8 Ways to Fix Grand Theft Auto V Not Launching on a Windows PC

Grand Theft Auto V (5) is among the most highly rated Windows games. However, many players have reported GTA V launch crashes over the years. Some players report seeing error messages with codes like LS-0013, 107, or 0xc000007b when they try to start GTA 5. In other cases, Grand Theft Auto V doesn’t throw up an error message when it fails to start. Players can’t play that game regardless of how it crashes at launch. Here are eight ways to fix Grand Theft Auto V not launching on a Windows PC.

Read also: Common GTA 5 Errors and How to Fix Them 

Run Grand Theft Auto V and Gaming Client as an Administrator

Running as an administrator is a tried and trusted troubleshooting method for fixing games that don’t start. That doesn’t mean it always works, but sometimes running GTA V as an administrator can do the trick. Try setting Grand Theft Auto V and its gaming client software (Steam or Epic) to run with admin rights like this. 

1. Open the Grand Theft Auto V installation folder that includes the GTA 5.exe file for running the game on your PC.
   
   

   The GTA 5.exe file

2. Right-click on the GTA 5.exe file to select Properties.
3. Click the Run this program as an administrator box on the Compatibility tab to enable that setting.
4. Click Apply and OK to set the administrator option you’ve selected.
   
   

   The Compatibility tab

5. Repeat the above steps to set your Steam or Epic Games client software to run as administrator. You can right-click a Steam or Epic Games shortcut on your desktop to set it to run with elevated privileges instead of opening the software’s installation folder.

Verify Grand Theft Auto V’s Files

Steam

1. Run Steam and click on Library at the top of that software.
2. Right-click Grand Theft Auto V to select Properties.
3. Select Local Files on the window that appears.
   
   

   The Verify integrity of game files button

4. Click Verify integrity of game files to run a repair scan.

Epic Games

1. Start Epic Games and select Library within that software.
2. Click the small three-dot menu button just beneath GTA V to select Manage.
3. Press Verify to initiate the verification scan of Grand Theft Auto V.
   
   

   The Verify option in Steam

Clear Steam’s Download Cache

Steam includes a Clear Download Cache troubleshooting option that can fix game startup issues. Some Grand Theft Auto V players have indeed confirmed clearing Steam’s download cache with that option helped them fix that game not starting. This is how you can clear Steam’s download cache:

1. Bring up the Steam gaming client.
2. Click the Steam menu to select Settings.
3. Select the Downloads tab inside the Settings window.
   
   

   The Clear Download Cache button

4. Click the Clear Download Cache button.

Add GTA V to Microsoft Defender’s Exclusion List

Adding GTA V to the Microsoft Defender’s exclusion list is a widely confirmed way to fix Grand Theft Auto V not launching. This will exclude GTA V from Microsoft Defender antivirus scanning. You can add Grand Theft Auto V to that exceptions list as follows:

1. Click Windows Security (the shield icon) in the system tray area on the right of your taskbar. You may need to click a small up arrow there to see it.
   Select Virus & threat protection > Manage settings > Add or remove exclusions within the Windows Security app.
   
   

   The add or remove exclusions option

2. Click on + Add an exclusion and select Folder on the small menu.
   
   

   The Add an exclusion button

3. Select the GTAV installation folder.
4. Click Select Folder to add the GTAV directory to the exclusion list.
5. Click + Add an exclusion again to select and add the Rockstar Games folder to the list.

Disable Third-Party Antivirus Protection

A third-party antivirus app can also cause GTA V startup issues much the same as Microsoft Defender. So, select to temporarily turn off the antivirus shield if there’s a third-party security app installed on your Windows laptop or desktop. The usual method for doing that is to right-click on the security app’s icon inside the system tray and select a disable antivirus shield option.

Try launching Grand Theft Auto V with the antivirus protection turned off. If GTA V starts, you will need to add the game to your third-party antivirus software’s exclusion list. Then you can turn your antivirus shield back on with GTA V on its exceptions list.

Delete the Rockstar Games Folder

1. Press the Windows logo key (beside Alt) and E simultaneously to access File Explorer.
2. Click This PC > Documents inside File Explorer.
   
   

   The Delete option for Rockstar Games folder

3. Right-click on the Rockstar Games Folder and select Delete.

Reinstall Rockstar Games Social Club and Launcher

Sometimes GTA V fails to launch because its Rockstar Games Launcher or Social Club apps have corrupted files. Reinstalling those applications will likely repair their corrupted files. This is how you can reinstall those software packages.

1. Press the Windows logo and S keyboard buttons to utilize the search tool.
2. Enter appwiz.cpl inside the Type here to search text box.
3. Click the matching appwiz.cpl Control Panel item in the search result.
4. Right-click Rockstar Social Club and select Uninstall to remove that software.
   
   

   The Uninstall option

5. Select Rockstar Games Launcher and click on its Uninstall option.
6. Click the Download for Windows button on this Rockstar website.
   
   

   The Rockstar Games Launcher page

7. Bring up the folder containing the Rockstar Launcher setup file.
8. Double-click the Rockstar-Games-Launcher.exe file to bring up the setup wizard and select to install Rocker Launcher from there. This will also reinstall the Rockstar Games Social Club software.

Disable Background Services and Apps

Some GTA V players have also fixed Grand Theft Auto V not starting by disabling services and apps running in the background. Doing that can fix Grand Theft Auto V not launching by stopping third-party apps or services conflicting with the game from running at startup. You can disable superfluous background services and apps from starting with Windows like this.

1. First, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to start Task Manager.
2. Click Startup to view a list of apps that start with your PC.
3. Select all apps there and click Disable to stop them starting with Windows.
   
   

   The Startup tab

4. Close Task Manager.
5. Right-click the button that opens the Start menu and select.
6. Type msconfig into Run and click OK to access a System Configuration.
7. Select Hide all Microsoft services within the Services tab on the System Configuration window.
8. To deselect all selected third-party services, press Disable all.
   
   

   The Services tab in System Configuration

9. Select Apply to save the new boot configuration settings.
10. Click OK to leave the System Configuration window.
11. Press the Restart button when prompted to reboot.
12. Try playing Grand Theft Auto V after the restart.

Other Potential Fixes to Try

There are also numerous other ways to fix Grand Theft Auto V not launching on a Windows PC. If you still need to kick-start GTA V after applying the resolutions above, try applying these potential fixes:

• Update your PC’s graphics driver by downloading and installing the latest one for your GPU from the NVIDIA or AMD websites.
• Disable the dedicated NVIDIA graphics card (for PCs with two graphics cards) in Device Manager.
• Reinstall the Grand Theft Auto V game.
• Update Visual C++ Redistributable packages on your PC by downloading them from this Microsoft webpage.

The potential resolutions outlined above are widely confirmed methods for fixing Grand Theft Auto V when it doesn’t start. They can resolve many variables of GTA V startup errors on Windows PCs. So, one of them could fix Grand Theft Auto V not launching on your PC as well.

Best Guides for Grand Theft Auto V

Online Taxi Guide

4 Ways to Fix the Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA V) Corrupt Game Data Error

GTA V Returns to Game Pass On Consoles and PC

4 Ways to Fix the "Blocked Loading of File" Dinput8.dll GTA 5 (Grand Theft Auto V) Error

GTA V on PC Getting Free Upgrade in March

6 Ways to Fix Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V) PC Stuttering Issues

5 Ways to Fix the GTA Online “Files Required to Play GTA Online” Error on Windows PCs

7 Ways to Fix Regular In-Game Grand Theft Auto 5 Crashing on Windows PCs

5 Ways to Fix the GTA V “Rockstar Game Services are Unavailable” Error on Windows PCs