Terraria keeps crashing on startup, or it constantly closes to the desktop in the middle of the game? You’re not alone. Many players are reporting it.
But don’t worry. Here is a general guide for resolving Terraria crashing issues. You may not have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works.
Fixes to try:
- Restart your computer
- Disable your antivirus temporarily
- Run your game as an administrator
- Update your graphics driver
- Verify the integrity of your game files
- Run your game in compatibility mode
- Reinstall your game and/or Steam
Fix 1: Restart your computer
Sometimes a game can crash or stop responding because of a temporary issue that you can fix by restarting your device.
If the Terraria crashing issue still exists after the reboot, then move on to the next fix, below.
Fix 2: Disable your antivirus temporarily
Your problem is sometimes caused by interference from antivirus software. To see if that’s the problem for you, temporarily disable your antivirus program and check if the problem persists. (Consult your antivirus documentation for instructions on disabling it.)
If Terraria works properly after you disable the antivirus software, contact the vendor of your antivirus software and ask them for advice, or install a different antivirus solution.
If this didn’t help in resolving your problem, try the fix below.
Fix 3: Run your game as an administrator
By default, Windows runs programs as a user, with limited permission to access system control. This means that Terraria doesn’t have full access to all game files and folders on your computer.
To see if that’s the core issue, try running your game as an administrator. Here is how to do it:
1) Exit Steam.
2) Right-click the Steam icon on your desktop and select Properties.
3) Click the Compatibility tab and check the box next to Run this program as an administrator. Then, click OK.
4) Relaunch Steam and Terraria to test your issue.
You can hopefully run the game without crashing now. If the problem still exists, then go ahead with the fix below.
Fix 4: Update your graphics driver
One of the most common causes of the Terraria crashing issue is a faulty or outdated graphics driver.
You can update your device drivers manually, if you’re happy to do them one at a time. But this takes quite a while. Or you can update them all with just a couple of clicks 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 (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee):
1) Download and install Driver Easy.
2) Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
3) Click the Update button next to the graphics driver to automatically download the correct version of that driver, then you can manually install it (you can do this with the FREE version). 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.)
If you need assistance, please contact Driver Easy’s support team at support@drivereasy.com.
4) Relaunch your game to test your issue.
If Terraria still crashes, then go ahead with the next fix below.
Fix 5: Verify the integrity of your game files
Terraria may crash when one or more certain game file is damaged or missing. To fix it, try verifying the integrity of your game files on the Steam client. Here is how to do it:
1) Run Steam.
2) Click LIBRARY.
3) Right-click Terraria and select Properties.
4) Click the LOCAL FILES tab, then click VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES.
5) Relaunch your game to see if your problem has been resolved.
If not, try the next fix.
Fix 6: Run your game in compatibility mode
Some Windows updates may not be compatible with Terraria, keeping it from function properly. Try running your game in compatibility mode to see if it can fix your issue. Here is how to do it:
1) Right-click the Terraria icon, then select Properties.
2) Click the Compatibility tab. Then check the box next to Run this program in compatibility mode for.
3) Click the list box below to select Windows 8, then click OK.
4) Relaunch your game to check if your issue had been resolved.
If this didn’t work for you, check the fix, below.
Fix 7: Reinstall your game and/or Steam
If none of the fixes worked for you, your issue might be caused by corrupted or damaged game files. In this case, reinstalling Terraria and/or Steam is very likely the solution to your issue. Here is how to do it:
Reinstall your game
1) Run Steam.
2) Click LIBRARY.
3) Right-click Terraria, then click Uninstall.
4) Click DELETE.
5) Download and install Terraria again.
Now, relaunch your game to check if this has fixed your issue. If not, you’ll need to reinstall Steam as well.
Reinstall Steam
1) Right-click the Steam icon and select Open file location.
2) Right-click the steamapps folder and select Copy. Then, place the copy in another location to back it up.
3) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type control. Then, click Control Panel.
4) Under View by, select Category.
5) Select Uninstall a program.
6) Right-click Steam, and then click Uninstall.
7) Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall Steam and wait for the process to be complete.
8) Download Steam.
9) Open the downloaded file and install Steam.
10) Right-click the Steam icon and select Open file location.
11) Move the backup steamapps folder you create before to your current directory location.
12) Relaunch Steam and your game.
Hopefully, one of the fixes above helped in resolving your issue. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions.