Skyrim entirely unable to launch

Question

For too long now, I've been completely unable to launch Skyrim. I have no mods installed (but I did in the past), and from what I know, nothing tampering with the game. I do not have any skyrim DLC installed.

My problem: I can press on the dragon icon on my desktop, or go into steam and press play, but nothing happens. Not even the launcher launches. If I click 'play' through steam multiple times in quick succession, a popup appears reading 'scanning for steam game updates' or whatever, then closes, and nothing else happens.

Is there a way to fix this?

Try verifying your installation in Steam. I can’t remember how specifically. :-/ — Lord Harkon, Sep 24 '16 at 13:34
I searched how to do it, and the 'verify game integrity' option is blocked out for me, I can't click it. @amaranth — Featherball, Sep 24 '16 at 13:47

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:09

2

You should try verifying the integrity of game cache. If you ever have any problems with a game on Steam, this is the first thing you should do. It checks the game files on your computer vs. the files on the Steam servers (it will not mess with saves or config files).

If you're having problems with it, make sure you follow the steps precisely. You should verify the game cache before re-installing.

If you are having problems with verifying the integrity of game cache, then make sure that your game is not a part of any beta programs. To check this, go to the game's properties, click the Betas tab, then choose NONE - Opt out of all beta programs.

And as a note, though I am sure that you've done this already: Make sure that both Skyrim and Steam are up to date.

If nothing else works, then you may have to re-install Skyrim. Make sure you back up your save files and config files before you uninstall and re-install. (I can't help you with specifics on backing up certain files, just Google it).

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:09

Community

1

answered Sep 25 '16 at 02:22

The verify integrity of game cache option is grey, and I'm unable to click it – Featherball Sep 25 '16 at 05:12
@Lythric Make sure that no Steam games are running when you try to validate the integrity of game cache. – Sep 25 '16 at 05:14
I made sure of that, and I'm still unable to – Featherball Sep 25 '16 at 08:39
@Lythric Updated my answer with a suggestion on how to fix the grayed out option. – Sep 25 '16 at 15:29
I have no beta tab. Steam is updated sufficiently, and still nothing has yielded. – Featherball Sep 25 '16 at 18:01
@Lythric You may have to re-install Skyrim. Make sure you back your stuff up. Added to my answer. – Sep 25 '16 at 18:44

score -1 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 24 '16 at 16:01

-1

Can you launch the .exe? If you can, see if you can run it on administrator mode and that's it. There are other things you can do, like see if you can run the executables in a different fashion.

edited Sep 24 '16 at 16:01

user143228

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answered Sep 24 '16 at 15:53

Toaster

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It shouldn’t need administrator mode, and “in a different fashion” is awfully vague. – Lord Harkon Sep 24 '16 at 15:53
I just wonder if the launcher can launch administrator and in a different fashion is just meant to catch all the things he can possibly do. – Toaster Sep 24 '16 at 15:57
I tried running the .exe, without and with administrator mode, but it didn't work. @Toaster – Featherball Sep 24 '16 at 16:24

Skyrim entirely unable to launch

2 Answers2