7 Ways to Fix Terraria Not Launching on a Windows PC

Terraria is a popular action-adventure sandbox game some players have reported they can’t play on Windows PCs because of technical startup issues. For example, one Terraria player’s Reddit post says: “Hi guys, I’m having a weird issue. I’m attempting to open Terraria on Steam with Windows 10. The game refuses to open.” Terraria can also throw up variable error messages when it doesn’t start. This is how you can fix Terraria not launching on a Windows PC.

Try Starting Terraria From its Installation Folder

Some players have said launching the game directly from its installation folder can fix Terraria not launching. I also recommend selecting to run the game as an administrator from there. This is how you can start Terraria from its installation folder.

1. Open your Steam game software.
2. Right-click Terraria in Steam’s Library tab to select Manage > Browse local files.
3. Right-click the Terraria EXE (application) file and select Run as an administrator to start the game.

Clear Steam’s Download Cache

Clear Steam’s download cache is a troubleshooting method some players confirm can fix Terraria not launching. Applying this potential solution enables Steam to recreate fresh cached data. This Valve help page tells you how players can clear the download cache for Steam.

The Clear Cache option

Add New Launch Options for Terraria

Some players have been able to fix Terraria not launching by setting new launch parameters for the game. You can apply this potential fix by adding a couple of parameters to the Launch Options box for Terraria in Steam as follows.

1. Run the Steam software.
2. Go into the Library tab within Steam.
3. Right-click the Terraria game listed within the sidebar to select a Properties option.
4. Input -logerrors -logfile into the Launch Options box within the General tab.

The Launch Options box

Install tModLoader

The tModLoader software is an expansion for playing community-created Terraria mods. Players confirm installing and running tModLoader can fix Terraria not launching. These are the steps for installing tModLoader.

1. Launch your Steam software.
2. Enter tModLoader inside Steam’s search box on the Store tab.
3. Click tModLoader to view its download page.
4. Press the Install now button for tModLoader.
   
   

   The tModLoader page

5. Run tModLoader and try launching Terraria again.

Close the NZXT CAM and MSI Afterburner Background Apps

Do you have MSI Afterburner or NZXT CAM installed on your PC? If so, ensure those programs aren’t running in the background when you try to start Terraria. Some players have said closing those apps stopped Terraria crashing at startup on their PCs. You can close those background programs like this via Task Manager.

1. Press Task Manager’s Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination.
2. Look for MSI Afterburner and NZXT CAM processes in the Task Manager’s Processes tab.
   
   

   The Processes tab in Task Manager

3. Right-click any Afterburner and NZXT CAM processes and select End task.
4. Click Task Manager’s Startup tab.
   
   

   The Startup tab in Task Manager

5. Select Disable for MSI Afterburner and NZXT CAM if they’re enabled on the Startup tab.

Repair Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0

This particular potential resolution is recommended if you see an error message with references to XNA Framework when trying to start Terraria. Terraria can fail to start because of issues with the XNA Framework package, which applying this potential fix can resolve. Try repairing Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0 as follows.

1. Go to this Microsoft XNA Framework page in your browser.
2. Click Download on the Microsoft XNA Framework page.
3. Press Windows logo + E to access File Explorer and go to the folder containing the downloaded xnafx40_redist.msi file.
4. Double-click the xnafx40_redist.msi file.
5. Click Next > Repair within the Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0 Setup window.
   
   

   The Repair option

Reinstall Terraria

Finally, try reinstalling Terraria if the game still doesn’t start after applying the other potential resolutions above. Some players have said reinstalling the game helped to fix Terraria not launching on their PCs. You can reinstall Terraria not starting like this.

1. Open Steam and select Library inside the window of Valve’s gaming client.
2. Right-click Terraria to select Manage > Uninstall.
   
   

   The Uninstall option in Steam

3. Click Uninstall to give confirmation.
4. Select Terraria in Steam and press Install.
5. Click the Manage Storage button and select to install the game on your PC’s C: drive if previously installed on an external drive.
6. Finally, press Install to reinstall the game.

Other Possible Ways to Fix Terraria Not Launching

If none of the above potential fixes work for you, don’t give up trying to fix Terraria not launching. You can also try applying these extra troubleshooting methods.

• Set the Steam game client to run as an administrator.
• Update the graphics card driver on your PC by downloading the latest driver available from the NVIDIA or AMD sites.
• Temporarily disable third-party antivirus utilities before starting Terraria.
• Verify the integrity of the Terraria game files by going through the steps on this Steam page.
• Set your Windows PC to clean boot, restart, and try playing Terraria.

The potential resolutions in this guide have worked for many players who’ve needed to fix Terraria not launching. So, there’s quite a good chance one will also fix that game not starting on your PC, but they’re not guaranteed potential resolutions for everyone. If necessary, you can also submit a support ticket about the game not starting to the 505 help service for Terraria from this contact form page.