Take the 2-minute tour ×

I'm using Handbrake for converting and resizing my video files, but other users come and close my video conversion process. There is no resume facility in the software.

Because of this, I just have to start conversion from the beginning. Is there any software which – when exited and started again – can resume my video conversion from where it stopped?

I had also tried AVS Video Converter. It has a resume facility, but when the software is exited the conversion cannot be resumed.

share|improve this question
Sorry for the stupid idea but: how about locking the screen? –  miniBill Jul 8 '12 at 21:40
NO I cannot lock it the screen. The others users is my elder brother lolzzzz. They would shout at me, if I do this. –  FrozenKing Jul 11 '12 at 5:13
Would creating different users work? –  miniBill Jul 11 '12 at 15:57
I would suggest you edit your question to ask for the actual problem instead, like, how you can prevent others from stopping the conversion process, rather than asking for your attempted solution. See: What is the XY problem? –  slhck Jul 15 '12 at 18:01
Otherwise, if you don't want that, then of course there's nothing we can do, but then I'd be really clear about the fact that you don't want answers that provide workarounds. –  slhck Jul 15 '12 at 18:05

4 Answers 4

First, create a separate user account for your brother. Now set a password on your own user account.

Then, whenever you leave your computer, click Start then Switch User. Leave the computer at the login screen. Your brother can log in and use the computer but he cannot access your running programs.

share|improve this answer
Is there no other software which can resume its converted video files!! I cannot do like switching users if in case power goes in my house then, how can I resume the video conversion. Thanks for helping @Michael. –  FrozenKing Jul 16 '12 at 18:39
Sorry, nobody else could find one either, it seems. This is probably the best solution you're likely to get. –  Michael Hampton Jul 16 '12 at 18:41
@FrozenKing, I already explained the problem and explained your options. –  Synetech Jul 16 '12 at 21:49

I think the short answer is, "No. An aborted process can't be resumed with anything resembling ease."

If the other users were "smart enough" to be capable of pausing the task, so you could resume it later (if they were so inconsiderate as to not resume it when they were done), that would be a different story. Many encoding systems offer a pause/resume option, and I think Handbrake does too.

I get the feeling that this isn't a software problem so much as that you're sharing the machine with woefully ignorant other users. Maybe moving the encode function to a machine that other users are less likely to screw up is an option worth considering.

[edit] I don't mean this to be a flippant answer. I've had issues like this, and had to explain to more than one person how big a nuisance they were being, and that if they didn't quit acting like a thorn, I'd have to cut them off from using the machine I controlled. And other users I had to cut off entirely because they couldn't restrain their need to be jerks.

share|improve this answer

As others have said (and will say), no, if the program does not inherently support picking up where it left off, then there is no practical (possible?) way to continue either the program from where it ended or converting a video in the middle.

One less practical, but not too horrendous method that may work for you is to use a virtual machine.

If the program does not inherently support resuming from where it left off, then one way to fake it is to restore the state of the program to that of where it was when it was exited. Normally, there is no practical way to do that with a program in Windows (even resuming from hibernation does not technically put everything back exactly the way it was when it went to sleep). However, a virtual machine can save its state and resume where it left off.

  1. Install a copy of a virtual machine program like VMWare Player, Virtual PC, or VirtualBox (XPMode comes with Windows 7 Ultimate)
  2. Install a copy of Windows in there
  3. Install Handbrake in the guest OS (the Windows in the VM)
  4. Set up a shared or networked folder so that the guest OS has access to the video file on the host (that way you don’t have to bother copying it to the guest)
  5. Finally, configure the VM so that when it is closed, it is put to sleep and the state is saved

Now, whenever you leave the computer unattended and others close it, they are not actually closing the program, they are closing the whole guest OS, but when you come back to the computer, you can simply run the VM software and load the guest OS and find that the video-conversion program is exactly where it left off, and so long as the source video is still there, it should happily chug along without issue (though you could even avoid that problem by copying the source video to the guest OS).

I got this idea because of game emulators. Years ago, I found level five of the original Castlevania game to be frustratingly difficult, so I gave up trying to play it in my NES and played it in an emulator instead. That way, I could save and restore the state, which made it much easier since I did not have to keep starting the whole level over. Since then, I have been frustrated by scenarios such as yours on numerous occasions and have thoughts of ways to overcome it through the use of emulators and virtual machines.

As a side note, here are a few alternate solutions to your specific problem, the practicality of which depend on your specific situation:

  • Lock the system with a screensaver/login password when you leave
  • Create another account for others to use and switch to that account when you leave
  • Set permissions to prevent the ability to close the program
  • Use a window-manipulation tool to remove/disable various aspects of Handbrake like its taskbar button, its close button () or even the whole window
  • Minimize the program to the notification area/hide the program completely
  • Place a post-it note on the monitor
  • Just tell/ask/beg the others to knock it off
share|improve this answer
Curse you for including a more comprehensive answer when the most simple answer of boot to nads might be the most appropriate answer. –  killermist Jul 10 '12 at 5:41
Well in your case, you controlled the system. The OP may be using a school/work/family system. A boot to the nads is still possible, but it wouldn’t curry much favor in that situation. –  Synetech Jul 10 '12 at 6:04
I fall back on this concept more often than is healthy, probably, but if he isn't the "superuser" of the system, then asking questions about how to make the system run more smoothly seem inappropriate. Now, if it were flagged with a non-root or non-administrator tag, that might be different... –  killermist Jul 10 '12 at 6:11
I guess additionally, sometimes an admin is being a jerk, and applying a boot-to-groin action helps the admin understand bad policy. Fortunately, I never had to get beyond words to tell my brother that I was annoyed by network policy... –  killermist Jul 10 '12 at 6:17
I liked your answer but I need some software in my host OS to save the state of video conversation. Thanks@Synetech –  FrozenKing Jul 11 '12 at 5:10

A workaround:
There is nifty utility called LockThis.
It basically password protects restoring/closing running programs.

It is quite easy to circumvent. BUT, I don't think you would lend your PC to someone who is so intent on closing your programs.

share|improve this answer
Have a courtesy to give a reason when you downvote so that I can improve the answer –  tumchaaditya Jul 17 '12 at 5:21

Your Answer


