Riot Client developed by Riot Games is not just a launcher but a central hub to play all the games developed by Riot Games such as Valorant, League of Legends.
After a recent update, gamers are experiencing VGK.SYS BSOD’s and Riot Client not opening issue on Windows and Mac. Whenever users double-click to launch Riot Client a user account control notification opens and after accepting it, Riot Client doesn’t open at all.
Gamers all over the world have faced the same issue of Riot Client not launching when they try to play games like Valorant or League of Legends using the Riot Client Launcher.
So in this guide, you will get to know the major causes for this error and the solutions to fix Riot Client not opening, so that you can play your favorite games with your family and friends.
Causes for Riot Client Not Opening
There are several reasons behind Riot Client not launching after double-clicking on the app icon. Some of them are listed below:
- Riot Client is already running on your PC
- Riot Client is running without proper admin rights
- Using dual monitors while launching the launcher
- Static electricity in the system
Above-mentioned are some major causes behind Riot Client not opening on Windows PC.
Fix Riot Client Not Opening
To fix Riot Client issues proceed with the steps as shown below and by the end of this article you will be able to launch the Riot Client and, in turn, play your favorite game without any glitch.
Using Task manager
Sometimes whenever you launch the Riot Client it launches in the background, and you aren’t able to see that Riot Client and that is the reason it doesn’t restart for you. To fix the issue you first need to close Riot Client properly. To do so:
- Right-click on the taskbar and choose the option “Task Manager”
- In the task manager, from the left pane click on the Processes tab find “Riot Client“
- Right-click on “Riot Client” and choose the option “End Task” (Sometimes there are more than one Riot Client service is running in task manager, so make sure you close all those services)
- Close the taskbar and click on the up arrow in the taskbar to expand the system tray icon
- Here also if Riot Client is running, close it by right-clicking on it and choose the option Exit
Now, restart the Riot Client by clicking on the Start menu and typing Riot Client. After restarting the Riot Client, launch your game to resolve the issue.
Make sure you will not start Riot Client from the desktop shortcut icon because it may be unstable and doesn't let you launch the client.
Change Compatibility Settings
Another method to fix Riot Client not opening is by changing the compatibility settings of the Riot Client because Riot Client needs administrator rights to launch in your system and if those rights are not given you will not be able to launch the game. So to change the compatibility settings:
- Open the directory of the Riot Client (C:\Riot Games\Riot Client/RiotClientservices.exe)
- Right-click on RiotClientservices.exe file and choose the option “Properties”
- Click on the “Compatibility tab” and check the option “Run as administrator”
- Save the changes
- Start the client from the directory to fix the issue
Once the Riot Client starts, you can create a new shortcut icon of this app by right-clicking on the RiotClientServices.exe file and choosing the option “Send to Desktop” so that you can launch it directly from Desktop.
Using System Tray
Here is a simple yet effective tip to launch the Riot Client. Double-click on Riot Client to launch the client and once it doesn’t open click on the up arrow key in your system tray icon to expand all the opened apps as shown below:
Here, right-click on Riot Client and select the option “Settings”.
As soon as you click on the option “settings” Riot Client will launch automatically to open the settings menu (It is because Riot Client is already running in the background, but it just doesn’t show up)
Now you can play your favorite game and this will fix the issue of Valorant not opening.
Remove Static Electricity
The next method to fix Riot Client not launching is by removing the static electricity from your PC. To do so:
- Turn off/Shut down your system completely
- Unplug all the peripherals attached to the system such as the mouse, keyboard
- Unplug the power supply attached to your system
- If you have a laptop remove the battery
- Press and hold the “Power” key for 30–40 seconds and release
- Re-plug power supply and cables
- Restart your PC
Once restarted launch the Riot Client to fix out the issue of Valorant not opening on a Windows PC.
Using Main Monitor
If you are using more than 1 monitor, and whenever you launch the Riot Client it opens up between the two monitors attached and hence you are not able to see the Riot Client app. So to fix this issue, remove the one monitor by going to the display settings.
After removing the one monitor, launch the Riot Client on the single monitor. Once Riot Client launches, you can again re-connect your second monitor to enjoy the game on two screens.
Flush DNS
If the above methods don’t work out, try to flush your IP and DNS so that if there is any glitch with your internet connection, it will be fixed. To flush DNS:
- Click on the Start menu and type CMD
- Choose the option Run as administrator
- Type in the following commands one by one
Netsh int ip reset
Netsh winsock reset
Ipconfig /flushdns
After finishing the commands make sure to restart your PC.
After restarting relaunch the Riot Client to fix the issue of Riot Client not opening.
Using Tasklist to Close Riot Client
Sometimes, the Riot Client doesn’t close properly and keeps running in the background and even after closing using the task manager and from system tray. That is the reason it won’t launch for you. So you need to close it properly and the best way to close Riot Client is by using the command prompt.
- Click on the start menu and type CMD
- Choose the option Run as administrator
- In the command prompt type in Tasklist and hit the enter key to open all the tasks running on your PC
- Here you need to find two services 1) RiotClient.exe and 2) RiotClientCrashHandler.exe
- Note down the PID of both services to close using the commands
- Scroll down and type in taskkill /f /pid 11468 (where 11468 is the PID of RiotClientServices.exe) and hit enter
- Do the same and replace the PID of RiotClientServices.exe with the PID of RiotClientCrashHandler.exe
- After closing, both processes open the directory of the Riot Client (C:\Riot Games\Riot Client)
- Right-click on RiotClientServices.exe and choose the option “Run as administrator”
This will launch the Riot Client and you will be able to play your favorite games such as Valorant or League of Legends.
Contact Riot Support
The methods shown are the best ways to fix Valorant not opening and if all the above methods don’t work out for you, it’s better to connect to Riot support on their official website and submit a support ticket. One of the Riot supports will contact you shortly on your email ID to provide you with further steps for the resolution.
Conclusion: Riot Client not Opening
The solutions mentioned above are some major solutions to fix the Riot Client not opening issue in Windows PC. I hope one of the steps will help you launch Riot Client so that you will be able to play the Valorant. If you still have further queries or questions, feel free to comment below. I will be more than happy to support you.
Read More
- Fix Valorant error code 62
- League of Legends Windows Cannot Access the Specified Device Fix
- League of Legends not Opening Fix
- VAN 68 Connection Error League of Legends Fix
FAQ: Riot Client not Opening
Below are the answers to some queries people found searching on different websites. So I try to give the appropriate answers to all those queries so that you will be able to get your queries answers on the single platform.
Why is Valorant not opening?
If Valorant is opening, there are several reasons behind the issue. Firstly, you need to check the Valorant server’s status to make sure that there isn’t any outrage in them. Other reasons are as follows:
1) Internet connection is slow or down
2) Your CPU or GPU is bottlenecking after launching Valorant- To fix, launch the game in Windows mode
3) Improper administrator rights- To fix, Run the Valorant as an admin
4) Conflict with third-party antivirus and other softwares such as MSI afterburner, Riva tuner- To fix, disable third party antivirus and uninstall Riva tuner as well as MSI afterburner
Why is League of Legends not opening?
There are various reasons why League of Legends is not opening in your PC such as firewall is blocking the League client, conflict with other softwares, absence of proper admin rights, running the game in legacy mode and your GPU drivers are outdated.
To fix, make sure to uninstall any third party software such as Blitz overlays.
Turn off third party antivirus or whitelist the League of Legends folder, update your graphics drivers or run the game in DX11 mode.
How to fix Valorant error code VAN 62?
To fix Valorant error code 62, use your mobile as a hotspot instead of your Wi-Fi and once the game launched re-connect your Wi-Fi.
Other measures you can do is by restarting the VGC services by going to the services tab of task manager.
Use Google Public DNS server
These methods will help you fix Valorant error code VAN 62.
How to fix Valorant error code VAN 9003?
Riot Client restrict the game to play only with the TPM 2.0 as well as secure boot on in Windows 11. This is the minumum required for Valorant to play. So you need to enable TPM as well as secure boot by going to the BIOS menu of your PC.
In Bios menu, click on the security tab to find secure boot option. You need to turn it on. Nextly, is to change the BIOS mode from Legacy mode to UEFI mode and then save the changes.
Note: Make sure your Windows is installed in UEFI mode, else your sytem will not starts after enable to UEFI in BIOS.
I am an engineer by profession and a blogger by passion.
Founder of FixGamingError.com as well as TheLotusGeek.com
I have more than 10 years of expertise in the field of gaming as well as in Windows Support.
