RPG Maker MV and MZ not booting up

[Yanntastisch]

Hello there, I have a big problem with both RPG Maker MV and MZ. It started a few months ago. I cannot open either MV or MZ, both will only boot up in the background as seen on my Task Manager, , or they show the splash screen and open the window but proceed to stay white with no response.



RPG maker VX Ace boots up as normal.

For some reason, I can open both engines inside of a Virtual Machine. That was the only way to work on my game.

I also contacted support once via email but they couldn't help me in the end.
They were so kind to send me a version of MV that does not require Steam, but it had the same problem, so Steam is not the cause. Also scanning the local data files on steam has no results. I also have whitelisted both engines inside my antivirus programs.

I figured out it must've been a .dll error.
On some attempts the engine opened but after changing between its windows a few times (like map editor and databank), RPG Maker again shows no response and doesn't start after closing it.

 

[Andar]

From the incomplete description I would guess you have two different problems with the programs, that require different fixes.

Whitescreen of the editor means that your computer's display driver does not have full OpenGL support. This can happen in two very different cases:
1) your driver is too old
2) the driver currently installed is NOT from the manufacturer of your display card but from Microsoft.

In both cases the automated Windows driver updates will NOT help - you need to install the correct driver after manually downloading it from the website of the display card manufacturer.

Windows Update will always prefer the Microsoft drivers once they are installed, but Microsoft does not give full OGL support because OpenGL is a competition to their own DirectX. That is why you can't rely on the automated updates for the Whitescreen.


The other error with the editor running in the background but invisible usually happens if you have two monitors connected and pushed the program into the secondary monitor. It is a known quirk that the makers do not support secondary monitors.
If that is the case, shutdown the computer, disconnect the secondary monitor, boot up again and run the editor once. After that it should work even if you reconnect the second monitor, as long as you keep the editor running on the primary display.

 

[Yanntastisch]

Thank you! I'll look into it. If my description is incomplete I would like to know what is missing, been sweating to make sure I say everything notable.
I will look into if it's a OpenGL drive rissue. My drivers run over AMD Software Adrelanin Edition by the way.

And the two monitors problem was actually something I guessed. Next time it happens I'll do what you said, but right now only the white screen with no response is happening.

But even then, it is very weird for RPG Maker to sometimes open but after a few clicks turn white again.

 

[Andar]

But even then, it is very weird for RPG Maker to sometimes open but after a few clicks turn white again.

That sounds more like a damaged driver than the wrong driver.

And you can "thank" Microsoft for a lot of those driver issues - sometimes their windows updates remove the correct drivers and other effects like refusing to go back to other drivers once Microsoft variants are installed and more.

 

[24Razors]

For what it's worth, I have a similar issue.
The only solution seems to be restarting the PC with my other monitor off, booting MV, and then turning on the second monitor.