According to the various user reports, the game doesn’t launch after the users start it using the Steam client. Some users are presented with a black screen and music in the background, while some are prompted with the ‘Stardew Valley has stopped working’ error message. The cause happens to be the same in most cases. Nonetheless, you will learn how to get rid of this frustrating error in this article.
What causes Stardew Valley to not Launch on Windows 10?
After going through many user reports, we have salvaged a list of scenarios that can potentially cause the issue. Some of the factors might sound absurd, however, they do happen to be the cause in certain cases. The issue is often due to the following factors — Now that you are aware of the possible factors that can cause the issue, we shall get into the solutions that can be implemented to deal with the issue. Please make sure you are using an administrator account before applying the solutions provided down below.
Solution 1: Running the Game as an Administrator
The first fix that you can implement to isolate the issue would be to run the game as an administrator. Make sure that you have an administrator enabled account before proceeding. In some cases, the background services running can prevent the game from launching properly. In such scenarios, you will have to launch the game as an administrator. Here’s how to do it:
Solution 2: Installing Microsoft XNA
Microsoft XNA is a framework that is used by many games. Stardew Valley video-game also makes use of this framework, therefore, it is necessary in order to run the game. If you are missing the framework, your game won’t launch. Hence, to fix the issue, you will have to make sure you are running the latest version of Microsoft XNA. You can download the framework from here. Once downloaded, install it and then see if it fixes the issue.
Solution 3: Plugging in Speakers
Some users have reported that the issue occurs when they haven’t plugged in their speakers or headset into the system. There are many games out there that do not run if you are missing a sound device on your system. Stardew Valley happens to be one of them, thus, make sure you have plugged in your speakers or headphones correctly and then see if it resolves the issue.
Solution 4: Deleting Startup Preferences
Like every other game out there, Stardew Valley uses a specific file to store all the startup preferences of the user. However, the file can be responsible for causing certain issues. Rumor has it that Stardew Valley will fail to launch if you exit the game after running it in windowed mode. If this case is applicable to you, you will have to delete the startup preferences folder. Here’s how to do it: Note: Also, make sure that you have verified the Steam Files and if that doesn’t fix the issue for you, try to contact customer support.
Solution 5: Repair XNA Installer
It is possible that in some cases the XNA Installer on your computer might not be properly installed or its files might’ve been corrupted over time. Therefore, in this step, we will be repairing its installation from the already present installer that is present in the installation folder of the game. For that:
Solution 6: Remove Launch Options
If you run the game without SMAPI modding framework then you need to make sure that you haven’t still set the Launch Options command. If the Launch options command has been set and the SMAPI Modding Framework isn’t being used, the error might be triggered. Therefore, in this step, we will be removing it from the game launcher. For that:
Solution 7: Taking Folder Ownership (MAC)
It is possible that on your MacBook, you haven’t properly granted the game access to a folder where it needs to write in order for the game to work. Therefore, in this step, we will be executing a command inside the mac terminal which should grant you access to the folder and the error will be fixed. For that:
Solution 8: Renaming Some Steam Files
It is possible that some files inside the main steam installation folder have been corrupted due to which this issue is being triggered on your computer. Therefore, in this step, we will be renaming these files so that Steam can regenerate them upon startup and then check if doing so fixes the issue with Stardew not launching. For that:
Solution 9: Closing out of Background Applications and Services
It is possible that some applications running on your computer’s background or some background services might be preventing your game from being able to load properly. First of all, try closing out of the MSI Afterburner or any related applications and then check if the game works. If it doesn’t, we will have to perform some further troubleshooting. For that: Now that we have diagnosed with some third-party applications that might prevent proper functioning, we also have to make sure that there aren’t any system services that are preventing proper functionality of the computer. For that: Note: If you have already done all of this, make sure to disable your antivirus and check if that makes the game work. If it doesn’t, download the latest version of DirectX from here and install it on your computer and check if that makes the game work.
Solution 10: Run as Administrator
It is possible that the game requires root permissions on your computer but they haven’t been granted yet due to which the game is facing issues while trying to write and read from the system partitions and folders. Therefore, in this step, we will be granted admin privileges to the game permanently and then we will check if the issue is fixed by doing so. For that:
Solution 11: Manually Placing .DLL Files
It is possible to fix this issue by manually replacing some DLL files on your computer after downloading it from the internet. This fix might be harmful if you manage to download the files that contain viruses or malware so we prompt you to do it at your own risk since it can be harmful. If you decide to proceed, follow the steps below to replace these files.
Method 12: Creating a New User Account
If the issue still isn’t fixed after all this hassle, it is possible that there is a defect in the system’s registry due to which all of this mess is being created while trying to launch the game. Therefore, in this step, we will be creating a new user account and then we will check to see if the issue still persists. For that:
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