ok, sorry about my previous comment.

please post the output of

Grandpa have you tried syg00 vivid chromatic instruction? what happened then?
Also, it is best to follow ondoho's clue: to use the software-center or synaptic built-in installer in Mint.

It was good that you have tried to deinstall the vlc. Now try to reinstall and see what improves.

I don't know what is going on with Mint. It never happened in earlier versions. Mint used to be a model for ease of use.

Try Linux Mint Mate.

-::-Some members that had trouble with Cinnamon installed 'Mate' and certain issues' went away.-::-

http://linuxmint.com/rel_rosa_mate_whatsnew.php

1 members found this post helpful.

I was waiting for somebody with good information to give this advice. This is very helpful. The O.P. should do accordingly.

So what is the consensus?

Clean install or what?

Habitual? - syg00?
What say you guys?

Very little of this makes sense to me but I trust that they will to you.
I can only assume that they are "links" to other actions so here goes.

/locale/'
/.
/usr
/usr/share
/usr/share/menu
/usr/share/menu/vlc
/usr/share/doc
/usr/share/bug
/usr/share/lintian
/usr/share/lintian/overrides
/usr/share/lintian/overrides/vlc
/usr/share/applications
/usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop
/usr/share/kde4
/usr/share/kde4/apps
/usr/share/kde4/apps/solid
/usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions
/usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions/vlc-openbd.desktop
/usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions/vlc-opencda.desktop
/usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions/vlc-opendvd.desktop
/usr/share/kde4/apps/solid/actions/vlc-openvcd.desktop
/usr/share/man
/usr/share/man/man1
/usr/lib
/usr/lib/mime
/usr/lib/mime/packages
/usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc
/usr/lib/vlc
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libxcb_xv_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libaa_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libxcb_window_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libgl_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libxcb_x11_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libglx_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libxcb_glx_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_output/libcaca_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_filter
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/video_filter/libpanoramix_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/services_discovery
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/services_discovery/libxcb_apps_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/gui
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/gui/libskins2_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/gui/libqt4_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/control
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/control/libglobalhotkeys_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/access
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/access/libxcb_screen_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/misc
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/misc/libxdg_screensaver_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec/libsdl_image_plugin.so
/usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec/libvaapi_plugin.so
/usr/bin
/usr/bin/qvlc
/usr/bin/svlc
/usr/share/doc/vlc
/usr/share/bug/vlc
/usr/share/man/man1/qvlc.1.gz
/usr/share/man/man1/svlc.1.gz

not sure if the last one is a dir or a file.
please post "ls /usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc".

iirc, you are not using kde, so we can discard those files.
please post: "cat /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop"

actually, i think vlc also depends on a package called "vlc-data", so you could post this command's output as well:
dpkg-query -L vlc-data | grep -v '/locale/'

Thanks for your persistence

ls /usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc gave this result ~ $ ls /usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc/usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc



cat /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop and cat /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop
produced two pages of code each.

Do you still want me to post them?

seems it is a directory.
so please post and

and yes, please post the content of that .desktop file. if you want you can strip out all the internationalization stuff.

well, you could try that, if you're using the same install OS. it may reaccure. if you desided to reinstall again, might as well give a different one a try, just because their are so many different ones out there to try, and its free so why not. that is what I did. I ran debian for a while they have a pick of destops and window managers to choise from. that is where most of the others come from anyways. might as well pick the orginal and give it a try.

just get one of these
debian-8.3.0-i386-DVD-1.iso or the 64bit AMD64-DVD-1.iso

they both are enough to get it installed then they let you pick which desktop you want to install, pick one or many from cinnamon, MATE, xfce4 etc...

Good morning ondoho
You should be renamed Foxterrier for once you get your teeth into something you sure do not let go.
THANK YOU

Here are the results you asked for:-

~ $ cat /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop


[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=VLC media player
GenericName=Media player
Comment=Read, capture, broadcast your multimedia streams
Name[bn]=VLC মিডিয়া প্লেয়ার
Comment[bn]=আপনার মাল্টিমিডিয়া স্ট্রীম পড়ুন, ধরে রাখুন এবং ছড়িয়ে দিন
Name[br]=VLC lenner mediaoù
GenericName[br]=Lenner mediaoù
Comment[br]=Lenn, enrollañ, skignañ ho lanvioù liesvedia
Name[ca]=Reproductor multimèdia VLC
GenericName[ca]=Reproductor multimèdia
Comment[ca]=Reproduïu, captureu i difoneu fluxos multimèdia
Name[de]=VLC Media Player
GenericName[de]=Medienwiedergabe
Comment[de]=Wiedergabe, Aufnahme und Verbreitung Ihrer Multimedia-Streams
Name[es]=Reproductor multimedia VLC
GenericName[es]=Reproductor multimedia
Comment[es]=Lea, capture y emita sus contenidos multimedia
Name[et]=VLC meediaesitaja
GenericName[et]=Meediaesitaja
Comment[et]=Multimeediafailide taasesitamine, lindistamine ja edastamine
Name[eu]=VLC multimedia irakurgailua
GenericName[eu]=Multimedia irakurgailua
Comment[eu]=Irakurri, hartu, igorri zure multimedia jarioak
Name[fi]=VLC-mediasoitin
GenericName[fi]=Mediasoitin
Comment[fi]=Toista, tallenna ja lähetä multimediaa
Name[fr]=Lecteur multimédia VLC
GenericName[fr]=Lecteur multimédia
Comment[fr]=Lire, capturer, diffuser vos flux multimedia
Name[gl]=Reprodutor multimedia VLC
GenericName[gl]=Reprodutor multimedia
Comment[gl]=Lea, capture e emita os seus fluxos multimedia
Name[he]=נגן המדיה VLC
GenericName[he]=נגן מדיה
Comment[he]=קריאה, לכידה ושידור של תזרימי מולטימדיה
Name[hu]=VLC médialejátszó
GenericName[hu]=Médialejátszó
Comment[hu]=Multimédiás adatfolyamok olvasása, mentése, szórása
Name[is]=VLC margmiðlunarspilarinn
GenericName[is]=Margmiðlunarspilari
Comment[is]=Spilar margmiðlunarefni ásamt því að taka upp og útvarpa straumum
Name[it]=Lettore multimediale VLC
GenericName[it]=Lettore multimediale
Comment[it]=Legge, acquisisce e trasmette i tuoi flussi multimediali
Name[ja]=VLCメディアプレイヤー
Comment[ja]=マルチメディアストリームの読み込み、キャプチャー、ブロードキャスト
Name[km]=កម្មវិធី​ចាក់​មេឌៀ VLC
Comment[km]=អាន ចាប់យក ប្រកាស​ស្ទ្រីម​ពហុមេឌៀ​របស់​អ្នក
Name[lt]=VLC leistuvė
GenericName[lt]=Leistuvė
Comment[lt]=Groti, įrašyti, siųsti įvairialypės terpės kūrinius
Name[nl]=VLC Media Player
GenericName[nl]=Mediaspeler
Comment[nl]=Uw multimediastreams afspelen, opnemen en uitzenden
Name[nn]=VLC mediespelar
GenericName[nn]=Mediespelar
Comment[nn]=Spel av, ta opp og send ut multimedia
Name[pa]=VLC ਮੀਡਿਆ ਪਲੇਅਰ
Comment[pa]=ਆਪਣੀ ਮਲਟੀਮੀਡਿਆ ਸਟਰੀਮ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ, ਕੈਪਚਰ ਤੇ ਬਰਾਡਕਾਸਟ ਕਰੋ
Name[pl]=VLC media player
GenericName[pl]=Odtwarzacz multimedialny
Comment[pl]=Odczytywanie, przechwytywanie i nadawanie strumieni multimedialnych
Name[pt_BR]=Reprodutor de Mídias VLC
GenericName[pt_BR]=Reprodutor de Mídias
Comment[pt_BR]=Reproduza, capture e transmita os seus fluxos multimídia
Name[ru]=Медиаплеер VLC
GenericName[ru]=Медиаплеер
Comment[ru]=Универсальный проигрыватель видео и аудио
Name[sk]=VLC media player
Comment[sk]=Naèítavajte, zaznamenávajte, vysielajte svoje multimediálne streamy
Name[sv]=Mediaspelaren VLC
GenericName[sv]=Mediaspelaren
Comment[sv]=Allmän uppspelare av film och musik
Name[te]=VLC మాధ్యమ ప్రదర్శకం
GenericName[te]=మాధ్యమ ప్రదర్శకం
Comment[te]=మీ బహుళమాధ్యమ ప్రవాహాలను చదువు, బంధించు మరియు ప్రసారం చేయి
Name[wa]=Djouweu d' media VLC
GenericName[wa]=Djouweu d' media
Comment[wa]=Lét, egaloye, evoye vos floûs multimedia
Name[zh_CN]=VLC media player
GenericName[zh_CN]=媒体播放器
Comment[zh_CN]=为您读取、捕获或发送多媒体流
Exec=/usr/bin/vlc --started-from-file %U
TryExec=/usr/bin/vlc
Icon=vlc
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=AudioVideo;Player;Recorder;
MimeType=video/dv;video/mpeg;video/x-mpeg;video/msvideo;video/quicktime;video/x-anim;video/x-avi;video/x-ms-asf;video/x-ms-wmv;video/x-msvideo;video/x-nsv;video/x-flc;video/x-fli;video/x-flv;video/vnd.rn-realvideo;video/mp4;video/mp4v-es;video/mp2t;application/ogg;application/x-ogg;video/x-ogm+ogg;audio/x-vorbis+ogg;application/x-matroska;audio/x-matroska;video/x-matroska;video/webm;audio/webm;audio/x-mp3;audio/x-mpeg;audio/mpeg;audio/x-wav;audio/x-mpegurl;audio/x-scpls;audio/x-m4a;audio/x-ms-asf;audio/x-ms-asx;audio/x-ms-wax;application/vnd.rn-realmedia;audio/x-real-audio;audio/x-pn-realaudio;application/x-flac;audio/x-flac;application/x-shockwave-flash;misc/ultravox;audio/vnd.rn-realaudio;audio/x-pn-aiff;audio/x-pn-au;audio/x-pn-wav;audio/x-pn-windows-acm;image/vnd.rn-realpix;audio/x-pn-realaudio-plugin;application/x-extension-mp4;audio/mp4;audio/amr;audio/amr-wb;x-content/video-vcd;x-content/video-svcd;x-content/video-dvd;x-content/audio-cdda;x-content/audio-player;application/xspf+xml;x-scheme-handler/mms;x-scheme-handler/rtmp;x-scheme-handler/rtsp;
X-KDE-Protocols=ftp,http,https,mms,rtmp,rtsp,sftp,smb
Keywords=Player;Capture;DVD;Audio;Video;Server;Broadcast;


$ cat /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop


[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Name=VLC media player
GenericName=Media player
Comment=Read, capture, broadcast your multimedia streams
Name[bn]=VLC মিডিয়া প্লেয়ার
Comment[bn]=আপনার মাল্টিমিডিয়া স্ট্রীম পড়ুন, ধরে রাখুন এবং ছড়িয়ে দিন
Name[br]=VLC lenner mediaoù
GenericName[br]=Lenner mediaoù
Comment[br]=Lenn, enrollañ, skignañ ho lanvioù liesvedia
Name[ca]=Reproductor multimèdia VLC
GenericName[ca]=Reproductor multimèdia
Comment[ca]=Reproduïu, captureu i difoneu fluxos multimèdia
Name[de]=VLC Media Player
GenericName[de]=Medienwiedergabe
Comment[de]=Wiedergabe, Aufnahme und Verbreitung Ihrer Multimedia-Streams
Name[es]=Reproductor multimedia VLC
GenericName[es]=Reproductor multimedia
Comment[es]=Lea, capture y emita sus contenidos multimedia
Name[et]=VLC meediaesitaja
GenericName[et]=Meediaesitaja
Comment[et]=Multimeediafailide taasesitamine, lindistamine ja edastamine
Name[eu]=VLC multimedia irakurgailua
GenericName[eu]=Multimedia irakurgailua
Comment[eu]=Irakurri, hartu, igorri zure multimedia jarioak
Name[fi]=VLC-mediasoitin
GenericName[fi]=Mediasoitin
Comment[fi]=Toista, tallenna ja lähetä multimediaa
Name[fr]=Lecteur multimédia VLC
GenericName[fr]=Lecteur multimédia
Comment[fr]=Lire, capturer, diffuser vos flux multimedia
Name[gl]=Reprodutor multimedia VLC
GenericName[gl]=Reprodutor multimedia
Comment[gl]=Lea, capture e emita os seus fluxos multimedia
Name[he]=נגן המדיה VLC
GenericName[he]=נגן מדיה
Comment[he]=קריאה, לכידה ושידור של תזרימי מולטימדיה
Name[hu]=VLC médialejátszó
GenericName[hu]=Médialejátszó
Comment[hu]=Multimédiás adatfolyamok olvasása, mentése, szórása
Name[is]=VLC margmiðlunarspilarinn
GenericName[is]=Margmiðlunarspilari
Comment[is]=Spilar margmiðlunarefni ásamt því að taka upp og útvarpa straumum
Name[it]=Lettore multimediale VLC
GenericName[it]=Lettore multimediale
Comment[it]=Legge, acquisisce e trasmette i tuoi flussi multimediali
Name[ja]=VLCメディアプレイヤー
Comment[ja]=マルチメディアストリームの読み込み、キャプチャー、ブロードキャスト
Name[km]=កម្មវិធី​ចាក់​មេឌៀ VLC
Comment[km]=អាន ចាប់យក ប្រកាស​ស្ទ្រីម​ពហុមេឌៀ​របស់​អ្នក
Name[lt]=VLC leistuvė
GenericName[lt]=Leistuvė
Comment[lt]=Groti, įrašyti, siųsti įvairialypės terpės kūrinius
Name[nl]=VLC Media Player
GenericName[nl]=Mediaspeler
Comment[nl]=Uw multimediastreams afspelen, opnemen en uitzenden
Name[nn]=VLC mediespelar
GenericName[nn]=Mediespelar
Comment[nn]=Spel av, ta opp og send ut multimedia
Name[pa]=VLC ਮੀਡਿਆ ਪਲੇਅਰ
Comment[pa]=ਆਪਣੀ ਮਲਟੀਮੀਡਿਆ ਸਟਰੀਮ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ, ਕੈਪਚਰ ਤੇ ਬਰਾਡਕਾਸਟ ਕਰੋ
Name[pl]=VLC media player
GenericName[pl]=Odtwarzacz multimedialny
Comment[pl]=Odczytywanie, przechwytywanie i nadawanie strumieni multimedialnych
Name[pt_BR]=Reprodutor de Mídias VLC
GenericName[pt_BR]=Reprodutor de Mídias
Comment[pt_BR]=Reproduza, capture e transmita os seus fluxos multimídia
Name[ru]=Медиаплеер VLC
GenericName[ru]=Медиаплеер
Comment[ru]=Универсальный проигрыватель видео и аудио
Name[sk]=VLC media player
Comment[sk]=Naèítavajte, zaznamenávajte, vysielajte svoje multimediálne streamy
Name[sv]=Mediaspelaren VLC
GenericName[sv]=Mediaspelaren
Comment[sv]=Allmän uppspelare av film och musik
Name[te]=VLC మాధ్యమ ప్రదర్శకం
GenericName[te]=మాధ్యమ ప్రదర్శకం
Comment[te]=మీ బహుళమాధ్యమ ప్రవాహాలను చదువు, బంధించు మరియు ప్రసారం చేయి
Name[wa]=Djouweu d' media VLC
GenericName[wa]=Djouweu d' media
Comment[wa]=Lét, egaloye, evoye vos floûs multimedia
Name[zh_CN]=VLC media player
GenericName[zh_CN]=媒体播放器
Comment[zh_CN]=为您读取、捕获或发送多媒体流
Exec=/usr/bin/vlc --started-from-file %U
TryExec=/usr/bin/vlc
Icon=vlc
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=AudioVideo;Player;Recorder;
MimeType=video/dv;video/mpeg;video/x-mpeg;video/msvideo;video/quicktime;video/x-anim;video/x-avi;video/x-ms-asf;video/x-ms-wmv;video/x-msvideo;video/x-nsv;video/x-flc;video/x-fli;video/x-flv;video/vnd.rn-realvideo;video/mp4;video/mp4v-es;video/mp2t;application/ogg;application/x-ogg;video/x-ogm+ogg;audio/x-vorbis+ogg;application/x-matroska;audio/x-matroska;video/x-matroska;video/webm;audio/webm;audio/x-mp3;audio/x-mpeg;audio/mpeg;audio/x-wav;audio/x-mpegurl;audio/x-scpls;audio/x-m4a;audio/x-ms-asf;audio/x-ms-asx;audio/x-ms-wax;application/vnd.rn-realmedia;audio/x-real-audio;audio/x-pn-realaudio;application/x-flac;audio/x-flac;application/x-shockwave-flash;misc/ultravox;audio/vnd.rn-realaudio;audio/x-pn-aiff;audio/x-pn-au;audio/x-pn-wav;audio/x-pn-windows-acm;image/vnd.rn-realpix;audio/x-pn-realaudio-plugin;application/x-extension-mp4;audio/mp4;audio/amr;audio/amr-wb;x-content/video-vcd;x-content/video-svcd;x-content/video-dvd;x-content/audio-cdda;x-content/audio-player;application/xspf+xml;x-scheme-handler/mms;x-scheme-handler/rtmp;x-scheme-handler/rtsp;
X-KDE-Protocols=ftp,http,https,mms,rtmp,rtsp,sftp,smb
Keywords=Player;Capture;DVD;Audio;Video;Server;Broadcast;


the last two did not produce any results

~ $ ls -l /usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc/*

ls: cannot access /usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc/*: Not a directory


~ $ cat /usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc/*

cat: /usr/lib/mime/packages/vlc/*: Not a directory

so, one thing you can try:
remove the whole pack of MimeTypes from your /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop (you will need superuser privileges for that) - but DO NOT THROW THEM OUT; KEEP THEM SOMEWHERE SAFE!
save the file.
maybe reboot.
does that solve your problem of vlc opening EVERYTHING (if it does, we will now have to find the culprits from that long mimetype list)?

then, please post (sorry about that)

PS: you're not using KDE, are you?

I'm using Cinnamon

As we all know; a superuser I am not.
Not by a long stretch of the most fertile imagination.
So it looks like the end of the line for me.

However; there does seem to be some sort of light down the far end of the tunnel.
I just hope it is not an oncoming train.

I am going to take some time to try and eradicate what you suggested but if that light is a train and I get run down then I will see you in my next life.
Whatever distro it might be.

Thank you so much for your help thus far.

I say dust off the Ole Shot Gun and take some target pratice with full choke on.

What ondoho meant is that you will do that as a root. You can enter into as a root user by "sudo -i" <Passwd> <Enter> then you shall be root; or that you prefix each command with "sudo". I believe one way of eradicating the mime associations vlc erratically acquired is to deinstall vlc, or delete its file associations.

Or you can downgrade to a simplistic, easy to control windowing manager Mint 17 download a DVD installer here. The window manager has a very simple mime editor easy to handle mime type associations. It is a 32bit version but there is also a 64bit version available on the site right beside it. If you are not engaged in voluminous data or image editing you will find that 32bit is more quick and agile.

Hope that helps. Good luck.