I am running Linux Mint 17.3 with Cinnamon and xfce4 desktops on a Dell Inspiron 1525. I am having a strange video problem. From a fresh start, I use the xfce4 desktop and everything runs normally. I use VLC to test a video and it plays normally. The problem pops up after the system has been running for a while. I go back to VLC and I get sound but no video. Videos play fine in my web browsers at all times. This problem is also linked to the Cinnamon desktop. From a fresh start, Cinnamon runs fine. If I start in xfce4 and VLC works, I can switch to the Cinnamon desktop no problem. However, if I am using xfce4 and VLC stops working correctly and I switch to Cinnamon, it crashes. This seem like a video problem of some sort underlying these two symptoms.

I use VLC frequently on Mint MATE (though currently I'm using Fluxbox, not MATE, for my environment) to play all sorts of video and audio files. Previously I used it on Mint Cinnamon on a different machine in an earlier version of Mint.

I've not encountered any difficulties of this sort. When I have run into problems, it has invariably been with the individual file, not with VLC or the desktop.

What types of video files are giving you this trouble? If they are on line, is it possible to provide links to them so others could test them? Also, what are the video and audio chipsets in that box and how many RAMs do you have?

System Info - Dell Inspiron 1525, 3GB Memory, Video - Intel GM965/GL960, Audio - Intel 82801H (ICH8 Family).
The problem is not the files or VLC itself or the Cinnamon desktop. From a fresh start everything works fine. Something changes over time and/or usage - a setting, something stops running or starts running, the hardware, I don't know. I can't pinpoint it.

Then why don't you use some other stable distro instead of Mint such as Ubuntu LTS or Debian Stable. Linux Mint is known to be buggy. Only a few days ago (on 20th), their website was hacked and infected ISOs were downloaded. If folks cannot secure a simple wordpress installation and forget to install regular updates, I cannot trust them one bit to handle something as complex as video card drivers! Better stick to Ubuntu/Debian or even Fedora, but not Mint.

I'd rather not do anything that drastic yet. I rely on this particular laptop to access the internet, which it does just fine. This problem just really bugs me.

Sounds like it may be a memory leak. What other programs do you commonly have open?

Try running top or htop while you do your computing and checking it periodically. That may give you some hints.

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you could try setting vlc to use x11 for the video output. I believe the default is "automatic". I've had all sorts of trouble recently with vlc on intel video hardware (iron lake). I've switched to mpv for the most part.

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I kind of agree with Prahladyeri. For one, it seems the site wasn't kept secure. And for another, pretty much Linux Mint's packages are built in a manner that combines all sorts of Debian and Ubuntu releases, which is what Debian users are told not to do since it breaks Debian.

After this, I don't know if I would really want to use Linux Mint due to some poor technical choices.

Developments. Frankbell suggesting I monitor memory usage but that seemed OK. Dolphin Oracle suggested changing VLC's video output setting from "Automatic" to "X11". I did that and VLC, which had not been working (sound but no video), started working. I went back and forth between Cinnamon and Xfce several times with the same results - Cinnamon crashes immediately but now VLC works. So half of my problem appears to be fixed. Not having Cinnamon is not a great hardship but it just bugs me. VLC works even on the crashed Cinnamon desktop.