How to snip a small segment out of a long video and save the small segment

Geraldine Black 0 Reputation points
2026-09-15T17:40:09.3+00:00

I recently got an old VHS video transferred to USB . It's mainly rubbish on it but there's a small segment I want to keep. Could someone please tell me how to crop out 20 mins from a 4 hour video, it's the 20 mins that i want to keep and I don't need the rest. Is anything I can download (free, hopefully)for my laptop that would help me do that? My laptop is Windows 11 Home.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Apps
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  1. Vikki-T 10,280 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-16T07:18:51.9833333+00:00

    Hi Geraldine Black,

    Since you only need one continuous 20-minute section, you may be able to do this directly in the Photos app without installing anything else.

    Open the video in Photos, select Trim or press Ctrl + E, then move the two markers to the beginning and end of the section you want to keep. When it looks correct, choose Save as copy so the original four-hour recording remains unchanged.

    For an older VHS transfer, I would recommend keeping a backup of the original file before editing. If Photos has difficulty opening or processing such a long video, Clipchamp is a suitable alternative already available on Windows 11.

    Before starting, copy the video from the USB to your laptop and make sure there is enough free storage, as a four-hour recording may take some time to import and export. If Clipchamp cannot open the file, check its file extension, as an older or uncommon video format may need to be converted first.

    You can also refer to Microsoft’s guide here: Edit photos and videos in Windows Thank you so much for your understanding.   

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-15T17:40:24.47+00:00

    On Windows 11 Home, the simplest free option in the provided material is Microsoft Clipchamp, which is the official Microsoft video editor and comes preinstalled on Windows 11 devices.

    A straightforward way to keep only the 20-minute section:

    1. Open Clipchamp from the Start menu or search for Clipchamp on the taskbar.
    2. Import the VHS video file from the USB drive.
    3. Add the video to the timeline.
    4. Move the seeker to the point where the wanted 20-minute section starts.
    5. Click the split button (scissors icon), or press S.
    6. Move the seeker to where that section ends.
    7. Click split again.
    8. Click the unwanted parts before and after the section, then press Delete or Backspace.
    9. The remaining clip on the timeline is the 20-minute segment to keep.

    If only the beginning or end needs shortening, Clipchamp also supports simple trimming:

    • Click the clip so it is highlighted.
    • Drag the handles at either end left or right to shorten or lengthen it.
    • If too much is trimmed, drag the handle back to recover the footage.

    If only a very basic cut is needed, the Photos app can trim a video too:

    1. Open the video in Photos.
    2. Select Trim (Ctrl + E).
    3. Adjust the start and end sliders.
    4. Select Save as Copy to keep the original file unchanged.

    For a long 4-hour video where the wanted section is in the middle, Clipchamp is the better fit because it lets the video be split and the unwanted sections deleted.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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