Game takes up to 5 attempts to launch, other apps launch, then close

HoggyDog · 09 Apr 2021

Windows 10 Version 20H2 (OS Build 19042.867)

Some utility apps (e.g. Jam Software's Ultra Search) open and then instantly close.

Some startup apps (e.g. Logitech Gaming Software) start at boot but do not do their job, requiring manual restart to actually work.

Skyrim Special Edition is unpredictable when I click its shortcut to launch it- sometimes it starts right up, other times it can take up to 5 attempts to actually launch it.

I have been using Windows since DOS days, and Windows 10 is the first version that interprets user commands as mere suggestions. I would very much appreciate some knowledgeable insight as to why it does this and what I can do to whip it into shape.

dalchina · 10 Apr 2021

Hi, your experience is not normal, as you can readily guess.

Some history would help (so often omitted by posters):

a. When could you last launch programs without problems?
b. With which build was that?
c. What has changed since that was possible?

Have you hacked Windows in any way or used registry cleaners?

If you boot to Safe Mode, and for programs which can run in Safe Mode, do you notice a difference between that and normal mode?

If this started to happen recently, do you have a System Restore point you could use?

Have you been using disk imaging regularly and routinely so you are protecting your installation, your time and your data, and have a means to revert to a previous good state in many situations and potentially avoid a clean install?
(Many people choose to ignore this question, sadly)

Megahertz · 10 Apr 2021

Is the computer the one described on your System Specs?

What was the original Windows that came on the computer?
Did you ever do a clean install?
Did you try to disable your Anti Virus?

Helmut · 10 Apr 2021

Your experience is not normal at all.What maintenance tasks have you done on Hardware and the Operating system (Windows 10) ?

This would include basic tasks like doing SSD/HDD scans, For Windows SFC and DISM checks and the running of your Antivirus application.

As far as Operating systems I go back to pre-DOS days about 45+ years.

HoggyDog · 15 Apr 2021

dalchina said:

Hi, your experience is not normal, as you can readily guess.

Some history would help (so often omitted by posters):

a. When could you last launch programs without problems?
b. With which build was that?
c. What has changed since that was possible?

Have you hacked Windows in any way or used registry cleaners?

If you boot to Safe Mode, and for programs which can run in Safe Mode, do you notice a difference between that and normal mode?

If this started to happen recently, do you have a System Restore point you could use?

Have you been using disk imaging regularly and routinely so you are protecting your installation, your time and your data, and have a means to revert to a previous good state in many situations and potentially avoid a clean install?
(Many people choose to ignore this question, sadly)

Don't know how to multi-quote so I could separate your many qx and respond to each in turn. Just another one of my failures to know. So, as is the norm now, my struggles to fix one thing are greatly impeded by other things that are undoubtedly available (multi-quoting is widely available on most of the fora I frequent) but obfuscated among a sea of inscrutable control buttons with unreliable mouseover tooltips- and so my inability to find/use tools that would help me even describe a problem hampers my ability to solve said problem.

This is a new machine, ordered from and assembled by CyberPowerPC on September 7, 2020. The only reason it has Windows 10 on it is that I had no choice- it was that or no OS at all. It is my first Windows-10 machine other than a laptop I bought 4-5 years ago but have finally stopped using because of Windows 10's intractability and refusal to submit to user/owner control.

W10 is an abomination of an operating system, full of ads and cyber-assistants (Corlexa? Tancorkscrew?) that is useless to me since cancer took my vocal cords, but yet I can't uninstall her, and interrupting my workflow when I launch an online app to tell me I really should be using Edge or Bing when I prefer Firefox and Startpage or DuckDuckGo for obvious reasons. Windows 10 even tries to FORCE or trick me onto OneDrive (they built it into the OS and user path structure, ffs!) even though I do not trust OneDrive not to sell my personal data, and features cutesy gadgets and widgets instead of straightforward details views of files and desktop shortcuts. Every time I drag an Explorer window to the edge of my screen to get it out of the way of something else without having to close or minimize it, BAM! - Windows 10 blows it up full-screen without my permission, the exact opposite of what I want. I end up having to close the window to get it out of my way.

I am wondering what I will do when Microgreed makes good on its threat to stop selling Windows but instead providing it as a subscription "service," a plot of which Windows 10 is the obvious first step. Linux? Can I even figure out how to find/install/configure Linux and then find some way to use all my Windows apps? Doubtful. I hate W10, but it hated me first.

Sorry/Not sorry. :)

There has never been a time when I could launch Skyrim Special Edition reliably on the first try on this machine. It launched perfectly on the first try on Windows 7 (all builds x86 and x64) and its predecessors launched perfectly on Windows XP.

Here are the answers to questions a, b and c above:

Game takes up to 5 attempts to launch, other apps launch, then close-systeminfo_20210415.png

I have not hacked windows.

I do not know of any apps that will run in Safe Mode. Certainly, Skyrim Special Edition, a DX11 graphical application, will not.

This has happened daily since I installed Skyrim Special Edition on this machine. There was no time when it didn't happen.

The machine is barely 6 months old. I made a disk image the first week, and I still have that, but again, it would seem pointless for me to make regular images of a broken system. Since I refuse to use OneDrive even though I can't get it off of my machine - just one more reason I love Microsoft so - I am backing up all of my stuff to the cloud with Carbonite.

I hope I have answered your questions.

Megahertz said:

Is the computer the one described on your System Specs?

Yes, with one minor exception. Sadly, I can't find any way to correct my GPU series (or anything else on my Computer specs page.) I am not able to find any "Edit" function on my profile page- just "Customize profile" which does not, apparently, include my PC specs. Please see the image below for my full PC specs since I'm not able to correct them in this system.

Helmut said:

What maintenance tasks have you done on Hardware and the Operating system (Windows 10) ?

This would include basic tasks like doing SSD/HDD scans, For Windows SFC and DISM checks and the running of your Antivirus application.

I have read that doing disk scans on SSDs is not necessary, and in fact can be harmful. So I have never run any CHKDSK or other scans on my drives.

I have run SFC /scannow several times in my efforts to understand how my brand-new, state-of-the-art system is so broken that I can't even reliably launch a game on it. It has never reported any missing/corrupt files or told me it replaced anything. However, just because it doesn't tell me doesn't mean it didn't stealth-install something- after all, Windows lies to me regularly- it insists that Edge is a better browser, and Bing is a better search engine, and Corlexia can help me if only I will use her. So Microsoft has ZERO credibility, and can't be relied upon to tell the truth about anything. For all I actually know, SFC could have replaced my entire OS 7 times.

I have never heard of "DISM" but it sounds scary, like a Dismount command. I will not knowingly dismount either of my drives, any more than I would format them at this point. (I just checked, and it has to do with Images. Since I'm not imaging my broken system, no, I haven't used DISM on the one image I have from the first week after receiving the machine brand new in a box.)

Finally, someone asked if I have run any "registry cleaners." No, I have not. I used to use cCleaner on my XP and 7 machines- it was particularly helpful as I began moving software out of Program Files (xx) to circumvent UAC because it not only found the broken registry entries this caused but found where the file(s) had been moved to and offered to fix the entry. But I uninstalled it when it started wanting to be updated every 10 minutes like so many PuPs do. Later, I learned that MS had decided to detect it as malware- a pretty extreme step.

Thanks to all who responded.

dalchina · 16 Apr 2021

Thank you for your reply.

Solutions for you for:
Snap (Windows jumping to sides of screen etc); Cortana; Onedrive and more.

useless to me since cancer took my vocal cords,

Very sorry that happened.
I agree, Cortana is useless- especially now with 20H2 it can't even be use to set reminders as in 1903.
Just ignore it- no need to go to the bother of uninstalling it. (Actually it's an app in 20H2- rt click the start menu option and you can get to settings.. and in Settings..

Game takes up to 5 attempts to launch, other apps launch, then close-1.png

You can uninstall it (Google, see tutorial) - but rather than doing things like that you need to fix the problem you have- if indeed it's fixable given changes you mention you've made.
-----------------------------------------------
Onedrive

Windows 10 even tries to FORCE or trick me onto OneDrive (they built it into the OS and user path structure

I agree that Onedrive can be frustrating - and it can be disabled and removed. I have.Tutorials available.

Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 10
Enable or Disable OneDrive Integration
-------------------------------------------
Hacks

it was particularly helpful as I began moving software out of Program Files (xx) to circumvent UAC because it not only found the broken registry entries this caused but found where the file(s) had been moved to

This is abnormal usage - I can't understand why anyone would move part of an installed program around. Further, you have been (or Ccleaner) has been performing operations on your registry.

You did say "I have not hacked windows."
-----------------------------------------------------

Snap (where windows snap to a side, corner or full screen) can be disabled in Settings. Tutorial available.
Turn On or Off Snap Windows in Windows 10

Please feel free to visit the Tutorial section and explore- answers to many questions and usage there with practical illustrated guides.

A good way to find things there is by searching as you would normally, but with a string like
snap tutorial site:tenforums.com

Try it.

--------------------------------------

For all I actually know, SFC could have replaced my entire OS 7 times.

Not its function or capability.

--------------------------------------
Safe Mode

I do not know of any apps that will run in Safe Mode.

You mentioned you have problems launching Ultrasearch. That does. I've just gone to the trouble of installing it and checking that for you.

HoggyDog · 16 Apr 2021

dalchina said:

Just ignore (Cortana)- no need to go to the bother of uninstalling it. (Actually it's an app in 20H2- rt click the start menu option and you can get to settings.. and in Settings..

Firstly, thank you for your response. Sadly, I see no "start menu option" to right-click on. Every previous version of Windows had a Control Panel with a predictable, intuitive category list as a landing page, from which all system settings could be easily found and adjusted. But not W10. It's almost as though Microsoft resents users controlling what they mistakenly view as THEIR operating system...

I cannot reach any screen that looks like yours. By searching around my Start list, I found "Settings," which looks like this:

Please note the absence of any "Cortana" or "Useless Assistant" link. Besides, I may already have turned her off 6 months ago, which is how I think that I discovered she's unremovable.

dalchina said:

I agree that Onedrive can be frustrating - and it can be disabled and removed. I have.Tutorials available. Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 10
Enable or Disable OneDrive Integration

Thanks- I'll try to follow the "Uninstall" one after I finish typing this response.

[QUOTE=dalchina;2199579][Moving programs out of Program Files] is abnormal usage - I can't understand why anyone would move part of an installed program around.[QUOTE]Then you've never run afoul of Windows instrusive and frequently misguided UAC. Please consider yourself lucky that you don't understand why many of us do un-Microsoftish things.

dalchina said:

you have been (or Ccleaner) has been performing operations on your registry. ... You did say "I have not hacked windows."

Nope. Not any currently-active Registry. Please re-read my comment(s) about cCleaner- I was referring to PAST operations on PAST computers running PREVIOUS versions of Windows. Why would I say I have not been editing my Registry (assuming the question referred to my current, W10 Registry) and then turn around and contradict myself by describing how useful cCleaner had been to me and moreover that I had uninstalled it? cCleaner (nor any other "Registry Cleaner") has never been run on this current machine.

dalchina said:

Snap (where windows snap to a side, corner or full screen) can be disabled in Settings. Tutorial available.Turn On or Off Snap Windows in Windows 10

Woo, thank you! Please bear in mind that it is not possible to look up issues involving a function whose name you do not know. "Snap" would not have occurred to me, although a homophone beginning with "c-r" occurred to me every time Windows blew up my window when I was trying to do the opposite.

dalchina said:

You mentioned you have problems launching Ultrasearch. That does. I've just gone to the trouble of installing it and checking that for you.

Well, thanks! I thought the question referred to full-blown programs like Skyrim Special Edition or Open Office as opposed to utilities. I will try get to Safe Mode (never done that on a W10 machine before) and see if I can launch Ultra-search on the first try.

Thanks again for your response.

dalchina · 16 Apr 2021

Hi, Cortana in pictures:

2 ways:

Game takes up to 5 attempts to launch, other apps launch, then close-untitled.png

or

Game takes up to 5 attempts to launch, other apps launch, then close-untitled-2.png

Snap settings:

P.S. Aero snap has been around since Win 7.. but yes, knowing the right name to search on can be a problem.

HoggyDog · 16 Apr 2021

Hi again, and thanks for your reply. Here is the result of clicking Cortana in my Start menu or by entering "Cortana" in the "Type here to search" box and then selecting "Cortana App" - same result either way:

Please note the complete dissimilarity between what you get and what I get when we both click the same control. I do not wish to sign in to Cortana, and the admonition to "use a work or school account" smacks of blatant data mining. Just nope. There does not appear to be any way to get past this Cortana sign-in screen. Clicking the 3 dots does NOT bring up any menus, e.g. Options or Tools.

So thanks for your reply, but based on our completely dissimilar screens I suspect that you are using a "Pro" or "Developer" version of Windows, while I am stuck on lowly Windows 10 Home. Your screens look nothing like mine, and in fact do not even seem to be from the same OS. I'm not sure how you can help me if nothing you recommend is possible on my machine.

Well, not nothing- per your suggestion, I ran DISM and SFC and all is allegedly well, although I am not able to find the purported logs because "the log file provided by the /OFFLOGFILE flag" is indecipherable technobabble gibberish to me and does not inform me where the %^&#5kjlfp9096ing log file actually is. So I can't tell you what SFC actually repaired. Whatever it was, nothing has changed- both Ultrasearch and Skyrim Special Edition still take multiple tries to launch after the SFC repairs and a reboot.

I do not have any "Safe Mode" available to boot into (I went online and looked up a tutorial since the old "spam F8 as the system boots to get to Safe Mode" method doesn't seem to work any more- just one more considerate thing MS has done for us with W10. *vomits softly into a corner*

Apparently, booting into Safe Mode is now a 12-step process (I wonder where they hold their meetings?) and requires 3 or 4 restarts. I decided not to pursue it tonight. Maybe I'll dedicate the entire weekend to getting into Safe Mode. Or not.

But when I go into msconfig there is a "limited drivers" scheme I can boot into. So I did that and tried Ultrasearch, which launched fine on the first try. Not sure what that tells us because I have no idea what W10 considers to be limited drivers- is it the same as Safe Mode? Nobody knows, or if they know, they're not telling.

So thanks again for your replies. I realize that you probably are not personally responsible for the turd of an OS called Windows 10 and I apologize if some of my intense anger over what MS has done to us with W10 comes across as aimed at you. It's not.

PS: With your screen as a rough guide, I was able to turn "Snap" off! OMG I actually fixed one of the annoying dysfunctions of Windows 10!! Thank you!

dalchina · 16 Apr 2021

I'm using build 20H2, 19042.928 on this PC - just upgraded from 1903 about 4 days ago, so haven't yet updated my build number by my avatar.

Safe Mode: -- guess what-- there's a tutorial on how to. Takes a minute + to get there (with a SSD).

I do not have any "Safe Mode" available to boot into (I went online and looked up a tutorial since the old "spam F8 as the system boots to get to Safe Mode" method doesn't seem to work any more- just one more considerate thing MS has done for us with W10.

F8 was discontinued with Win 10.

You can e.g. SHIFT + left click Restart, then work through a sequence of prompts to change the Startup option to Safe Mode. You may want to read the tutorial.

Note: you'll need your PIN or password.

I can't see that anyone actually suggested running DISM or SFC - but good that passed.

Cortana - what matters is the right side of the search box, which you've not shown.
Can you see the orange arrow on my screen shot?

I bet you didn't click that option.