Stardew Valley won’t launch – what to do?

Many players are interested in the non-standard behavior of the Stardew Valley game. After clicking on it, nothing happens, even the process in the “Task Manager” is absent. Many have already tried to update the drivers, but this only helps in some cases. Usually the problem persists, because it’s not the drivers. Solutions to the problem have already been found, all of them are described below.

Causes of malfunction

Empirically, it was possible to establish 3 main reasons for the failure:

• No audio device is connected to the computer. The problem is in the features of the game code, which imply the presence of headphones or speakers connected to the PC.
• The Microsoft XNA Framework package is not installed on Windows. The game uses some components of the framework; in its absence, it is unrealistic to launch Stardew Valley. This is the most common cause of the problem.
• Incorrect application launch settings. Players note that there is a risk of a problem appearing after exiting the game in windowed mode.

How do I restore Stardew Valley from launch?

Now about all the ways to fix it in more detail.

Installing Microsoft XNA Framework

The component is installed similarly to any other utilities, so there shouldn’t be any problems. The only recommendation is that when downloading, it is better to use the official site. The launcher will automatically detect the correct version of the framework for the system and install it. Link for download.

Enabling a device for audio output

You can use absolutely any device: speakers, headphones, home theater, etc. There are only two main nuances here:

• The device must be in good working order. If a short circuit occurs in it or the cable is damaged, the connection will not help to fix the problem in any way;
• It must be connected correctly. To do this, go to Realtek HD Manager. Make a PCM on the connector where the device was installed and select “Change the assignment of connectors …”. You need to set the correct device name: “Front speakers” or “Headphones”.

Reset game settings

If the game was closed in windowed mode during the last game session, it may not start. To restore it to work, you need to return the original game settings. Only now it will not be possible to do it in the standard way. We’ll have to tinker a bit with the files.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Hold down the Win + R key combination.
2. In the “Run” line that appears, enter the% appdata% entry and press the Enter button.
3. Find and navigate to the Stardew Valley game directory.
4. Detect a file called startup_preferences.ini and remove it completely. The game at the time of launch checks for the presence of the file, if it is not in the required directory, a new sample will be generated.
5. Try to start the game again, now it will receive the default settings.

Opening the game with administrator rights

By default, the game does not need elevated rights to run, but due to some kind of glitch, they may be required.

What do we have to do:

1. Launch the Steam client.
2. Find it in the Stardew Valley Game Library.
3. Make a RMB on the name of the game and select “Properties”.
4. Open the “Local files” section and click on “Browse local files”.
5. Find the file to start the game called Stardew Valley.exe, right-click and select “Run as administrator”.

From experience, one of the described methods should lead to a positive result and restore the normal operation of the game. If the expected effect has not come, then you can “Check the integrity of the game files.” To do this, follow the steps from the last instruction, but before switching to the Local Files tab, inclusive. In this section, you need to click on the fourth button.