Some players can’t play No Man’s Sky because that game crashes when they try to start it. For example, an NMS player said this, “When I try to launch the game through Steam, the game window opens with just a white screen, crashes, and then sends me back to Steam.” No Man’s Sky can crash at startup in different ways, but players can’t play it regardless of how it crashes. This is how you can fix No Man’s Sky crashing at launch on Windows PCs.
Run No Man’s Sky With Administrator Rights
First, set your No Man’s Sky game to run with administrator rights. Some players confirm that running the game with admin permissions can fix No Man’s Sky crashing at startup. This is how you can run No Man’s Sky with elevated privileges:
- Navigate to the Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > No Man’s Sky > Binaries folder within File Explorer.
- Next, right-click the NMS EXE game file to select Properties and Compatibility.
- Select the Run this program as an administrator compatibility setting by clicking on its checkbox.
The Run this program as an administrator option
- To save the new compatibility options, click on Apply and OK.
- Double-click the NMS file to run No Man’s Sky from its installation folder.
Run No Man’s Sky in Compatibility Mode
Running the game in compatibility mode has also worked for some players who’ve fixed No Man’s Sky crashing at launch. Go through steps one or two of the previous resolution to reach the compatibility mode option. Select Run this program in compatibility mode and choose Windows 8 or 7 from the drop-down menu. Then, select the Apply and OK options to finish.
The Run this program in compatibility mode for option
Delete Two Vulkan Files
Numerous players confirm that deleting a couple of Vulkan files for the game can fix No Man’s Sky crashing at startup. Those files might be corrupted, and the game will recreate them after deletion. So, try deleting two Vulkan files for the game like this:
- Go to the Program Files (x86) > Steam > steamapps > common > No Man’s Sky > Binaries directory path for the game.
- Right-click the Vulkan-1.dll there and select Delete.
- Next, right-click on the Vulkan-1.LICENSE file to select its Delete option.
Restart Windows Audio Service
Some players have also fixed No Man’s Sky crashing at launch by restarting the Windows Audio service. Applying this possible remedy can resolve a conflict between the game and that service. You can restart the Windows Audio service like this:
- First, activate the Run dialog by holding the Windows logo key and pressing R.
- Enter services.msc into Run and click OK.
- Click on Windows Audio with the right mouse button to select Stop.
The Windows Audio service
- Then, start the No Man’s Sky game.
- When the game starts, return to the Services window to right-click Windows Audio and select Start.
Clear the NGX Models Folder
Clearing the NGX models folder might erase corrupted files that could be causing No Man’s Sky to crash when starting. It is safe to apply this possible fix as NVIDIA software will regenerate fresh files. This is how you can clear the NGX models folder:
- Open File Explorer to go to the C:\ProgramData\NVIDIA\NGX\model folder location.
The NGX model folder
- Select everything inside the model folder by pressing Ctrl + A.
- Right-click to select Explorer’s Delete option.
Verify the No Man’s Sky Files
Running a verification scan might fix corrupted No Man’s Sky files for some players. So, that’s going to be worth a try if nothing else works. You can scan for and repair corrupted No Man’s Sky files by going through the steps on this Steam help page.
The Verify integrity option in Steam
Other Possible Ways to Fix No Man’s Sky Crashing at Startup
There probably are more ways to fix No Man’s Sky startup crashing beyond those troubleshooting methods covered above. These additional potential fixes might also fix the game not starting for some players:
- If you’re a Windows 10 user, disable the Xbox Game Bar. To do so, turn off the Enable Game Bar option in Settings > Gaming > Xbox Game Bar.
- Turn off the overlay features in Steam, GeForce Experience, Discord, and MSI Afterburner.
- Install the latest graphics driver for your PC’s GPU as instructed in this KeenGamer post.
- Erase the sl.pcl.dll in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\No Man’s Sky\Binaries folder. Verify the No Man’s Sky game after deleting the file.
- Reinstall the No Man’s Sky game.
Those troubleshooting methods above have fixed No Man’s Sky crashing at launch for many players. So, one of them will probably kick-start No Man’s Sky on your PC as well. You can also ask the game’s technical support service for more potential remedies at the su*****@***********co.uk email address.
