by your Powerpoint version, then the next step is to clear the TEMP folder in your operating system.

It is in the TEMP folder that Windows stores most of its temporary files. Sometimes one of these files becomes corrupt, resulting in issues like the one at hand.

Since this folder is temporary, deleting its contents is safe, and can help you resolve errors. 

Here is how you can do that:

1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously to open a Run dialogue box.
2. Type ‘%temp%‘ in the text field of the dialogue box and hit Enter. Doing so will launch the TEMP folder window.

3. Delete all the contents of this folder and then restart your PC.

Hopefully, doing so will allow you to run your multimedia files on Powerpoint without any issues. 

3. Try Using CleanMyPC. 

As we mentioned earlier, the error at hand can be caused by corrupt files in the operating system. If Method 2 did work for you in terms of clearing the junk files, then try using an efficient PC cleaner.

An effective PC cleaner scans your PC and then fixes issues that are identified. Our personal favorite is CleanMyPC, and so if you are looking for a recommendation, we suggest you go for it. 

CleanMyPC comes with a wide range of system maintenance tools including (but not limited to) a Multi-Uninstaller, Speed Booster, and a Registry Cleaner. Therefore, it can not just eliminate the junk files but also address other PC-related issues. 

All that you need to do is install CleanMyPC on your computer and run a scan using it. The rest will be taken care of!

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4. Use Optimize Media Compatibility to Upload the File. 

Another easy way to detect incompatible files and convert them into compatible files is by using the compatibility feature in Powerpoint itself. 

This built-in feature of Powerpoint will make sure that you can play your multimedia files not just on your computer, but also on the devices you’ll be using to view your presentation.

Here is what you need to do:

1. Launch Powerpoint and insert the desired multimedia files. 
2. Click on File and in the newly launched window, click on the Optimize Media Compatibility option.

3. Now, wait for Powerpoint to optimize the multimedia files and once it’s done, check if the issue is resolved. 

If the issue at hand was being caused by compatibility issues, then using the Optimize Media Compatibility feature will resolve it. 

This concludes our guide on Powerpoint’s multimedia error on Windows 10. We tried walking you through all the steps in detail and hope that one of the methods mentioned above did the trick for you. In case you still have any confusion about the methods, please let us know in the comment section below!

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂