Solution for Windows and Mac OS X users running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, and Mac OS X Lion.
Consider a situation where you are able to access YouTube website but not the videos. When you land on the video page, you are welcomed with a black screen, a loading ball, or the page doesn’t load at all.
In this article we’ll quickly skim through the issues that you may come across, and find out how to fix the problem that you may have otherwise missed.
When YouTube Videos Doesn’t Work
#1. When you watch videos in HD mode, they fail to buffer. The video screen goes black with a loading ball spinning endlessly.
#2. When you play a YouTube video, the browser freezes — or worse, crashes. None of the videos, even after switching to 240P low-resolution, loads.
#3. When you start the video at a later point, the loading ball appears again — the video claims to be buffering, that is. You stare at the screen, but nothing changes. And this is when realize that you have no magical power.
Easy steps to Make YouTube Play Videos
Here are some of the generic tips to make the videos work, and I am assuming that most of you have already put these ideas into action. However, it’s always good to go through this effective tips:
– Reload the video. I can’t vouch enough for this solution. More often than not, reloading the YouTube video page does the trick.
– Restart your browser. Some plugins, usually the outdated ones, crashes when you are browsing for more than a few hours. Give a quick restart, open the video page to know if the video loads fine.
– Switch to a different browser. If you’re using Safari, switch to Firefox, or any of your favorite browser. Relaunch the video to see if the problem still persists.
– Update your browser. Whether you are using Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, or any other browser, it’s always recommended to not only keep your browser up-to-date but also addons and plugins should be regularly updated.
Fix YouTube Video Loading issue
There are several ways to fix the problem of YouTube videos not loading on your browser. When I say several, there are a slew of ways to get past the loading screen. You may want to try them all.
Update your Adobe Flash Player Plugin For YouTube
There are many sites similar to YouTube which uses Adobe Flash for their videos. If you have an outdated version of Adobe Flash running on your machine, then it’s time to update the Flash plugin.
If you don’t want to download Flash Player, you can switch to HTML5 version of YouTube. HTML5 is the new semantic markup embraced by YouTube. Join the HTML5 trial by visiting this page.
Switch to Low Quality Video Settings
On many occasions, despite a reliable Internet speed, videos fail to load. Perhaps you are watching a very high quality video clip. You may want to switch to low-resolution such as 240P or 360P, or let YouTube handle this on its own, for which you have to visit this page and select the following:
I have a slow connection. Never play higher-quality video.
Dabble With Hardware Acceleration to Make Videos Play on YouTube
Another problem that has taken the YouTube forum by storm is the black video screen issue. You search for a video, click on the link to land on the video page but nothing happens. All you get is a black screen, which can be combated by switching the hardware acceleration. I’ve already written an article to help you fix this issue.
Use New YouTube Interface For Faster Loading of Videos
Cosmic Panda is YouTube’s experimental episode that is designed to load videos faster. The sleek design borrows many visual elements and puts a greater emphasis on the video player.
If you want to switch to Cosmic Panda, visit this page. Mac users may also want to download the videos or save short YouTube clips if YouTube is blocked in your school, college, or office. Similarly, Windows users can use YouTube HD downloader for viewing the videos offline.
