"Unable to launch GTA IV."

[Commander Marru]

So, Bought Gta IV from steam sale from few weeks back but i havent been able to run it.
I have tried multiple solutions i found on internet/youtube but no luck.

I see this rockstar error: "unable to launch gta iv. if u continue to have problems launching the game, please verify integrity of files or contact rockstar."

I did verify files, several times, no luck.

Cant refund it anymore. So, i'll need to fix in order to play.



Found a solution!!!
What i did was go into add a feature option and add windows media feature pack and install it.
restart and it worked like a charm!

[Commander Marru]

.

[♏︎ILCツ]

Have you attempted to install any mods? There was a update a few days ago, which probably broke gta 4 for anyone who had mods (it did for me with an update a few months ago.)

[Commander Marru]

no mods. just the game.

[♏︎ILCツ]

I recommend uninstalling the game in case for some reason the update didn't install correctly. If you wanna back up saves, they are located in %LocalAppData%\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\savegames (or Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\Profiles, there are conflicting answers so back up both just in case.) When uninstalling I also recommend deleting the Grand Theft Auto IV folder in the steamapps\common folder just to make sure all of GTA IV has uninstalled.
If the game still doesn't run after you installed it fresh, you could try patching and downgrading it. This guide is was I used for my last play through, and also avoids the Rockstar Game Launcher. Easy to install and to know what you are modding. Just know not to open GTA IV via steam, and instead via PlayGTAIV.exe after patching. There is also this guide I used for my first play through that is a little more hands on but worked just fine for me.

Random note: GTA IV is one of those games that can be wonky when played above 60fps. GTA IV base is perfectly playable with no major issues, but the bikes in The Lost and The Damned DLC control weird when above 60fps so you might wanna cap your frame rate if you play that story.

[Commander Marru]

Tried with reinstalling the game and everything. Didnt work. So i followed the downgrade guide.
turns out, it didnt work out either.
now im annoyed that i cant play nor refund this ***** of **** game. just a waste of money.

[♏︎ILCツ]

Originally posted by Marru:

Tried with reinstalling the game and everything. Didnt work. So i followed the downgrade guide.
turns out, it didnt work out either.
now im annoyed that i cant play nor refund this ***** of **** game. just a waste of money.:verybad:

After Downgrading, did you open the game via the PlayGTAIV.exe file (can be found where the game is installed)? If so but it still failed, is there an error code or message on screen?

[Commander Marru]

no error. nothing happens. the game doesnt open.

[Commander Marru]

I has some issues with windows live tho.

[DankWraith]

Windows Live was discontinued a long time ago.

[Commander Marru]

Originally posted by DankWraith:

Windows Live was discontinued a long time ago.

maybe thats the reason why the game is still bugging up. i gifted the game same day i bought it to my brother and he had no error. runs smooth on his pc.
but i get this windows live msg about save files etc.

[Gemhunter07]

delete everything in your main dir, delete the game from steam and reinstall it

[Commander Marru]

Originally posted by Gemhunter07:

delete everything in your main dir, delete the game from steam and reinstall it

did that twice. no luck.

[Commander Marru]

Found a solution!!!
What i did was go into add a feature option and add windows media feature pack and install it.
restart and it worked like a charm!

[asarudheenkv]

i am also facing the same issue i just bought the game recently can anyone help out

Originally posted by Marru ⇄ TF2 Keys:

So, Bought Gta IV from steam sale from few weeks back but i havent been able to run it.
I have tried multiple solutions i found on internet/youtube but no luck.

I see this rockstar error: "unable to launch gta iv. if u continue to have problems launching the game, please verify integrity of files or contact rockstar."

I did verify files, several times, no luck.

Cant refund it anymore. So, i'll need to fix in order to play.



Found a solution!!!
What i did was go into add a feature option and add windows media feature pack and install it.
restart and it worked like a charm!

Can you please input the step to do this process???
it will be helpful for me as i am facing the same issue

thanks

[♏︎ILCツ]

Originally posted by asarudheenkv:

i am also facing the same issue i just bought the game recently can anyone help out

Originally posted by Marru ⇄ TF2 Keys:

So, Bought Gta IV from steam sale from few weeks back but i havent been able to run it.
I have tried multiple solutions i found on internet/youtube but no luck.

I see this rockstar error: "unable to launch gta iv. if u continue to have problems launching the game, please verify integrity of files or contact rockstar."

I did verify files, several times, no luck.

Cant refund it anymore. So, i'll need to fix in order to play.



Found a solution!!!
What i did was go into add a feature option and add windows media feature pack and install it.
restart and it worked like a charm!

Can you please input the step to do this process???
it will be helpful for me as i am facing the same issue

thanks

This forum post is over two years old, and since then the game's been updated a few times and the modding community has been shifting focus to the new release, with new methods to fix the game and restore old features. I recommend looking for newer posts and topics, as well as outside of the Steam discussion as well. I don't intent to provide any additional help after this post because of that.

However, I'll complete the steps to the solution the person found, though I can not guarantee this will fix the issue for you. Press the start button and type in "Turn windows features on or off." If that's not working for some reason, press winkey + r and type in "OptionalFeatures.exe". Scroll down to Media Features and enable Windows Media Player. You'll likely be prompted to restart your computer to finish the installation.

While a majority of Windows 10/11 computers should come with Windows Media Player, due to anti-trust lawsuits in other countries, there's a version of Windows known as "Windows N" or "Windows KN", which removes some Microsoft programs that would otherwise be included, such as Windows media player.