[PC] Stuck on 'Preparing to Launch'? – Fatshark

If Vermintide 2 or Darktide is stalling on Steam's 'Preparing to Launch' window, the solutions listed below may help you.

Ensure your PC meets the minimum requirements:

Vermintide 2	Darktide
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 64-bit Windows 8 (8.1) or 64-bit Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 @ 2.80 GHz / AMD FX-4350 @ 4.2 GHz Memory: 6 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD 5870 DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 85 GB available space	Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 (64 bit) / Windows 11 (64 bit) Processor: Intel i5-6600 (3.30GHz) OR AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (3.4 GHz) Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 OR AMD Radeon RX 570 DirectX: Version 12 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 50 GB available space

Ensure the latest Windows updates are installed
Perform a clean re-installation of your GPU drivers using the instructions below:
- [PC] How to Perform a Clean Re-Installation of Your NVIDIA GPU Drivers
- [PC] How to Perform a Clean Re-Installation of Your AMD GPU Drivers
'Verify Integrity of Game Files' via Steam, using the instructions here: [PC] How to 'Verify Integrity of Game Files' via Steam
Perform a Selective Startup. This can help diagnose whether a background application is resulting in your issue. This can be performed by:

Press the Windows key
Type 'msconfig' and select 'System Configuration'
On the 'General' tab, select 'Selective Startup'
Deselect 'Load startup Items'
Reboot your PC

If the issue no longer occurs after having performed the Selective Startup, try re-introducing your programs one-by-one to determine which is causing your issue.

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