What Is The Haali Media Splitter And Do I Need It? (Guide)

You don’t remember installing Haali, nor do you know its function on your computer.

However, the app keeps appearing in your taskbar and sending you messages.

You probably even suspect that it has slowed down your PC.

Now you want to know what the Haali Media Splitter is and if you can safely remove it without compromising your computer’s performance.

In this article, we’ll discuss why you might need Haali, how to remove it, and how to reinstall it.

What Is the Haali Media Splitter?

Developed by haali.su, Haali (aka Matroska Splitter) is a DirectShow filter utility that parses MKV, MP4, and AVI files into separate video, audio, and subtitle streams.

In other words, it extracts inputs from your video files and decodes them so you can play the video and audio separately.

It also supports other formats such as M2TS, OGM/OGG, and MPEG TS files, enabling you to open them in Windows.

Is Haali Installed by Itself?

Haali media splitter is an app used by your media player app.

Once you install a freeware video player, it can automatically activate Haali.

That’s how you come by the app without recalling when you’ve downloaded it.

Another possibility is that you’ve tried to open a new video format recently, and the OS asked for your permission to download a file splitter to play it, and you were too hasty to grant the permission without carefully reading the message.

K-Lite, ffdshow, and other player codecs may also automatically install Haali during their updates.

Whatever the case, it’s absolutely normal to see a Haali media splitter without invitation.

Rest assured that it’s nothing like a virus or malware.

However, people have reported seeing strange errors or sluggish performance due to this software, so they decide to disable it.

Do I Need Haali?

Whether you need Haali or not depends on what operating system, media player, and usage.

For example, Windows XP includes a splitter for MPEG-2 but not a codec to read the file.

For MP4 and MKV format, it can’t even split the files, let alone decoding them.

VLC comes with an in-built tool to separate and decode MP4 or many other video and audio files.

However, Windows Media Player can’t handle the process without using a supplementary program.

On the whole, you must have Haali or another video splitter—Lav Splitter, MadVR renderer, Gabest, Reclock,ffdshow, or mkvtoolnix—on your PC to play some of your videos.

You will need Haali unless you don’t work with MKV, AVI, OGM files.

If you watch videos with multiple audio tracks (as in dubbed movies), having Haali is a must.

Even if you think Haali is getting you in trouble, make sure the app is to blame for the issue before you remove it.

Only then, correctly uninstall the app, and consider an alternative to make up for its tasks.

Remember that a faulty uninstallation can cause your computer to crash.

Can I Uninstall Haali?

Haali’s removal process is different from other apps, and if you’re not careful, you could corrupt your system files.

It simply doesn’t show up in the control panel.

If it does, the “remove” option may be disabled.

What makes it worse is that the app doesn’t tell you which software installed it, so you can’t remove the source either.

Even if you find a way to successfully uninstall the software, it relaunches itself over and over.

You’ll see the app’s shortcut and leftovers in your file explorer.

It seems like Haali is freezing on your system and doesn’t plan to disappear.

This may have two reasons:

Some app components such as registry entries remain on your system even after you delete the main app.
Corrupted files are preventing the usual uninstalling operation.

If the former is the case, you can get help from a third-party uninstaller tool to remove the software.

You can also learn to manually find and eliminate Haali files, but we don’t recommend that unless you’re an advanced user.

You need to know your way around the OS registry and understand how system files work.

However, if you’re dealing with a corrupted installation, the easiest way is to reinstall the application.

Sometimes, a missing or corrupted file will get replaced or restored once you replace the app.

We’ll discuss each method in detail.

First Solution: Uninstall Haali Using a Third-Party Remover

If you’re an average PC user, we recommend using this method:

A trustworthy uninstallation software can automatically scan, recognize, and delete Haali files for good.

With this, you won’t need to get involved in all the frustrating steps.

It’s also faster, and you’ll have more confidence in the results than the manual approach.

Here’s what you need to do:

Download and install a trusted uninstall utility, and then run the application.
Navigate its program list to find Haali.
Click on its name and select “Run Uninstaller.”
Press “Yes” to proceed.
Once the regular uninstall procedure completes, choose “Scan Leftovers.”
It’ll search for Haali registry entries and delete them automatically.
Once finished, hit “OK” to terminate the process, and then reboot your system.

Second Solution: Uninstall Haali Manually

This process requires more time and focus on your part.

If you don’t uninstall the app properly—or thoroughly—it not only fails to resolve your issues but also causes you additional ones.

For example, you may not be able to add other software in the future, or annoying errors will keep popping up on your desktop every time you open a file.

Read the following steps carefully and make sure you make no mistakes:

Step 1: Uninstall the App

When you add new software to your PC, the OS displays it on the list of Programs and Features.

You can access the uninstall options there:

Make sure Haali is not running.
Go to your Control Panel from the Start menu.
Go to Programs and Features and select Uninstall a Program. (You may also find it by Add/Remove option.)
A software list will show up where you can find Haali.
Click on Haali’s name and hit the “Remove” option to run the uninstaller.
Click “Uninstall” at the bottom right to confirm your choice.
Reboot your system.

Note: Once completed, a pop-up window will appear saying some files couldn’t be deleted. Ignore it and press OK. You’ll delete those files in the next steps.

Note 2: If the app isn’t visible in the control panel, you can also do this via “Programs and Features,” “System Restore,” “the uninstaller.exe method,” “Malware Detection,” and “Registry command.”

Go to the “Alternative Uninstallation Methods” section in this article for more information.

Step 2: Delete the Leftovers

Before deleting the Haali registry entries, make sure to back up your files.

Otherwise, you won’t be able to recover entries.

Run your “Registry Editor” from the Start button at the left corner of the screen. (You can also type “regedit.exe” in the search box and hit enter.)
Go to “File” from the top bar and press “Export.”
Select “All” from the “Export Range” segment at the bottom of the window.
Choose a folder where you want to store backup files.
Type a name for the new file and press “Save.”

Now, it’s time to delete the Haali registry files:

Go to the “Registry Editor” app once again. (Open RUN by holding the R and Windows keys simultaneously. Then, type “regedit” in the dialog box and hit “Enter.”)
Right-click on “HKEY_CURRENT_USER’’ from the left-side column.
Then, click “Expand.” (You can also extend the drop-down list by hitting the “>” symbol at the left side of the folder name.)
Find the folder with the “Haali” title and delete it entirely.
Expand “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE”, and this time, delete the folder named “HaaliMkx.”
Close the tab and reboot your system.

Note: Altering the Windows system registry is risky, especially if you’re not an expert. Therefore, if you insist on manual uninstall, you will do so at your own risk.

Alternative Uninstall Methods

A. Uninstaller.exe

All software on your PC includes an uninstaller—a file with uninst000.exe or uninstall.exe titles—in their installation package.

All you need is to find it on your C Drive and right-click to uninstall.

B. System Restore Point

System Restore is an integrated tool in any PC that helps you recover your system configuration to an earlier point when everything was running flawlessly.

Use this option to return to the good old days when Haali wasn’t yet active:

Go to the Start button > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore.
You’ll see a list of recent restore points.
Choose your desired restore date based on when you think Haali wasn’t running on your PC.
Click Next > Next > Finish, and then restart your computer.

Notice that not only Haali but all applications that you’ve installed after the chosen point will disappear, so you may need to reinstall them.

C. Registry Method

When an app runs your computer, it records its most crucial data in the OS registry.

You can uninstall the app right from there.

However, it should be only your LAST RESORT.

Try all the previous methods before you go to this one.

Go to the Registry Editor > Edit > Find.
Mark the Keys, Values, and Data options, and unselect “Match whole string box.”
Type Haali in the box and press “Find Next.”
Once you locate the key in the results, right-click on its name and select “Delete.”
Hit “F3” to repeat the search process and keep searching until you find and erase all the associated keys.
Then, exit the registry and restart your PC.