Origin won’t open on your PC? Don’t worry! You’re not alone. Many Origin users have reported this issue. But the good news is you can fix it. You should be able to fix the problem quite easily using one of the solutions we’ve listed below.
Try these fixes
Here’s a list of fixes that have resolved this problem for other Origin users. You don’t have to try them all. Just work your way through the list until you find the one that does the trick for you.
- Delete the cache files of Origin
- Update your graphics driver to the latest version
- Run the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter
- Add Origin as an exception to your third-party antivirus application
- Perform a clean boot
- Install the latest Windows updates
- Reinstall Origin
Fix 1: Delete the cache files of Origin
This issue may be caused by the cache files of Origin. Try deleting the cache files to see if you can fix this issue. Here’s how to do it:
1) Close Origin if it is running. Click Origin in the menu bar and then select Exit to close it.
2) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Then type %ProgramData% and press Enter.
3) In the pop-up window, double-click the Origin folder to open it.
4) Delete all the files and folders in this folder except for the LocalContent folder.
5) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Then type %AppData% and press Enter.
6) In the pop-up window, delete the Origin folder.
7) Click AppData in the address bar.
8) Double-click the Local folder to open it.
9) Delete the Origin folder in the Local folder.
10) Restart your PC and Double-click the shortcut of Origin on your desktop.
If Origin opens, you’ve resolved this issue. If not, try the next fix below to run the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter.
Fix 2: update your graphics driver to the latest version
This issue is probably caused by your outdated graphics driver. Updating your graphics driver to the latest version can make your game run smoother and prevents many issues or errors.
There are two ways you can get the right graphics driver: manually or automatically.
Option 1 – Manually – You’ll need some computer skills and patience to update your drivers this way, because you need to find exactly the right driver online, download it and install it step by step.
Or
Option 2 – Automatically (Recommended) – This is the quickest and easiest option. It’s all done with just a couple of mouse clicks – easy even if you’re a computer newbie.
Option 1 – Download and install the driver manually
Your graphics card manufacturer keeps updating drivers. To get them, you need to go to the official website of your graphics card manufacturer, find the drivers corresponding with your specific flavor of Windows version (for example, Windows 32 bit) and download the driver manually.
Once you’ve downloaded the correct drivers for your system, double-click on the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver.
Option 2 – Automatically udpate your graphics driver
If you don’t have the time, patience or skills to update your 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 risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.
You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks:
1) Download and install Driver Easy.
2) Run Driver Easy and click Scan Now. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
3) Click Update next to your graphics card to automatically download the correct version of its driver, then you can install it manually. Or 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 – you’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All. You get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee).
If you need assistance, please contact Driver Easy’s support team at support@drivereasy.com.
Fix 3: Run the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter
This issue may occur if Origin is not compatible for your current Windows operating system. If you’re net sure, run the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter. The Program Compatibility Troubleshooter can check whether that program is compatible for your current Windows operating system or not. Just follow the steps below to run the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter:
1) Right-click the shortcut to Origin on your desktop and select Properties.
2) Click the Compatibility tab and click Run compatibility troubleshooter.
3) Click Try recommended settings to test-run program using recommended compatibility settings. Follow the on-screen instructions to see whether this troubleshooting option works or not.
4) If it still doesn’t work, then run the Program Compatibility Troubleshooter again and select the second option to choose compatibility settings based on problems you notice.
5) If the problem persists, adjust the following settings manually and select OK when you’re done.
- Compatibility mode: If Origin won’t open on your current Windows system, click the drop-down list to select a previous version of Windows system to test-run it.
- Disable fullscreen optimizations: Some games on Origin are particularly affected by the low FPS issue, and some of them even crash when the player enable fullscreen optimizations. Just disable it to see whether Origin will open or not.
- Run this program as an administrator: If Origin is not given administrator privileges, it may not run properly. Try this setting to give the program the administrator privileges.
If this fix works, your Origin will open when you double-click its shortcut. If not, try the next fix, below.
Fix 4: Add Origin as an exception to your third-party antivirus application
This issue may also be caused by your third-party antivirus application. Since the third-party antivirus application hooks very deep into your system, it may interfere with Origin.
Since Origin consumes a lot of memory and CPU usage when you’re playing a game, many third-party antivirus application may regard it as a potential threat and Origin may not run as expected. You can try adding Origin as an exception to your third-party antivirus application.
If this fix still doesn’t work for you, try the next fix below to perform a clean boot.
Fix 5: Perform a clean boot
You may need to perform a clean boot if this issue persists. The clean boot is a troubleshooting technique that allows you to manually disable startups and services so that you can find out the problematic software. Once you find it out, just uninstall it, and then the this issue will be solved. Here’s how to do it:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run Dialog. Type msconfig and press Enter to open the System Configuration window.
2) Select the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services and then click Disable all.
3) Select the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager.
4) On the Startup tab in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then click Disabled.
5) Go back to the System Configuration window and click OK.
6) Click Restart to restart your PC.
Run Origin and check whether the problem reappears when your PC restarts. If not, you need to open the System Configuration window again to enable services and applications one by one until you find the problematic software. After enabling each service, you need to restart your PC to apply the changes.
Once you find out the problematic software, you need to uninstall it in order to resolve this issue. If this fix failed to resolve this problem, try the next fix, below.
Fix 6: Install the latest Windows updates
Sometimes this issue may occur if you didn’t install the latest Windows updates on your PC. Try performing Windows Update and this issue may get resolved. Here is how to do it:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type update. In the list of results, click Check for updates to open Windows Update window.
2) Click Check for updates to update your Windows system.
3) Restart your PC when the Windows update process completed.
If this fix works, Origin will open when you double-click its shortcut on the desktop. If not, try the next fix to reinstall Origin.
Fix 7: Reinstall Origin
If all the fixes above still don’t work, it’s time to uninstall Origin and reinstall it.
1) Uninstall Origin.
i. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to open the Run dialog. Then type control and press Enter to open Control Panel.
ii. View Control Panel by Category, and then click Uninstall a program.
iii. Double-click Origin to uninstall it.
iv. Restart your Windows system when it is completed.
2) Download the latest version of Origin and then double-click the file you downloaded to reinstall it.
Hopefully this post helped you resolve this issue. If you have any questions or suggestion, you’re more than welcome to leave us a comment below.