Paradox launcher not working (FIX BELOW)

[pokemark17]

I first encountered this issue with eu4 and while annoying that the laucher wouldnt work it wasnt a massive deal since, i dont play with any mods on that game but the other day i tryed playing city skylines and i cant play it what so ever and im now having the same issues with stelaris considering the fact that ive spend hundreds of £ on these games ive been hoping for a patch but nothing has come regardless of the fact this has been an issue since they updated there launcher about 2 months ago , any help would be apreciated .

Now resolved see futher down for fix

[TipuSultan]

Check fixes in pinned portion of discussions. I've had same problem for over a month now. Can't play Stellaris, HOI4, EU4, CK2. ImpRome does work. I've added exceptions to anti-virus program, verified integrity of files, deleted files and reinstalled, updated DirectX and other files, done all updates. Nothing fixes the issue. Looking forward to Federations Stallaris new DLC but can't get until this launcher issue resolved. Also tried running as administrator, and launching directly from stellaris.exe file, and the cursor thinks for five seconds, but no loading screens and nothing happens after that.

[marijorj988]

I got the same problem. Yesterday everything worked fine but today i cant get even to the loading screen ...

[pokemark17]

So i got a fix from the paradox support team,

Start with a clean install of the game. Even if you have already done this before now, make sure you do it now following these instructions:

Go to your .../Documents/Paradox Interactive/{Game Name} Folder (The {Game Name} = the name of the paradox game, IE Hearts of Iron IV or Europa Universlis IV ETC.)
Move your save game folder outside of this directory, such as to the desktop, to temporary save it

Unsubscribe from all mods

Right click the game in the Steam Library

Go to properties

Go to the BETAs tab

Ensure opt out is selected from the dropdown,Select close

Right click game in the Steam Library,Select Uninstall

Uninstall Paradox Launcher v2 from the Windows "Apps and features" (Win 10/8/8.1) or Programs and Features" (Win 7) utility, if still present.

Go to your game's previous install location folder (normally ...\steam\steamapps\common\)
Delete the folder with the game's name as the folder's name if a folder exists there

Go to C:\Users\NAME\Documents\Paradox Interactive

Delete the folder with the game's name as the folder's name if a folder exists there

Delete your C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Programs/Paradox Interactive/ folder if it exists

Delete your C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/ folder if it exists

Delete your C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Roaming/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2/ folder if it exists

Restart Computer

Install the game to your C: Drive (If possible, make sure you install the game outside the 'C:\Program Files\' or 'C:\Program Files (x86)\' folders, as it can cause issues with permissions)

In the games install folder run launcher-installer-windows.msi ( personally this i beleive is the most important)

During installation change the install path to your steam install location

Shut down computer completely and Start Computer back up (It is important that you do not just do another computer restart and you do a shut down and then manually start the computer back up)

Start the game launcher

If it fails to launch try and run the game's .exe file in the install folder (NOT the dowser.exe).
(This will bypass the launcher and try and run the game directly but will not let you use mods )

If there are no issues you can now move the save game folder back into place
Test game
If there are still no issues you can re-subscribe to mods slowly and test as you do so.
If there are still no issues you can now move the installation of the game to any other drive if you wish

[pokemark17]

Originally posted by pokemark17:

So i got a fix from the paradox support team,

Start with a clean install of the game. Even if you have already done this before now, make sure you do it now following these instructions:

Go to your .../Documents/Paradox Interactive/{Game Name} Folder (The {Game Name} = the name of the paradox game, IE Hearts of Iron IV or Europa Universlis IV ETC.)
Move your save game folder outside of this directory, such as to the desktop, to temporary save it

Unsubscribe from all mods

Right click the game in the Steam Library

Go to properties

Go to the BETAs tab

Ensure opt out is selected from the dropdown,Select close

Right click game in the Steam Library,Select Uninstall

Uninstall Paradox Launcher v2 from the Windows "Apps and features" (Win 10/8/8.1) or Programs and Features" (Win 7) utility, if still present.

Go to your game's previous install location folder (normally ...\steam\steamapps\common\)
Delete the folder with the game's name as the folder's name if a folder exists there

Go to C:\Users\NAME\Documents\Paradox Interactive

Delete the folder with the game's name as the folder's name if a folder exists there

Delete your C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Programs/Paradox Interactive/ folder if it exists

Delete your C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Local/Paradox Interactive/ folder if it exists

Delete your C:/users/<UserName>/AppData/Roaming/Paradox Interactive/launcher-v2/ folder if it exists

Restart Computer

Install the game to your C: Drive (If possible, make sure you install the game outside the 'C:\Program Files\' or 'C:\Program Files (x86)\' folders, as it can cause issues with permissions)

In the games install folder run launcher-installer-windows.msi ( personally this i beleive is the most important)

During installation change the install path to your steam install location

Shut down computer completely and Start Computer back up (It is important that you do not just do another computer restart and you do a shut down and then manually start the computer back up)

Start the game launcher

If it fails to launch try and run the game's .exe file in the install folder (NOT the dowser.exe).
(This will bypass the launcher and try and run the game directly but will not let you use mods )

If there are no issues you can now move the save game folder back into place
Test game
If there are still no issues you can re-subscribe to mods slowly and test as you do so.
If there are still no issues you can now move the installation of the game to any other drive if you wish

Make sure you manualy install the laucher from the files before you run the game

[revan]

Originally posted by TipuSultan:

Check fixes in pinned portion of discussions. I've had same problem for over a month now. Can't play Stellaris, HOI4, EU4, CK2. ImpRome does work. I've added exceptions to anti-virus program, verified integrity of files, deleted files and reinstalled, updated DirectX and other files, done all updates. Nothing fixes the issue. Looking forward to Federations Stallaris new DLC but can't get until this launcher issue resolved. Also tried running as administrator, and launching directly from stellaris.exe file, and the cursor thinks for five seconds, but no loading screens and nothing happens after that.

i have to same problem. none of above can solve my stellaris, cant configurate it, pdx is really ♥♥♥♥ company, always design more bugs which doesnt exist in previous version .

-- eng is not my 1st lang.

[The Grape]

None of this worked. ♥♥♥♥ paradox and this game. They should be the ones taking responsibility and remove the thing that is causing the issue themselves. We should not have to go through such a freaking headache to get a stupid 12 gb game to open

[Smith]

just change the game settings to windowed in your launcher

[Berry]

Originally posted by Smith:

just change the game settings to windowed in your launcher

Are you even paying attention? People are having the problem that the launcher doesn't work. Gtfo lol

[Millhouse Manastorm]

I have been looking to solve this problem for over a year that I cant play this game. I used to love it. this is the second major game-failing bug that was encountered. The the game just crashes or fails to start. Even if there is a possibility that this fixes my problem, even 100 percent, I am absolutely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pissed that this is needing to be gone through to play their game, and I am not going to go through all that. If that is the case, or if it is not. Either way an amazing game is ruined by developers once again. They are the enemy of all games that I have loved that went to ♥♥♥♥. If both of these bugs didnt take me out of the game for an entire year with searching for a solve to fix this, maybe i would do a, "3 strike rule".
Im going with 2 because of 2 years of downtime... HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU CHARGE in DLC PARADOX FOR THE LEVEL OF THIS GAMES DEVELOPMENT AND BUG PROBLEMS STILL BEING ♥♥♥♥.

[MaxTastic08]

Make sure you aren’t synchronizing your documents folder for Paradox with OneDrive.... this solved my issues.

[MrDonkey]

Played Stellaris a LOT several years after it first came out. Saw all the DLC was in the Summer Sale so thought what the heck, and bought the lot. On booting for the game for the first time in well over a year I encountered a message I'd never seen before about not just needing a launcher (never had one before), but that I needed to upgrade to v2 of it. Install of this failed without a proper error code or message, other than a trite message to say in hadn't worked properly.
THE GAME HAS NEVER WORKED AGAIN.
This is despite completely removing all trace of Paradox that I can see (including all the steps in the 'solution' above) and providing a complete refreshed install several times over. I really don't appreciate this or the waste of time it's taken, Paradox.
Refund for £50 requested and approved in less than an hour. I WILL NOT be buying anything from Paradox again so long as they persist with such a crap piece of software (to be specific, the Launcher) for all their games. Take my advice, and steer well clear.

[CrazyUncleSteve]

If the launcher itself doesn't work, this fix won't help.

If the launcher does come up and you launch the game and it either crashes or freezes loading, this probably will help.

Win 10 added a 'feature' some time ago called Fullscreen Optimization. It screwed with a lot of older games.

Go to where Stellaris is installed (For me: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Stellaris)

Scroll down and look for 'stellaris.exe'

Right click on 'stellaris.exe' and select 'Properties'
Click on the Compatibility tab
Check the box next to 'Disable Fullscreen optimization'
Click Apply and OK

Your game should now work.

[FirePrince]

Another question which needs to be sticky (every week... but who cares)

[MrDonkey]

All my Steam related stuff is installed on my D: drive, which is why I suspect the Launcher has issues - I suspect something in it is hard-coded to expect something else to be in a default position on the C:
I've had another attempt and done a standalone install of Stellaris on my C:, together with virtually all the DLC and it is working fine, Launcher included.

One note: when I ran the launcher msi file in the above solution, I pointed it at D:\Steam\ where all my Steam stuff is installed, despite the game itself being on the C:. Works fine, so I'll now see what happens when I install the game in standalone on the D: and try again.

[MrDonkey]

Ok, I've managed to get the Launcher and Stellaris game working with the game installed to somewhere other than the default location on the C: drive - in my case Steam is installed to my D: drive, and I've installed Stellaris (as with all my other games) within this.

As a variation to the above solution, once the fresh install has downloaded, I've then achieved success in two different ways, although I don't fully understand why. Basically I've found a solution using my earlier suspicion that the Launcher (at installation) is hard-coded to assume something is on the default C:

Once the install is complete, as per the solution instructions and without running the game, I have then navigated to D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Stellaris and run the launcher-installer-windows.msi file. When prompted I've pointed the Launcher installation at my D:\Steam\ directory. This still fails with the error telling me something went wrong, but no indication what.

As an addition, I've then copied the same .msi file out to the root of my C: drive and run it again. Point the installation at the same D:\Steam\ directory and this then successfully completes very quickly.

DO NOT attempt to run the game between the first and second executions of the .msi file. Once the second run is complete you can then delete the copy of the file on your C: root.

Bizarrely I've also found that, following another clean installation, you can run the .msi file from the C: root first (and it fails) and then run it a second time from the D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Stellaris directory and everything works successfully too. Presumably running from either position puts some key item(s) in place, but only running from both effectively puts the missing piece of the puzzle in place to provide a complete installation. Someone at Paradox really ought to look into this and sort it out; other companies' software is quite capable of coping when either Steam and/or a game itself is installed somewhere other than the default C: drive.

I now have the main game successfully working together with all the DLC apart from the very latest - Federations - which I don't own. I hope this tip proves useful for anyone still struggling to get it working. Good luck!