Blender Not Opening / Crashes on Startup

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Update drivers and check requirements

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   1. Install the latest official GPU driver.
   2. Verify your GPU is supported and meets Blender minimum requirements.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Start with factory settings

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   1. On Windows run blender_factory_startup.cmd from the installation folder.
   2. Elsewhere run blender --factory-startup from a terminal to see error messages.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Check antivirus and permissions

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   1. Whitelist Blender in your antivirus.
   2. Run from a folder you have write access to.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Use the debug launchers

   1. Run blender_debug_gpu.cmd on Windows to log GPU errors for a bug report.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Double-clicking Blender shows a splash then closes, or nothing happens.

Why it happens

• Unsupported or outdated graphics driver
• Antivirus blocking the executable
• Corrupt user preferences or add-on
• Missing permissions

This guide also covers

• blender not opening
• blender crashes on startup
• blender won't start
• blender closes immediately

Other Blender errors

• Blender Crashing When Rendering
• Blender GPU Not Detected / Not Showing in Preferences
• Blender CUDA / OptiX Error: Kernel Compilation Failed
• Blender Out of Memory Error When Rendering
• Blender Viewport Lag / Slow Viewport
• Blender Pink Textures / Missing Textures
• Blender FBX Export Textures Missing
• Blender glTF Export Missing Materials or Textures