If your computer meets the minimum system requirement of the installed game, then the problem is usually easy to solve. Games do not start if the drivers installed on the computer need updating; missing (damaged) required DirectX, .Net Framework and Visual C ++ libraries; the system has viruses or an error occurred while downloading / installing the game.
The game won’t start: why and what to do about it?
Above we have listed the main reasons why the game does not start. In this article, we will look at each of them in turn and show you what to do if this error occurs.
Before asking why something is not working properly or does not start at all, you should follow the basic steps from this manual.
1. Non-compliance with system requirements
First of all, you need to make sure that your computer meets at least the minimum system requirements for the game. You can find them on the box, the game page on Steam or on the Internet. Information about the computer can be obtained in the “System” tab of the Control Panel, the characteristics of the video card are available in the “Device Manager” (right-click on the “My Computer” icon and select “Device Manager”, in it find the “Video adapters” tab).
If the game’s system requirements exceed the specifications of your PC, further attempts to launch the game will, unfortunately, be unsuccessful.
2. Outdated / incorrectly installed drivers
You need to make sure that the drivers (especially for the video card) are installed and updated to the latest version.
You can learn more about this in our article: “How to install drivers on a video card correctly”.
3. Absence of DirectX, .Net Framework and Visual C ++ libraries or their parts
Games most often do not run on a computer that does not have the necessary files of the above libraries. In some cases, the latest version does not guarantee that some games will run. It is important to install exactly the version that the particular game is compatible with. As a rule, during the installation of the game, the program itself offers to install the necessary additional files.
If this did not happen, download the files from the official Microsoft website and install them.
4. The presence of viruses in the system
Malware can prevent the game from launching on your computer. You need to scan the system with an antivirus – this can help solve the problem.
It’s best to do this regularly, especially if you prefer pirated builds.
5. System compatibility
The error can occur if your operating system is Windows 7 or newer, and the game you are trying to run was released for an older OS.
In this case, the compatibility mode should be used. There are two ways to activate it:
- using automatic configuration: to do this, you need to right-click on the game icon and select “Fix compatibility problems”, and then follow the instructions of the wizard;
- using manual settings: by right-clicking on the game icon, select the “Properties” menu, the “Compatibility” tab and select the required line from the drop-down list.
As a rule, compatibility mode with Windows XP Service Pack 3 will solve most of these problems.
6. Error while downloading or installing the game
What if the above methods did not help? The problem is most likely due to a failure during the download or installation process. You can solve it only by re-downloading the game through Steam or simply reinstalling it.
When reinstalling, be sure to restart your computer after uninstalling the game.
If the game displays a message about any specific error, you can find out why it occurred and how to fix it from other articles on our website.