7 Ways to Fix Starfield Not Launching on a Windows PC

Starfield, like many other Windows PC games, fails to start for some players. For example, this is what one player reported on the Steam forum: “I tried to launch Starfield on Steam but it opens for a few seconds and closes quickly. I could launch it and play it perfectly fine just yesterday, but now it doesn’t work.” Some players also see error codes and messages when Starfield doesn’t start. This is how you can fix Starfield not launching on Windows 11/10 PCs.

Verify Starfield’s Game Files

Running a verification scan for Starfield might repair corrupted or missing files for that game. This won’t always work, but it’s a good enough starting point for troubleshooting. Steam users can apply a verification scan by following the instructions on this help page. If you’ve downloaded Starfield from the MS Store, try selecting the Repair option for the app as covered on this Microsoft page.

The Verify integrity of game files option

Turn Off the Overlay Feature for Steam

A few players confirmed turning off Steam’s overlay feature can fix Starfield not launching. Overlays like that can cause gaming startup issues, and Steam is the software most Starfield players likely utilize. This is how you can turn off the overlay for Steam.

1. Run the Steam games client.
2. Click the Steam menu at the top-left corner of its window to select Settings.
3. Select In Game to view settings on that tab.
   
   

   The In Game tab

4. Click the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game toggle switch to turn off that setting.

GeForce Experience and Discord are other popular game-related apps that incorporate overlay features. I also recommend disabling the overlay features for those software packages. Or close them with Task Manager to ensure they’re not running in the background when starting Starfield.

Disable Fullscreen for Starfield

1. Open File Explorer and Starfield’s installation directory, which will have a Steam\steamapps\common\Starfield folder path for Steam users.
2. Right-click the Starfield.exe and select its Properties option.
3. Select Disable fullsceen optimizations inside the Compatibility tab.
   
   

   The Disable fullscreen optimization option

4. Press the Apply button to set the selected settings, and click OK.
5. Start Steam and go to the Library tab for that games client.
6. Next, click Starfield with the right button to select Properties.
7. Input -windowed -noborder in Starfield’s Launch Options box.
   
   

   The Launch Options box

Install Your GPU’s Latest Driver

Updating graphics drivers is quite a generic potential fix for Starfield not launching some players confirm worked for them. Bethesda support also advises players to install the latest video card drivers to fix Starfield startup issues. This is how you can install a new driver for a graphics card.

1. To check graphics adapter details, press the Windows logo + R keys on your keyboard, type in the dxdiag Run command, and select OK. Select Display within the DirectX Diagnostic Tool to check your PC’s graphics card details.
2. Open this NVIDIA or AMD page in your web-browsing software.
   
   

   The Search button

3. Select the correct GPU and Windows platform for your PC, as shown within the DirectX Diagnostic Tool, and click Search or Submit.
4. Next, click the Download option for your graphics card’s latest driver.
   
   

   The Download option for a NVIDIA driver

5. Click File Explorer to access the folder containing the downloaded graphics driver package.
6. Double-click the file to bring up an NVIDIA or AMD setup window. Go through the steps there to install the driver.
7. Restart Windows 11/10 to finish the driver update.

Delete the Dxgi.dll File

Deleting the dxgi.dll file is a potential resolution that’s worked for some players who’ve fixed Starfield not launching. However, I recommend kicking a copy of (backing up) this file on a USB stick just in case erasure has unwanted side effects. Verifying the Starfield game with Steam will likely restore the missing DLL file as well. You can delete the dxgi.dll file like this.

1. Bring up the Starfield game installation folder within File Explorer. Steam users can do this by right-clicking Starfield in the Library tab and selecting Manage > Browse local files.
   
   

   The Browse local files option

2. Click the dxgi.dll file once to select it.
3. Select Delete in File Explorer, which is an option within the Home tab or command bar.

Turn Off Controlled Folder Access

Some players confirm turning off the controlled folder has fixed Starfield not launching on their PCs. Controlled folder access is a feature that can block games from accessing required folders. You can turn off controlled folder access by going through the steps on this Microsoft support webpage.

The Controlled folder access setting

In addition, check the protection history in Windows Security. To do this, click Virus & threat protection > Protection history in the Windows Security app. Click the block entries there to search for one that includes the Starfield.exe file. Press the Actions button to select Allow on this device for any entry that includes Starfield.exe.

It’s also possible a third-party antivirus program could have a similar feature to controlled folder access. If you have a third-party security app, look through its settings and select to disable any feature that restricts apps’ folder access. You can also try temporarily disabling the antivirus tool’s shield by right-clicking its icon in the system tray area and selecting a turn-off protection option.

Restart Windows by Clean Booting

Clean booting is restarting Windows with all third-party startup items disabled. Doing this might eliminate a third-party app or service conflicting with the Starfield game. You can set up a clean boot as instructed in Microsoft’s guide for applying this troubleshooting method. Then restart your PC and try starting Starfield again.

The Services tab in System Configuration

Other Possible Ways to Fix Starfield Not Launching

Don’t give up on Starfield if it still doesn’t start after applying the potential solutions above. These are some additional ways to fix Starfield not launching:

• Allow Starfield through Windows Defender Firewall or third-party alternatives.
• Download and run the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer from this Microsoft page.
• Uninstall and reinstall Starfield.
• Unplug controllers (gamepads) and other needed peripheral devices before starting Starfield.
• Remove (disable) Starfield mods with your mods manager.

Those troubleshooting methods are some of the best ways to fix Starfield not launching on Windows 11/10 PCs. I hope one of them gets that game up and running on your PC again. However, you can submit a support ticket to Bethesda from this Starfield help page if more potential fixes are needed.