Fix: Fallout 3 Won’t Launch in Windows 10

Fallout 3 is a post-apocalyptic action role-playing open world video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the Fallout series, it is the first game to be created by Bethesda since it bought the franchise from Interplay Entertainment. It was released worldwide in October 2008 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

However, recently a lot of reports have been coming in of the game not Launching properly on Windows 10. The game was centered around Windows Vista’s architecture and thus has many incompatibilities with Windows 10 which often results in crashes and the game, not launching. In this article, we will discuss some of the reasons due to which the error can be triggered and provide you with viable solutions in order to ensure complete eradication of the problem.

What Causes Fallout 3 to not Launch on Windows 10?

The cause of the error is not specific and the error can occur due to a number of reasons but some of the most common reasons are:

Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the problem we will move on towards the solutions.

Solution 1: Changing Compatibility Settings.

The game was centered to run around Windows Vista’s architecture and therefore has many incompatibilities with the Windows 10’s Architecture. Due to which, the game faces many hurdles whilst launching and often crashes. Fortunately, Windows 10 allows its users to run a program in compatibility mode for the previous operating systems. For that:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the game’s installation folder.
2. Right-Click on the “Fallout3Launcher.exe” and select Properties.

   

3. Click on the “Compatibility” tab, check the “Run this program in Compatibility mode for” box and select “Windows Vista Service Pack 2”.

   

4. Also, Check the “Run as Administrator box”.
5. Right-Click on the “Fallout3.exe” and select Properties.

   

6. Click on the “Compatibility” tab, check the “Run this program in Compatibility mode for” box and select “Windows Vista Service Pack 2”.
7. Also, Check the “Run as Administrator box”.
8. Right-Click on the “Fallout 3 Garden of Eden creation kit” and select properties.

   

9. Click on the “Compatibility” tab, check the “Run this program in Compatibility mode for” box and select “Windows XP Service Pack 3”.

   

10. Also, Check the “Run as Administrator box”.
11. Now try to run the game and check to see if the problem persists.

Solution 2: Installing GFWLive

The older versions of Windows had this software preinstalled and integrated into the operating systems but it is not present on Windows 10 and the game requires it to run properly, therefore, it needs to be installed in order to run the game. To do that:

1. Click here to download the GFWLive application.
2. Once downloaded, run the setup and it will automatically begin to download important software.

   

3. Once the download finishes approve any prompts and the application will be installed.

   

4. Once installed, run Fallout 3 and check to see if the problem persists.

Solution 3: Updating Graphics Card Drivers

Sometimes, if the graphics card drivers are not up to date it can cause issues with certain elements of the game thus resulting in frequent crashes and even causing issues with the startup. Therefore, we will be updating the graphics drivers to the latest ones in order to eradicate this issue.

For Nvidia Users: 

1. Click on the Search bar on the left-hand side of the taskbar
   

   

2. Type in Geforce Experience and press enter
3. Click on the first icon to open the application
   

   

4. After signing in, Click on the “Drivers” option on the top left
   

   

5. In that Tab, Click on the “Check for Updates” option on the top right
   

   

6. After that, the application will check if new updates are available
7. If the updates are available a “Download” button will appear
   

   

8. Once you click on that the driver will begin to download
9. After the Driver is downloaded the application will give you the option for “Express” or “Custom” installation.
10. Click on the “Express” installation option and the Driver will automatically be installed
    

    

11. Now Try to Run the Game

For AMD Users: 

1. Right–Click on the Desktop and select AMD Radeon Settings
   

   

2. In the Settings, click on Updates in the lower right corner
   

   

3. Click on “Check For Updates”
   

   

4. If a new update is available a new option will appear
5. Click on the option and select Update
   

   

6. The AMD installer will start, click on Upgrade when the installer prompts you to
   

7. The installer will now get the package ready, check all the boxes and click on Install
   

8. This will now download the new driver and install it automatically
9. Restart your computer and try to run the game.

Solution 4: Applying Mod

Due to a glitch with the game’s configuration after the latest update from Windows 10 the game tries to run on the integrated graphics from Intel. Due to this, the game is prevented from launching. To bypass this we will be applying a modification to the game. For which:

1. Click here and download this mod (Fallout 3 Intel bypass package)
2. Once downloaded and extracted, open the folder and copy the “D3D9.dll” file to the Fallout 3 installation folder and replace the one already in there.

   

3. Also, copy the “Fallout.ini” and navigate to the “Documents>My Games> Fallout 3” folder and replace the one already in there.

   

4. Now try to Run the game and check to see if the problem persists.