Is Hogwarts Legacy not Launching, crashing, freezing, or showing a black screen while trying to open the game?
Then here is a complete guide for you to fix the problem.
There are plenty of solutions that can solve the issue and help you to relaunch the game.
So, keep reading till you find your solution.
How To Fix Hogwarts Legacy Not Launching, Crashing, Freezing, Or Showing A Black Screen Issues
Perform the steps given below when you cannot launch Hogwarts Legacy.
1) Change Game Settings From ini File
Changing some of the game settings from ini file can fix the problem when Hogwarts Legacy is not launching, crashing, or freezing.
So, follow the steps given below to change the in-game settings:
- Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run utility.
- Type appdata and press Enter.
- Next, open the Local folder.
- Look for the Hogwarts Legacy folder and open it.
- Now open the Saved folder and then open the Config folder.
- Next, open the Windows No Editor folder.
- Look for the Game user settings.ini file and right-click on it.
- Select Open With and click on Notepad.
- Look for the B-enable raytracing shadows, reflects, and AO.
- If they are set to True, change them to False. If they are set to False, then change them to True.
- Now scroll down and look for the Raytracing section.
- Change the r.Raytracing.enable in-game to False from True or True from False.
- Click on the file and select Save to save the changes made.
- Now, close it and right-click on it. Select Properties and check the Read-only box.
- Click on Apply and OK to save the changes. Now try running the game.
- If the issue persists, remove the Read Only from the properties and open this file again.
- Press the Ctrl + F key to open Find.
- Type UpscaleMode and click on find next.
- Change it to None or NVIDIA_NIS if you have an NVIDIA GPU.
- Save the file again and set it to read-only from the properties.
- Again run the game and see if the issue is fixed. If the issue persists, delete the Hogwarts Legacy save game folder.
2) Delete The Hogwarts Legacy Save Game Folder
If the above method could not fix the crashing or freezing issue in Hogwarts Legacy, then delete the Hogwarts Legacy save game folder.
To do that, follow the steps given below:
- Open the Hogwarts Legacy folder again as you did in the first method.
- Open the Saved folder.
- Now right-click on the Save Games folder and select Copy. Paste it on your desktop.
- Return here and delete the Save Games folder.
- Now, run the game, and it should automatically recreate the save game folder.
- If the issue is not fixed, then you can re-paste the earlier save games folder from the desktop.
3) Verify The Integrity Of Game Files
Sometimes the game files may be courted or missing. Due to this, the game can crash, freeze or show a black screen while you try to play it.
To repair the missing and corrupted game files, verify the integrity of the game files.
For Steam Users
- Open Steam and head to Library.
- Right-click on Hogwarts Legacy and select Properties.
- Click on the Local Files tab and select the Verify Integrity of game files option.
- Wait for Steam to finish verifying, and once done, play the game.
For Epic Games Users
- Open Epic Games Launcher and select Library.
- Right-click on the Game and select Manage.
- Click on Verify and wait for it to finish.
If the issue persists after verifying the game files, disable Steam overlay.
4) Disable The Steam Overlay While Playing Hogwarts Legacy
Overlay applications running in the background while gaming can eat up your system resources and cause issues.
So, disable this overlay feature and see f this can fix the crashing or freezing issue while playing Hogwarts Legacy.
- Open Steam and head to the Library section.
- Right-click on Hogwarts Legacy and select Properties.
- In the General Tab, uncheck the Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game option.
Steam Overlay will now be disabled for only Hogwarts Legacy.
- Exit the window and run the game.
- Also, disable other overlay apps like Discord, GeForce Experience, Nvidia Shadow Play overlay, or AMD overlay.
5) Disable Firewall And Antivirus
Firewall can sometimes conflict with your game and cause issues. So, if the game is crashing or not launching, you can disable Windows Firewall.
To do so, follow the steps given below:
- Type Windows Defender Firewall in the Search Menu and select the top option.
- Click on Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off option from the left side.
- Next, click on the radio buttons for both Private and Public settings to Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended) option.
If you are using any other antivirus program, make sure to disable that for the time being.
You should enable your antivirus or firewall protection soon after, as without them, your system is vulnerable to threats. Now launch Hogwarts Legacy and see if you can open it without issues. If you still cannot open the game, install the Visual C++ Redistributables.
6) Install The Visual C++ Redistributables
Most of the games and programs require C++ redistributables to run on Windows OS. So, if your game is crashing and not launching or you are getting a black screen, then install the redistributables.
To do so, follow the steps given below:
- Click on this link from Microsoft.com. Download the Visual C++ redistributables for 2022.
- Make sure to download & install the correct architecture, like downloading x64 for 64 bit systems and x86 for 32 bit systems.
- After installing the redistributables, restart your PC.
Once the PC restarts, try to run Hogwarts Legacy. If the error still persists, run the game with administrative privileges.
7) Run Hogwarts Legacy As An Administrator
Some components of the game can require administrative privileges to run. Without administrative permission, the game may not open.
So, run the game as an administrator and see if this can fix the issue.
- Open the Hogwarts Legacy installation folder.
- Locate the Hogwarts Legacy exe file and right-click on it.
- Select the Properties option.
- Click on the Compatibility tab and check the Run this program as an administrator box. Click on Apply and OK to save the changes.
8) Close Unnecessary Apps Running In The Background
Sometimes the programs running in the background can also prevent the game from launching. So, close the unnecessary apps running in the background following the steps given below:
- Right-click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager.
- In the Processes tab, check for any unnecessary processes. Right-click on them and select End task to close them.
Apps like Discord, GeForce Experience, Google Chrome, NVIDIA Shadow Play are some that you should close before playing Hogwarts Legacy.
9) Disable Control Flow Guard
If closing unnecessary apps and programs could not fix the issue, then try disabling the Control Flow guard.
- To do so, type Exploit protection in the search bar and select the top result.
- Click on Program settings.
- Next, click on the Add icon to Add a program to customize.
- Select Choose the exact file path.
- Navigate to the game installation folder and select the game exe file and open it.
- Now, turn off the control Flow Guard toggle and click on Apply to save the changes.
- Click on Add again and navigate to the game installation folder again.
- Open the phoenix folder, the binaries folder, and then the Win64 folder.
- Add this exe file and again disable the Control Flow guard toggle.
- Click on Apply to save the changes. Check if you can launch your game now. If not, then update the graphics drivers.
10) Update Your Graphics Drivers
Outdated graphics drivers can also be the reason why Hogwart Legacy is not launching.
So, you should always keep your graphics card updated to avoid such issues and enhance your gaming experience.
- If you are using an Nvidia graphics card, you can use GeForce Experience to update the graphics drivers.
- If you don’t have it installed, download and install it from Nvidia’s website first.
- Run GeForce Experience.
- After you open the app, click on Drivers and check if any new drivers are available.
- Download and install it.
- For AMD graphics cards, the process is similar but uses the Radeon software instead of GeForce Experience.
- Run the app and check for any available drivers.
- Download and install the latest drivers.
- Restart your PC after that.
11) Reinstall The Graphics Drivers
If updating graphics drivers did not fix the issue, then reinstall the graphics drivers. To reinstall the graphics drivers, follow the steps given below:
- Right-click on the Start menu and select Device Manager.
- Expand Display Adapters and right-click on the Graphics driver.
- Select Uninstall Device.
- After the driver gets uninstalled, you will have to install it.
- For AMD graphics driver, install the Radeon app and run it. Similarly, for NVIDIA graphics drivers, you will need to install the GeForce Experience and run.
- If you already have them installed, simply running them will automatically detect that the graphics drivers are missing, and they will download and install them.
- Restart your PC after the drivers are installed.
- Then run the app again to check for any updates. If any update is available, download and install them. Check if this could fix the issue while gaming. If not, then add Hogwarts Legacy for High Performance.
12) Add Hogwarts Legacy For High Performance
Follow the steps given below to add Hogwarts Legacy for high Performance:
- Press the Windows + I keys to open Settings.
- Click on System and then select Display.
- Scroll down and click on Graphics.
- Click on the Browse option and head to the Hogwarts Legacy installation folder.
- Select Hogwarts Legacy exe and add it.
- Click on Options and select High Performance. Select Save to save the changes.
13) Change The In-game Settings
If the game is launching but crashes or shows a black screen while playing, then change the in-game settings.
- Open the game and open Settings.
- Click on Display Options.
- First, make sure the Window Mode is set to Fullscreen.
- Now scroll down and disable V Sync.
- Next, change the FPS to Uncapped.
- Set the Upscale Type to NVIDIA DLSS or AMD FSR 2, depending on your graphics card.
- Change the Upscale mode to Ultra performance.
- Next, set NVIDIA reflex low latency to on + boost.
- Next set Motion blur to off.
- Also, disable the Depth of field.
- If you have multiple GPUs, like having an integrated and dedicated GPU, then select the more powerful GPU from the Select GPU section. Make sure your monitor is connected to that GPU.
- Select Graphics Options and set the Global Quality Preset to low or medium. You can also set it to recommended and let the game decide what’s best for your PC.
- Click on Apply settings and restart the game.
14) Reinstall Hogwarts Legacy
If nothing could fix the problem and you still cannot launch the game, then reinstall Hogwarts Legacy.
To reinstall the game, follow the steps given below:
- Press the Windows + R keys to open Run.
- Type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
- Right-click on Hogwarts Legacy and select Uninstall.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
- Why is my screen black while launching the game?
If your PC turns black while launching the game, then this means that your graphics drivers are outdated or the gae files are corrupted.
- Why does my game keep crashing and freezing?
Due to unstable network connection, and high CPU or memory usage, your game may crash or freeze.
- Can a game crash damage your PC?
A game crash can damage your hardware by running it too hard.
Most of the hardware damage itself by throttling or shutting down.
Final Words
So, there you have it! Let us know which of the above methods helped you fix the problem when Hogwarts Legacy is launching, crashing, or showing a black screen while trying to launch it.