Fix: Bluestacks Engine could not start issue in Windows 11 / 10

Since the evolution of the Android ecosystem, the requirement of a powerful, advanced Android emulator was always around. Bluestacks, the most famous Android emulator have always proved itself a step ahead in the competition. But, while sideloading app files or even just after installing the latest update, some users have complained of seeing this error message “Could not start the Engine. You can try restart the Engine or your PC.” on Bluestacks? Don’t worry, follow these easy solutions to find a quick solution.

Workarounds

1. Restart the system once. Then, open Bluestacks and test.

2. Disable the antivirus on your system. Then, relaunch the BlueStacks app and then check.

 

Fix 1 – Switch the graphics mode

Many people said that they cannot perform the steps in this method given below. So, if you also face difficulty, Just Boot in safe mode.

How to Go into safe mode

Step 1 – Search msconfig in search box and click on System configuration

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Step 2 – Click on Boot Tab.

Step 3 – Select Safe boot and click on Apply

Step 4 –Restart PC and your PC will open in safe mode

 

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Now, Once you are in safe mode. Follow the steps shown below

 

1. At first, open BlueStacks.

2. Once it opens up, tap on the three-bar menu () and tap on “Settings“.

 

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3. On the left-hand side, tap on “Engine“.

4. After that, set the ‘Graphics renderer’ settings to “DirectX” settings.

5. Finally, tap on “Save” to save these changes.

 

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6. You will be asked to restart the Bluestacks app. Just, tap on “Restart now” to restart it.

 

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Now, close and relaunch the BlueStacks app. Test whether the Engine is working or not.

Note: – To get out of Safe mode, again search msconfig and then click on Boot Tab, Uncheck Safe Boot and click on apply and then restart PC

Fix 2 – Increase the CPU core and RAM

Bluestacks demands quite an amount of processing power and RAM to perform smoothly.

1. At first, open BlueStacks if it isn’t opened yet.

2. Then, tap on the “” menu and click on “Settings” to access it.

 

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3. Then, tap on “Engine” on the left-hand side.

4. After that, scroll down through the right-hand pane to the ‘Performance’ tab.

5. Here, set the ‘CPU’ to “Custom“. Then, set the ‘CPU cores’ to a higher value than it was before.

NOTE



While setting the CPU Cores, do NOT use all the CPU cores for BlueStacks. It will slow down the system significantly. It is suggested that you use at least one core less than the available physical cores.

For example, if you are using a 4-core CPU, set the value of ‘CPU cores’ to “3” or “2“.

 

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6. Once you have set the CPU settings, set the ‘RAM(MB)’ settings to “High (3GB)“.

NOTE

Just like, CPU core counts, adjust the RAM value according to your system. If you are using a device with 4 GB RAM, we recommend you to set the ‘RAM(MB)’ to “2GB”.

7. Finally, tap on “Save“.

 

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Close and relaunch the BlueStacks emulator. Once it appears, try running some game or app and test whether the engine is working or not.

 

Fix 3 – Disable the ASTC Texture

This is a beta feature that you should not use if you are facing Engine failure in BlueStacks.

1. Launch BlueStacks.

2. Then, press Ctrl+Shift+I keys together to open the Settings.

3. Then, go to the “Engine” section on the left pane.

4. After that, scroll down to the ‘ASTC Texture’ settings and set it to “Disabled“.

5. Then, tap on “Save” to save this change.

 

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After that, check whether the BlueStacks Engine is still failing or not.

 

Fix 4 – Set the ABI to ARM

If you are facing this issue trying to run an only ARM-based app, try to change the ABI settings.

1. At first, open BlueStacks.

2. Then, click on the menu and tap on “Settings“.

 

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3. After that, tap on “Engine” on the left pane.

4. Then, scroll all the way down to the ‘ABI setting’.

5. Set it to “ARM64” and tap on “Save” to save this change.

 

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You have to restart the BlueStacks app.

6. Then, uninstall the particular app you want to run.

7. Next, reinstall the same app again.

Run the app.

Test whether this works out for you or not.

 

Fix 5 – Check for BlueStacks update

If you are using an older version of BlueStacks, try to update it.

1. At first, open the BlueStacks app.

2. Then, press the Ctrl+Shift+I keys together.

3. When the Settings window opens up, tap on “About“.

4. Now, click on “Check for updates“.

 

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This will download and install the latest version of BlueStacks.

 

Fix 6 – Check the Virtualization is ON or not

Virtualization is a crucial feature that you need to have turned ON for BlueStacks to work properly.

Step 1 – Check whether Virtualization is disabled

Check whether the Virtualization is enabled or not.

1. At first, press the Windows key+X keys together.

2. Then, tap on the “Task Manager“.

 

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3. Now, go to the “Performance” tab.

3. Once you are there, go to the “CPU” section.

4. You can notice the status of the “Virtualization” setting from here.

 

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If it is enabled, you can skip further steps. Otherwise, if it is disabled you have to enable it.

 

 

Step 2 – Enable the VIRTUAlization

1. At first, restart your system.

2. Once the system is booting up, just press the “Delete* key to access the bios setup on your computer.

* NOTE– The actual key to open the BIOS settings can differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. These are the variety of keys –

Esc, F1, F2, F10, F11, F12 or Delete

Pressing the allocated key will bring up the BIOS screen on your computer.

 

Bios Setup

 

3. When the BIOS setup opens up, go to the “Advanced” tab*.

4. Next, select the “Virtualization” from the list and set it to “Enabled“.

[In some computers, you may notice ‘SVM Mode’ instead of ‘Virtualization’ settings.

Enable it to get the same effect.]

 

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[

*NOTE –

You may find the Virtualization settings in the “Performance” tab.

]

5. Again, press the key that is associated with it to save the settings.

[It is the “F10” key for this computer.]

 

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6. After that, select “Yes” to finally save and exit the bios settings on your computer.

 

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Your computer will start up automatically.

 

FOR THE SYSTEMS RUNNING ON AMD CPU –

1. When your system is booting up, go to the BIOS settings.

2. Here, go to the “M.I.T” section.

3. Now, go to the “Advanced Frequency Settings“.

4. Here, you will find the “Advanced Core settings“.

5. In this section, you will find the ‘SVM Mode’ on your screen. SVM Mode is the Secure Virtual Machine mode.

6. Just, toggle it to “Enable” to switch it ON.

7. Save the settings and get out of the BIOS settings.

Test whether this works out for you.

Once your computer boots up normally, open BlueStacks and then try to check whether the engine is working or not.

 

Fix 7 – Uninstall and reinstall in Safe Mode

If nothing is working, you have to uninstall BlueStacks from your system and reinstall it.

Step 1 – Uninstall

1. At first, press the Windows key+X keys together.

2. Then, tap on the “Apps and Features” to access it.

 

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3. When the Apps and Features section opens up, look for the “Bluestacks” app on the right-hand side.

4. Then, tap on the three-dot menu and tap on “Uninstall“.

 

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Then, follow the on-screen steps to completely uninstall the app from your system.

 

Step 2 – Cleanup

1. At first, download the BlueStacks cleanup tool.

2. Then, double click on the “BS_cleanup” to access it.

 

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Let it clean up the BlueStacks completely. It should clear any existing registry, remove any associated residual files.

3. Once it is done, tap on “OK“.

 

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4. Press the Windows key+R  keys together to open the Run terminal.

5. Thereafter, type “%temp%” there and hit Enter.

 

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6. In the Temp folder, press Ctrl+A keys together and press the “Delete” key to remove all the existing files and folders.

 

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7. Now, press the Windows key+E keys together.

8. After that, go to this location –

C:/Program Files(x86)

 

9. Here, right-click on the “BlueStacks” folder and tap on the bin icon to remove the folder.

 

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10. Now, make sure to tap on the “View” on the menu bar.

11. Then, tap on “Show>” and make sure to check the “Hidden items“.

 

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This will let you view hidden items in the File Explorer.

12. Now, head to this location –

C:/ProgramData/

 

13. After that, right-click on the “BlueStacks_nxt” folder and press the “Delete” to remove the folder.

 

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Same way, delete any residue folder that you can find in the ProgramData folder.

Once you are done, close the File Explorer.

11. Now, open a browser and go to the official BlueStacks website.

12. Now, scroll down to find the latest version of BlueStacks. Tap on “Download” to download the installer.

 

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Once you have downloaded the installer, close the browser.

 

Step 3 – Reinstall in Safe Mode

You have to boot into the Safe Mode with networking access and then you can install BlueStacks.

1. At first, press the Windows key+I keys together.

2. Then, tap on “System” and click on “Recovery“.

 

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3. In the Recovery options section, tap on “Restart now“.

If you see a prompt, tap on “Restart now” once more.

 

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Your system will boot into recovery mode.

4. Then, tap on the “Troubleshoot” to access it.

 

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5. Then, click on the “Advanced options” to go forward.

 

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4. After that, tap on the “Startup Settings“.

This will open up all the startup options on your screen.

 

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5. Now, tap on “Restart” to restart the system.

 

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6. Here you will see all 9 possibilities of startup types.

7. Then, hit the F5 from your keyboard to select the “Enable Safe Mode with Networking” option.

 

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8. When your system opens up in Safe Mode, go to the location where you have the BlueStacks setup file.

9. Then, double-tap on the BlueStacks installer to start it up.

 

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Just let BlueStacks download-install the app on your system. Once it is done, close all windows and simply restart the system. This time, your system will boot up normally.

After that, you can use BlueStacks to emulate android apps and games without facing the engine failure issue again.