Minecraft Bedrock will not open on Windows: eight fixes, simplest to last resort

Eight fixes ordered from least to most risky, plus the warning almost nobody gives: one of the most recommended steps deletes your worlds.

An app window with a power button and a checklist of steps

Before step one: make the backup

This goes first for a concrete reason. Several of the fixes floating around — including one of the most recommended — delete the application's data. And in Bedrock, the application's data is your worlds.

Copying takes a minute:

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Paste this into the address bar and hit Enter:
    %APPDATA%\Minecraft Bedrock\Users
  3. Copy the whole Users folder anywhere else — the desktop is fine. Every account's worlds are in there.

If that folder does not exist, you have a version older than 1.21.120, which stored everything elsewhere. Then the path is this one, and what you copy is the minecraftWorlds folder inside it:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang

If neither exists, the game never got to save anything, or the install is more broken than it looked. Note it and carry on with the guide.

With the backup done you can try everything below without worrying. The steps go from least to most invasive: do them in order and test the game between each one.

1. Restart the PC

Yes, really. Microsoft Store apps depend on background services that occasionally hang, and a restart brings them back. It is free and it works more often than anyone wants to admit.

2. Kill the process that stayed open

If you tried launching several times, there may be a Minecraft running with no window. While it is there, the next attempt will not start.

  1. Ctrl+Shift+Esc for Task Manager.
  2. Find Minecraft in the process list.
  3. Right-click → End task.
  4. Try launching again.

3. Update the graphics driver

If the game opens and closes after two seconds with no message, this is suspect number one. Bedrock asks for the graphics card the moment it starts, and an old or half-installed driver drops it right there.

Get it from the manufacturer, not from a search result: NVIDIA via GeForce Experience or their site, AMD via Adrenalin, Intel via the Driver & Support Assistant.

4. Clear the Microsoft Store cache

Bedrock installs and updates through the Store. If the Store cache is corrupt, the game can end up in a strange state: installed but not launching.

  1. Windows key + R.
  2. Type wsreset.exe and press Enter.
  3. An empty black window opens. Leave it until it closes on its own and the Store opens.
  4. Try the game.

It deletes nothing of yours: it only clears the store's cache.

5. Check Windows is not mid-update

A pending or half-applied update leaves the Store services in an inconsistent state and apps start failing for no visible reason. Go to Settings → Windows Update, install whatever is there and restart.

6. Repair the app

This is where to pay attention, because the two options sit together and do very different things.

  1. Settings → Apps → Installed apps.
  2. Find Minecraft, click the three dots → Advanced options.
  3. Scroll down to Repair and Reset.
  4. Click Repair. Repair only.
  5. Try the game.

REPAIR deletes nothing. RESET does. Repair checks the install and fixes what is missing, leaving your data where it is. Reset returns the app to how it shipped and takes everything inside with it, worlds included.

They are one below the other on the same screen. If you have the backup from the start, you can use Reset as step 7. If you did not make it, go make it now.

7. Reset the app

Only with the world backup already done.

Same place as the previous step, Reset button. It leaves the app as freshly installed. It is more effective than repair, which is why it gets recommended so much — what almost never gets mentioned is what it takes with it.

After resetting you will have to sign in again. Your purchases stay on the account. Your worlds, in the copy you made.

8. Gaming Services and reinstalling

If you got this far, two things remain.

Gaming Services

Bedrock depends on a separate component called Gaming Services. If that component is broken, the game will not open no matter how healthy it is. It appears in the same Installed apps list and also has Repair in its advanced options. Try repairing it and restart.

The troubleshooter

Windows ships one specifically for Store apps, and it sometimes finds things you would not. It is under Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters, look for Windows Store Apps.

Reinstall

The last resort. Uninstall from Installed apps and install again from the Store with the same account. Purchases are tied to the account, so they are safe. Local worlds are not — and there, once again, the backup.

What you do not need

  • Programs promising to "repair Minecraft". Everything in this guide uses what Windows already has. A third-party program has access to nothing you do not.
  • Registry cleaners. This is not a registry problem, and they can leave you worse off.
  • Reinstalling Windows. There are ten things to try before that. If you reached the end of this list and it still will not open, the problem is probably not Minecraft but the account or the Windows install — and that gets solved by reading the specific error message, not by reinstalling blind.

If it opens but runs badly

Different problem. If the game starts and what happens is stutter or floor-level FPS, none of this guide applies: that is worked through video settings and render distance. That guide is linked below.

Frequently asked questions

Does "Repair" delete my worlds?

No. Repair leaves your data alone. The one that deletes is Reset, which returns the app to factory state and takes everything inside with it — worlds included. They sit next to each other on the same screen, which is exactly why you want the backup done before you go in there.

Where are my worlds?

On current versions (1.21.120 onwards), inside %APPDATA%\Minecraft Bedrock\Users: there is one folder per account, and in each one the worlds are in games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds. Copy the whole Users folder and you have a backup of all of them. On older versions they were in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalState\games\com.mojang\minecraftWorlds.

It opens and closes after two seconds, no error

The usual culprit is the graphics driver. Update it from the manufacturer and try again. If it persists, move on to repairing the app.

If I uninstall and reinstall, do I lose what I bought?

No, as long as you sign in with the same Microsoft account: purchases are tied to the account, not the install. Local worlds can be lost, and those are the ones to copy first.

Do programs that promise to "fix Minecraft" work?

You do not need any. Everything in this guide uses what Windows already ships with. A third-party program promising to fix Minecraft has access to nothing you cannot reach yourself.

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