What to do if the game does not start on Windows 7, 8, 10? This question may be asked by a user who is faced with the problem of starting the game after installing it. In this article we will try to reveal all the possible causes and solutions to this problem.
CAUSES OF THE ERROR AND ITS SOLUTION
The causes of the error, or the situation in general, can differ depending on many factors. They can be broken down into 2 main groups:
- External factors– a problem of compatibility, operating system or the influence of third-party software (for example, antivirus). Everything that prevents the game from starting under equal conditions on another system or PC.
- Internal factors– an error on the part of the application itself: incorrect installation, “broken” image or installer, as well as the absence or errors of software or drivers.
For the convenience and ease of perception of information, we will begin a description of each cause and method of solving the problem from the simplest and most frequent, ending with the more complex and rare.
1. CHECKING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND COMPATIBILITY
You can check the system requirements on the store page, disc cover, or on the site where the game was purchased or downloaded.
To find out the characteristics of your PC and, in the future, compare them with the requirements of the application, you can use the utilities to display information about the components of the device (Speccy, Aida64 and others) or use standard applications.
Search Windows for msinfo32 and open the System Information applet where the information you want is available.
Note! Game and Windows version compatibility is also important. Many modern applications may not run on Windows XP, or, conversely, old ones are unlikely to run on Windows 10 without additional manipulation.
You can try running the program in compatibility mode if it is quite old. To do this, open the properties of the shortcut or application, go to “Compatibility” and set the compatibility settings for different OS. Try several configurations, maybe one will help you get started.
2. DRIVERS AND PROGRAMS
For the correct launch and operation of the programs, additional software is required. Two types of software are suitable for these categories: drivers and components
Drivers – software necessary to maintain the correct and efficient operation of the equipment. For example, in order for the video card to work at full strength on all modern games, they need to be updated periodically.
A common reason why the game does not start after installation is the absence or outdated version of the video driver. To do this, update the driver in the device manager or download the current version from the official website -AMD or NVIDIA…
But in addition to the drivers needed for the correct interaction of the hardware and the system, programs and libraries are required for the interaction between Windows and the application.
These applications include:
- DirectX – you need to download and install the Web installer, which will add the missing files
- .NET Framework – you need to install version 3.5, and 4.7.1 (the latest at the moment)
- Microsoft Visual C ++ – for the games to work, you need all versions from 2005 to 2017
- Games for Windows Live- Microsoft client that is no longer updated. Not required for all games.
In general, if you install a game from the Steam client, all required applications are updated or installed independently, without user intervention. Also, some assemblies have a similar functionality for installing these applications from the installer. But not all assemblies, so it is advisable to update this software after installation.
3. LAUNCH RIGHTS
Some games, especially pirated builds, require Administrator rights to run it. In user mode, without Admin rights, the game may simply not start.
You can change the rights by right-clicking on the shortcut with the game, and select “Run as administrator”. Or change your account for a long time.
To change user rights, enter the netplwiz command in the Run window.
Necessarily! To change rights, you must have an Administrator password, if any.
Then, double click on the username and in the “Group Membership” tab select the required group – Administrator.
4. BAD BUILD
If the games do not start on Windows 7 or 10, but you followed the previous recommendations, and they did not help, there is a chance that the problem may be an installation error or the assembly itself.
One of the reasons that errors occur when installing or starting the game is poor optimization of the installer and assembly in general. Such problems practically do not arise on licensed versions, for example, installed from Steam.
What needs to be done in this case:
- Reinstall the game, perhaps the installation error was temporary
- Find a new assembly, it will probably install and start without unnecessary problems
- Install from Steam or another marketplace. You will have to buy it, but this will free you from wasting time searching for problems and trying to find a normal assembly.
5. ANTIVIRUS BLOCKS FILES
Recently, Windows 10 users may have noticed that when installing pirated assemblies, more and more games stopped launching. The whole reason is Windows Defender, which automatically blocks and deletes files necessary to bypass protection. If earlier, third-party antiviruses received a notification and the file was moved to quarantine, from where it could be easily restored. Now, Windows Defender almost immediately, after installing the application, removes the pill or crack.
To fix this problem, you can add the games folder to the exceptions, or simply disable Windows Defender.
- Go to Windows Defender Security Center and in the Exclusions settings, add the desired folder
- To disable Defender completely, turn off Real-Time Protection and Cloud Protection in its settings. Be sure to install any other antivirus to avoid being left unprotected.
In this article, we have answered the main question “why does the game not start?”, And also examined the causes of this error and how to solve them. If you have any questions or difficulties, we will be happy to answer in the comments.
