What to Do When Discord Won’t Open

Discord has become a hugely popular application for text-based and voice communication. Where Skype once ruled, this application has taken over and remained in place for quite some time. It’s one that is often used for a huge variety of purposes, from gaming to subject-based chats.

That said, Discord can experience problems like any other program out there. You may find that Discord just refuses to open when it has had no issues in the past. Don’t worry; with the following tips, you’ll be able to locate and solve the problem without too much trouble.

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Try Your Credentials in the Web Version

In some cases, Discord users can find that just opening up the web version of Discord can solve their problem entirely. You may not even need to actually sign in, but doing so is unlikely to harm the situation. Basically, pulling up the web version allows the program to reset, causing the Discord app to work once again. This is a great first option to try out, as it’s quite simple and quick.

Kill the Task in Task Manager

You may find that the Discord app is launching when you select it, but isn’t actually running as it’s supposed to. Consequently, you might find that you need to end the task and then restart it. There are a couple of different methods you can use to accomplish this.

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The First Method

This first method is the simpler of the two. It’s likely you may have used this method for other kinds of processes in the past. Because of that, it’s best to try this one first.

Step One

Press CTRL, ALT and DEL at the same time on your keyboard. This should pull up a menu allowing you to open up the task manager. Some users can also use CTRL, Shift and Esc simultaneously to open up the task manager directly.

Open up the processes tab in the task manager and then locate the Discord application.

Step Two

Right click on the discord process and click on “end task.” Make sure to do this for every Discord process you see, as there may sometimes be multiple.

Try running Discord again to see if the problem is solved.

Method Two

If the first method doesn’t work for you for some reason, go ahead and try out this method.

Step One

Press both the “Windows key” and the “R” key at the same time. In the box that pops up, type in “Cmd” and press “Enter.”

In the next box, enter “taskkill /F /IM discord.exe”. Press Enter.

Step Two

Try launching Discord.

Check Out Your AppData

In your attempts to get Discord working again, it’s not uncommon to try uninstalling and reinstalling the application. However, this may not work unless you get the appdata deleted as well, which can often be missed in the process.

Here’s how to uninstall both the application and the appdata so that you can get a proper reinstall.

Step One

Press the “Windows key” and the “R” key simultaneously. In the box that shows up, enter “appwiz.cpl” and press enter.

From the list, locate the discord application and click on it to confirm uninstallation. At this point, you’ll have to wait for Discord to uninstall.

Step Two

Now, press the “Windows key” and “R” once again. This time, type in “%appdata%” and press enter.

If for some reason you don’t see any folders, then you’ll need to press and hold “Windows,” hit “E,” select “View” and then opt to see hidden items. Then, retry the first two steps.

Locate the folder for Discord and right click on it. Next, select the option to delete it that pops up.

You’ll be guided through a few prompts to get the information deleted. Just follow them accordingly. Then, restart your computer and reinstall the Discord application in full.

Change Up the Time and Date

While it may seem like an odd thing to take a look into, the time and date settings may play a role in the issues going on with your Discord application. Because it’s such an easy adjustment to make, it’s worth trying out.

For this, all you need to do is press “Windows” and “I”. Choose the option titled “Time and Language.” Then, make sure that the option for setting the time automatically is switched on.

Try Proxy Disabling

Another method you can attempt is to disable your VPNs and proxies. There can be some instances where these additions may not function well alongside Discord. When that happens, it can result in Discord simply not working at all, which can become frustrating for users. Just try disabling any VPNs or proxies you may have in place and then test out Discord once again.

Reset Your DNS

Another issue that may result in your Discord not working well exists within the DNS settings. Sometimes, these settings may end up corrupted, which can keep applications like Discord from reaching the internet. When this happens, you’ll need to reset your DNS in order to get Discord functioning well again.

Step One

Press “Windows” and “R” simultaneously. In the pop-up box, type in “Cmd” and press enter.

Step Two

Next, type in “ipconfig/flushdns” and press enter. This will start the process for resetting the DNS.

You’ll likely need to wait a little bit for this process to complete. Once it is done, you can try using Discord once again.

Conclusion

If you’re still having issues, it may be worth contacting either Discord customer service or the customer service for your computer (Windows or Mac). You may find that another application or setting is resulting in the issues, so it’s worth keeping in mind what you may have installed around the time Discord began having problems. With enough sleuthing, you should be able to get the problem solved without too much of an issue.

 

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