2024 Fix: Discord Not Opening, Stuck or Not Responding on Startup

Discord is a VoIP, instant messaging and digital distribution platform designed for creating communities (nicknamed "servers"), which are organized into topic-based channels where you can collaborate, share and just talk about your day without clogging up a group chat. In Discord, you can easily find a school club, gaming group, worldwide art community, or just a handful of friends. Open Discord application on your PC or mobile, you can live a contented life by talking and hanging out with the joined members. The premise is, to open the Discord! So on this page, instead of diving into the world of the wonderful Disord land, you're going to learn a few ways to solve one of the most common issues reported by Discord users - Discord not opening on startup in Windows 10.

Pre-check Issues and Fixes

To begin with, let's do some pre-check to identify the problem, and if it's a small issue, fix it directly by youself.

• Restart your system and open Discord again. See if the problem persists
• Log in via the Discord web version, which resets the Discord session. Later launch the app on your PC
• Update Discord. You can get the lastest update within the program or manually download on its official site
• Make sure the Discord isn't down at the moment (You can google the instant news or consult the support team)
• Did you make any change on your PC configuration? If not sure about this, uninstall and reinstall Discord to start fresh
• Are you willing to update the Windows system? Some reported that updating to the latest Windows solved the problem

Further Troubleshooting Discord Not Opening Issue with 8 Tricks

Still cannot open Discord after self troubleshooting the above examples? No problem. There are other 8 workarounds which might help you re-open the Discord program without a hitch.

Method 1. End Discord from Task Manager

A Windows program that cannot run or work properly usually acts like this: stuck in loop, freezing, not responing or not opening after a long time waiting. One general way to troubleshoot programs as such is to close it from Task Manager. Hence, when you first experienced the issue of the Discord application not opening on your PC, go straight to the Task Manager to end the process right away.

Step 1. Hold and press Windows + Alt + Delete (Del) on your keyboard at one time.

Step 2. Click Task Manager.

Step 3. Under the Processes tab in the Apps section, find Discord. Select it and click End Task.

Step 4. Close Task Manager and restart Discord again to see if the problem persists.

Method 2. Kill Discord Process from Command Prompt

By following the guide in Method 1, most of you should be able to find Discord and end the task. In case you are out of luck to find Discord in Task Manager, there is an alternative way to completely close the program - Windows Command Prompt. This way is relatively high-leveled, but still operable becauase we will present the steps very clearly with pictures for you.

Step 1. Press the Windows +R  keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialogue.

Step 2. Type cmd in the Run box and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on you keyboard to launch the Command Prompt with administrative permissions.

Step 3. Type the command line: taskkill /F /IM discord.exe and hit Enter.

Step 4. Close the Command Comprompt window and try to reopen Discord this time.

Method 3. Delete AppData & LocalAppData Contents

The AppData folder is usually invisible, but it includes application settings, files and data unique to the applications on your PC. That is to say, Discord has its own AppData folder to store very important cache files that are responsible for opening and closing. If you system is running out of storage to store Discord's necessary cache, you cannot use Discord definitely until clear this folder and make space for Discord's files.

Step 1. Hold and press Windows + R keys on your keyboard to open Run.

Step 2. Type %appdata% in the Run box and click OK. This will redirect you to the AppData folder in the File Explorer.

Step 3. Find Discord, right-click on the folder and select Delete.

Step 4. Try to launch Discord again to see if it can open now. Otherwise, go on deleting the LocalAppData folder. Search %localappdata% this time instead of %appdata%.

Method 4. Launch Discord.exe from original install location

This is not a general fix for most Discord not opening issues, but some people said that launching Discord directly from its installation folder can get a surprise. It's still worth a try as the operation is quite simple, which won't take a minute to test the result.

Step 1. Press the Windows + E keys to launch File Explorer.

Step 2. Follow the path: C:\ProgramData\%user%\Discord to navigate to the Discord installation location. (You need to replace the user with your own username)

Step 3. Double click on the Discord.exe file to launch the application.

Method 5. Check Proxy Settings

Do you use a VPN service or proxy to use Discord on your computer? Sometimes Discord will not play well with the default settings, which prevent Discord from connecting the service. If your case belong to this one, try to disable all proxies or VPNs and try again.

Step 1. Type Control Panel in Windows Search and hit Enter.

Step 2. In Control Panel,  find and open Internet Options.

Step 3. Switch to the Connections tab, click LAN settings under Local Area Network (LAN) settings.

Step 4. Under Proxy server section, uncheck Use a proxy server for your LAN. Click OK and then Apply.

Step 5. Try again to relaunch Discord on  your PC.

Method 6. Reset DNS settings

Similar to the Proxy suspect, at times the DNS settings will prevent such Discord program from contacting with the internet as well, particularly when the DNS settings get corrupted very often. So, when the Discord not working as normal as before, and the general troubleshooting fixes are invalid to solve the problem, try to reset the DNS configurations like this.

Step 1. Hold and press Windows + R keys to bring up the Run box.

Step 2. Type cmd and press Enter.

Step 3. Type the command line: ipconfig/flushdns and hit Enter.

Step 4. Wait for a while until the process finishes. Again, go back to launch Discord on your PC.

Method 7. Install Discord PTB

Here, Discord PTB refers to the public test beta, which is the other build of Discord. If all the previous solutions didn't help you resolve the problem, and you don't want continue with the final attempt of downloading software to examine the problem, try to install the PTB that has its own data and cache. The PTB will not interfere with your normal Discord. All you need to download and login in with your account.

Step 1. Download Discord PTB setup on its official website link.

Step 2. Follow the wizard to complete the process of downloading and installing the setup. Launch the application automatically after the successful install.

Method 8. Check and Repair Corrupted System File

There is a possibility that your Discord files were damaged or deleted. Missing or corrupted files will certainly need to be restored before you can open Discord again. Windows has a tool called System File Checker, short for SFC, which can automatically fix corrupted system files and some related corruption issues.

Step 1. Press the Windows +R  keys on your keyboard to open the Run dialogue.

Step 2. Type cmd in the Run box and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on you keyboard to launch the Command Prompt with administrative permissions.

Step 3. Type the command line: sfc /scannow and hit Enter. This command is for scanning your computer files and repairing corrupt files if found any.

Step 4. After the process is done, close the Command Prompt window and restart your PC. Then recheck if you can open Discord.

The Final Thoughts

Discord customers are still on the rise. Though the behind developers are professional enough to maintain the best experience for users to surf the app, akind problem is occuring time to time. You may want to tackle the issue of Discord not opening on startup in Windows 10. The article is for you, with a few feasible solutions that will greatly remove the Discord error that stops you from opening Discord on startup, or Discord not working or responding after launch.

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