Don’t worry too much if your Hogwarts Legacy isn’t launching on your computer: you’re not alone. Many players are experiencing this problem as well. But as luck would have it, it’s not a science project to make Hogwarts Legacy launch again on your computer. We have gathered some of the most effective methods that have helped many gamers with the Hogwarts Legacy not launching problem, and you may also want to try them as well.
Try these fixes for the Hogwarts Legacy not launching problem
You don’t have to try all the following fixes: simply work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick to fix the Hogwarts Legacy not launching problem for you.
- Check system requirements
- Run the game as admin
- Run compatibility troubleshooter
- Check for possible software conflicts
- Clean reinstall the graphics card driver
- Select High Performance mode for the game
- Verify the game files
1. Check system requirements
When a game doesn’t launch on your computer, especially if the game is newly installed or just updated, you should first make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for the game. If your machine is below or just at the requirements, you may need to upgrade your hardware for Hogwarts Legacy to run smoothly.
Here are the requirements for your reference:
| Minimum | Recommended | |
| OS | 64-bit Windows 10 | 64-bit Windows 10 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-6600 (3.3 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 (3.2 GHz) | Intel i7-8700 (3.2 GHz) or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (3.6 GHz) |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB or AMD Radeon RX 470 4GB | NVIDIA GeForce 1080 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or INTEL Arc |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Storage | 85 GB available space | 85 GB available space |
| Additional Notes | SSD (Preferred), HDD (Supported), 720p / 30 fps, Low Quality Settings | SSD, 1080p / 60 fps, High Quality Settings |
If you’re not sure how to check your computer specs, you can press the Windows key and the R key on your computer at the same time, then type msinfo32 to check your system specs in detail:
In general, Hogwarts Legacy’s requirements for computers are not very high, it just asks for a bit more from the processor. So if your processor was released before 2015, and Hogwarts Legacy is not launching on your computer, this could be the main reason.
When you’re sure that your machine meets the system requirements to run the game, but Hogwarts Legacy still crashes, please move on to the other fixes below.
2. Run the game as admin
Many community users also reported that running Steam or Epic Games launcher as admin also helps Hogwarts Legacy to launch properly, so if you haven’t tried it yet, we’d recommend you try this as well. To do so:
- Right-click your Steam icon and select Properties.
- Select the Compatibility tab. Tick the box for Run this program as an administrator. Then click Apply > OK to save the changes.
- Then tick the box for Run this program in compatibility mode for: then select Windows 8 from the dropdown list.
- Repeat the same to set up the Epic Games launcher so it also launches with administrative permission.
You can also set up the execution file of Hogwarts Legacy the same way so it also launches with the admin rights. To find the execution file of Hogwarts Legacy, you can go to the library in Steam or Epic Games launcher, then find Hogwarts Legacy and go to Manage > Browse Local Files.
Now open Hogwarts Legacy again from within Steam or Epic Games launcher to see if it launches well. If it’s still not launching, please move on to the next fix.
3. Run compatibility troubleshooter
Another tested effective fix for the Hogwarts Legacy not launching problem is to troubleshoot its compatibility. This is probably because by troubleshooting its compatibility with the Windows troubleshooter, your computer remembers the correct settings that allow Hogwarts Legacy to launch without you setting them up manually. To run the troubleshooter:
- Find your Hogwarts Legacy’s execution file by going to Steam > Library > Manage > Browse local files. A new window will open with game files, go to Phoenix > Binaries > Win64. Right-click the HogwartsLegacy.exe file and select Properties.
- Click Compatibility, then Run compatibility troubleshooter.
- The Windows troubleshooter will then run and rectify any problems it can find. Just follow the on-screen instructions to move on.
When the test is done, try to launch Hogwarts Legacy again to see if it launches well now. If the problem remains, please move on.
4. Check for possible software conflicts
Steam and Epic Games Launcher can be a bit sensitive about certain programs running in the background, especially the ones that occupy network resources. Here’s a list of such programs that you need to pay extra attention to:
- NZXT CAM
- MSI Afterburner
- Razer Cortex
- Anti-virus or anti-spyware software (some mentioned Norton Security)
- VPN, proxy, or other firewall and security software (some mentioned NordVPN)
- P2P or file-sharing software
- IP filtering or blocking software
- Download manager programs
If you have none of the above-mentioned suspicious software programs installed, but your Hogwarts Legacy still refuses to launch, you may need to perform a clean boot in Windows to see if the problem remains there.
If Hogwarts Legacy launches well when you do a clean boot, one or more third-party services or programs are interfering with the game, so you will need to disable 3rd-party software one by one until you find the culprit, either remove it or update it to see if it helps.
5. Clean reinstall the graphics card driver
An incorrect display card driver file could also be the culprit to the game’s not launching problem, according to some Reddit gamers. In that case, it’s suggested that you do a clean reinstallation of the graphics card driver. To do so:
- Boot your computer into Safe Mode as instructed here: Start Safe Mode using the System Configuration tool
- When in Safe Mode, on your keyboard, press the Windows key and the R key at the same time, then type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
- Double-click to expand the Display adapters category, then right-click your display card and select Uninstall device.
- Tick the box for Attempt to remove the driver for this device and click Uninstall.
- Repeat the same to remove the driver for your other display card if you have one.
- Then boot your computer into the normal mode as instructed in the first step. Then let’s download and update the graphics card driver from there.
If you don’t have the time, patience or skills to update the driver manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing. Driver Easy handles it all.
- Download and install Driver Easy.
- Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
- Click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system.
(This requires the Pro version which comes with full support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All. If you’re not ready to buy the Pro version, Driver Easy offers a 7-day free trial which includes access to all the Pro features such as high-speed download and one-click install. You won’t be charged anything until your 7-day trial has ended.)
- Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Launch Hogwarts Legacy again and see if the latest graphics driver helps it to launch. If this fix doesn’t work for you, try the next fix, below.
6. Select High Performance mode for the game
When Hogwarts Legacy isn’t launching on your computer, you may also want to check the Windows graphics settings to make sure that they’re not stopping the game from launching. To do so:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the I key at the same time to open Settings.
- Select Gaming, and make sure that the toggle for Game Mode is set to On. Then click the Graphics tab.
- Select Hogwarts Legacy or Steam or Epic Games launcher from the list of apps, and select High performance.
- Then click Change default graphics settings.
- Make sure that the toggles for Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling and Optimizations for windowed games are both set to On.
Try to run Hogwarts Legacy again to see if it launches well. If the problem remains still, please move on to the next fix, below.
7. Verify the integrity of game files
Corrupted or missing files will stop your Hogwarts Legacy from running or launching as well. To see if this is the case, you can verify your game files on:
Epic Games Launcher
To verify the game’s files on Epic Games Launcher:
- On Epic Game Launcher, find Hogwarts Legacy in your Library. Click the three dots on the right side of the game line and select Manage.
- Click Verify to start verifying the game files.
- Wait for validation to complete. (It may take a while to verify all your files.)
- When the validation is done, run your Hogwarts Legacy again to see if it launches well.
Steam
- Launch Steam.
- In the LIBRARY, right-click on Hogwarts Legacy and select Properties from the drop-down menu.
- Select the Installed Files tab and click on the Verified integrity of game files button.
- Steam will verify the game’s files – this process may take several minutes.
- Then try to launch Hogwarts Legacy again to see if it runs properly.
Thanks for reading the post. Hope one of the methods above helps Hogwarts Legacy to launch on your computer. If you have other suggestions, please feel free to share with us by leaving a comment below.