Hogwarts Legacy is a great Harry Potter role-playing game when you play it. However, some players can’t play that Harry Potter RPG on their Windows PCs because of startup issues that crash the game at launch. Some players report seeing error messages, but others say nothing happens when they try to start Hogwarts Legacy. So, Hogwarts Legacy startup issues are quite varied, but the good news is that players can usually fix them. These are some of the confirmed ways to fix Hogwarts Legacy not launching on a Windows PC.
Verify the Integrity of Hogwarts Legacy
First, try the more straightforward potential resolutions like repairing Hogwarts Legacy’s files. Steam and Epic Games Launcher have file verification troubleshooting options that run repair scans for games when selected. These Steam and Epic support pages include instructions for how to verify games:
The Verify option in Epic Games Launcher
Troubleshoot Game Compatibility
Some players have said they could fix Hogwarts Legacy not launching by troubleshooting the game’s compatibility. Running that troubleshooting can address game compatibility issues with your Windows software and PC. This is how you can run the game compatibility troubleshooter for Hogwarts Legacy.
- Activate File Explorer (press Windows logo + E hotkey) and open the Hogwarts Legacy installation folder that includes the EXE file for running the game.
- Right-click the HogwartsLegacy EXE file that runs the game and select Properties.
- Click Compatibility in the properties window’s tab bar.
- Press the Run compatibility troubleshooter button.
The Run compatibility troubleshooter button
- Select Try recommended settings.
The Try recommended settings option
- Click on Test to see if the game launches ok.
Run the Game as Administrator With Fullscreen Optimization Disabled
Selecting to run Hogwarts Legacy as an administrator with fullscreen optimizations disabled could feasibly fix the game not starting for some players. To do so, bring up the Compatibility tab as instructed in steps one to three of the previous resolution; select Run as administrator and disable the fullscreen checkboxes on the Compatibility tab for the game. Click Apply > OK to set the new compatibility options for Hogwarts Legacy.
Set Hogwarts Legacy to Run With a High Performance Graphics Card
If your PC has two GPUs, try setting Hogwarts Legacy to run with the high-performance dedicated graphics card. You can select the High-Performance option for Hogwarts Legacy like this.
- First, press the file finder tool’s Windows logo + S hotkey and input graphics settings in the search box.
- Select Graphics settings to access that part of Settings.
- Click Browse, select the HogwartsLegacy executable file for running the game, and press the Add button.
The Browse button
- Next, click the HogwartsLegacy game added and press the Options button.
- Select the High performance radio button.
The High performance radio button
- Click Save to apply.
Turn Off the Control Flow Guard
Disabling the Control Flow Guard for Hogwarts Legacy is a solution that’s worked for a few players. This highlights the Control Flow Guard security feature can cause Hogwarts Legacy launch issues when enabled for that game. This is how you can turn off the Control Flow Guard for Hogwarts Legacy.
- Bring up the Windows file and app search tool.
- Type Exploit protection into the Windows search tool.
- Select Exploit protection to open those security settings.
- Click the Program settings tab.
- Next, click the Add program to customize button and select Choose exact file path.
The Choose exact file path option
- Select the HogwartsLegacy.exe file in the Hogwarts Legacy installation directory and click Open.
- Click the Edit button for Hogwarts Legacy.
- Scroll down and turn off the Control Flow Guard setting if enabled.
The Control flow guard option
- Select the Override system settings checkbox for the CFG option.
- Click Apply to save the new CFG setting.
- Repeat the previous steps to disable Control Flow Guard for a different HogwartsLegacy.exe file within the Phoenix > Binaries > Win64 subfolder inside the game’s installation directory.
Install the Latest Visual C++ Runtime Libraries
Some players may need to install missing Visual C++ runtime libraries to fix Hogwarts Legacy not launching on their Windows PCs. So, try updating Visual C++ packages on your PC like this.
- Bring up this Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable webpage in a web browser.
- Click on the X64 architecture download option for the Visual Studio 2015/2017/2019/2022 Redistributable package.
Visual Studio 2015-2022 download options
- Open the folder containing the downloaded Visual Studio VC_redist.x64.exe file, which will probably be in Downloads unless you’ve set your browser to a different directory.
- Double-click on VC_redist.x64.exe to bring up a window for installing Visual C++ runtime libraries.
- Select I agree to confirm your acceptance of the terms.
The Install option for Visual C++ runtime libraries
- Press Install to update Visual Studio C++ on your PC.
Modify the GameUserSettings.ini File
Many Hogwarts Legacy players confirm editing certain settings within the GameUserSettings.ini file can fix the game not starting. Some have fixed Hogwarts Legacy not starting by changing the UpscaleMode setting in that file to false. You can modify that GameUserSettings.ini file as follows.
- Open File Explorer and navigate to the WindowsNoEditor folder at this directory location: C:\Users\<user folder>\AppData\Local\Hogwarts Legacy\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor.
- Right-click on the GameUserSettings.ini file and select Properties.
- Deselect the Read-only checkbox.
The Read only option
- Click Apply to save the attribute settings.
- Right-click on the GameUserSettings.ini file and select the Open with > Notepad context menu options.
- Press Notepad’s Ctrl + F hotkey.
- Input UpscaleMode in the Find what box.
- Click the Find Next button.
- Change the UpscaleMode setting to UpscaleMode=None as shown below.
The UpscaleMode=None option
- Click File to select the Save document option.
- Select the Read-only checkbox for the GameUserSettings.ini you previously unchecked in step three.
If modifying UpscaleMode doesn’t work for you, try changing the bIsUpscaleModeModified setting in that same file to true if set to false. That setting will then be: bIsUpscaleModeModified=True. You’ll need to temporarily disable the Read-only option for the GameUserSettings.ini file again to edit the settings. Remember to re-enable the Read-only option after editing the file.
Delete the SavedGame Folder
Erasing the SavedGame folder for Hogwarts Legacy is another confirmed way to fix the game not launching. However, note that erasing that folder will also delete saved game progress. This is how you can delete the SavedGame folder.
- Go to this folder location inside File Explorer: C:\Users\<user folder>\AppData\Local\Hogwarts Legacy\Saved.
- Click on the SavedGame folder to select it.
- Press the Delete button on Explorer’s Home tab or command bar.
Other Potential Fixes to Try
Although the possible resolutions above will likely fix Hogwarts Legacy not launching, they won’t necessarily work for everybody. Try applying these troubleshooting methods if Hogwarts Legacy still hasn’t started.
- Install the latest driver available for your PC’s graphics card.
- Reinstall Hogwarts Legacy via Epic Games or Steam gaming clients.
- Turn off Steam’s in-game overlay feature.
- Apply a clean boot by following the instructions on this Microsoft help page.
- Scan and repair Windows system files. This Microsoft support page includes instructions for how you can scan Windows system files.
It isn’t always straightforward to fix Hogwarts Legacy startup issues since they have many possible causes. Players often need to apply numerous possible solutions to fix Hogwarts Legacy not launching. You can contact the official support service for Hogwarts Legacy from this Submit a request page if none of the suggested resolutions here work for you.
