I have already reinstalled eu4 5 times and whenever I press start in the paradox launcher there is a red triangle with an exclamation mark to the right of the button that says: failed to start the game (I'm on steam, I have no mods and have already tried without dlcs to star and it still doesn't work)
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The error "launching the game failed" can have many sources. To narrow it down somewhat, try to start the game from eu4.exe (eu4.app on macOS) . If that works it is a launcher problem. If it doesn't work it is a game problem. In that case, please tell me how far in the startup process you get(what is the last thing that eu4 displays) and if you get any error message.
If you get an error message about a missing VCRUNTIME or other dll file, please try to (re-)install the microsoft visual c++ redistributables. You can get the latest version from this website or directly download the installer from this link. There is an arm version(ARM64), a 32bit version(x86) and a 64bit version(x64). Current eu4 versions only need the 64bit(x64) version.
Does this help?
If you get an error message about a missing VCRUNTIME or other dll file, please try to (re-)install the microsoft visual c++ redistributables. You can get the latest version from this website or directly download the installer from this link. There is an arm version(ARM64), a 32bit version(x86) and a 64bit version(x64). Current eu4 versions only need the 64bit(x64) version.
Does this help?
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In the game launcher please set Display mode to Borderless. THEN go here:
And run the x86 and x64 installers there.
IF that doesn't help, Has the game ever run OK on this computer? Or never?
IF NEVER:
Install ALL these Microsoft modules:
(run dxsetup.exe after extracting from this download)
Add EU4.exe to the exceptions list of your antivirus app; ESPECIALLY if you have Windows Defender, add it to the Ransomware "Apps Allowed Through" list.
Also if you have installed RivaTuner, RadeonPro, or a gaming VPN app called Evolve, or the MSI Gaming App, or Duet, disable it as it clashes with this game.
IF that doesn't help:
Please do a full **clean** re-install:
- move any valued save games elsewhere
- "uninstall" in Steam-EU4
- manually delete both the Steam/SteamApps/common/EU4 AND Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4 folders
- re-install game in Steam, run a Steam Verify when done.
- add EU4.exe to the exceptions list of your antivirus app; ESPECIALLY if you have Windows Defender, add it to the Ransomware "Apps Allowed Through" list.
- start the game with no mods active and test
In particular make sure there are no files or folders left under either the Steam EU4 or Documents EU4 locations, before installing again.
Also if you have installed RivaTuner, RadeonPro, or a gaming VPN app called Evolve, or the MSI Gaming App, or Duet, disable it as it clashes with this game.
IF that doesn't help:
DXDIAG is a program you run from the Windows search box on the task bar. After running it will open a window and start collecting info with a progress bar in the lower-left corner. When it completes click the 'save all information' button and save it to a file then attach that file here.
Please attach here your Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4/settings.txt and pdx_settings.txt .
From your Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4/logs/ folder, attach here system.log , error.log .
Latest supported Visual C++ Redistributable downloads
This article lists the download links for the latest versions of Visual C++ Redistributable packages.
support.microsoft.com
IF that doesn't help, Has the game ever run OK on this computer? Or never?
IF NEVER:
Install ALL these Microsoft modules:
Download Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package MFC Security Update from Official Microsoft Download Center
A security issue has been identified leading to a vulnerability in MFC applications that are built with Visual Studio 2010 and ship the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Service Pack 1 Redistributable Package.
www.microsoft.com
Download Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 RC from Official Microsoft Download Center
This update is the latest in a cumulative series of feature additions and bug fixes for Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable.
www.microsoft.com
Download DirectX End-User Runtimes (June 2010) from Official Microsoft Download Center
The Microsoft DirectX® End-User Runtime installs a number of runtime libraries from the legacy DirectX SDK for some games that use D3DX9, D3DX10, D3DX11, XAudio 2.7, XInput 1.3, XACT, and/or Managed DirectX 1.1. Note that this package does not modify the DirectX Runtime installed on your Windows...
www.microsoft.com
Add EU4.exe to the exceptions list of your antivirus app; ESPECIALLY if you have Windows Defender, add it to the Ransomware "Apps Allowed Through" list.
Also if you have installed RivaTuner, RadeonPro, or a gaming VPN app called Evolve, or the MSI Gaming App, or Duet, disable it as it clashes with this game.
IF that doesn't help:
Please do a full **clean** re-install:
- move any valued save games elsewhere
- "uninstall" in Steam-EU4
- manually delete both the Steam/SteamApps/common/EU4 AND Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4 folders
- re-install game in Steam, run a Steam Verify when done.
- add EU4.exe to the exceptions list of your antivirus app; ESPECIALLY if you have Windows Defender, add it to the Ransomware "Apps Allowed Through" list.
- start the game with no mods active and test
In particular make sure there are no files or folders left under either the Steam EU4 or Documents EU4 locations, before installing again.
Also if you have installed RivaTuner, RadeonPro, or a gaming VPN app called Evolve, or the MSI Gaming App, or Duet, disable it as it clashes with this game.
IF that doesn't help:
DXDIAG is a program you run from the Windows search box on the task bar. After running it will open a window and start collecting info with a progress bar in the lower-left corner. When it completes click the 'save all information' button and save it to a file then attach that file here.
Please attach here your Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4/settings.txt and pdx_settings.txt .
From your Documents/Paradox Interactive/EU4/logs/ folder, attach here system.log , error.log .