Launcher no longer starts on Steam OS

[IminaBucket]

Hi, FF14 has previously been working on my system but now the launcher fails to start, with no error given. I click PLAY in steam and the button changes to say cancel, then just back to play again with the launcher just not starting.

I have a desktop with Steam OS installed, and I'm trying to launch it through Steam, I have a Steam licence for the game.

I have tried reinstalling and it does the same thing.

I have tried re-installing including manually deleting the remaining files in Steamapps, and from MyGames and the problem still persists.

I don't know if there is anything left I can manually delete for a cleaner re-install, and I've no idea what's changed as it has been working before! Any ideas?

[Mikoko_Miko]

When I previously ran into a similar issue with Steam on Linux, I resolved it using the method described here. I needed to edit FFXIV_BOOT.CFG and set WebView2RuntimeInvalid to 1.

[Ilisidi]

This will only work till they turn the old webview off.
I'm using the current Proton Experimental which installed the necessary Edge Webview components and runs without switching to the old version via the cfg.

But the Webview thing effects the launcher only, not the game start. So the issue IminaBucket has is probably something else.

[Pudringchumenes]

Greetings and thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums.

We apologize for any inconvenience experienced when trying to play Final Fantasy XIV. For us to better assist you, please respond with the following information:

How often does the issue occur?

Could you provide the exact error message received, if any?
Are you running any additional programs alongside Final Fantasy XIV?
When the issue happens, is the PC over heating at all?
Were any update or changes made to the PC around the time of the issue?

Could you provide a system report? Simply go to the 'Config' option on the Final Fantasy XIV launcher and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.

Thank you once again for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!

[IminaBucket]

How often does the issue occur?
Every time. The launcher no longer opens at all, ever. I think I've pushed the button at least a hundred times trying different things now

Could you provide the exact error message received, if any?
No error message, either a popup or anywhere else I could see or know where to look.

Are you running any additional programs alongside Final Fantasy XIV?
Only the Steam client as far as I'm aware. I am not using any mods to FF14 or any third party whatsits that interact with it in any way.
I've tried in SteamOS's console-like interface and its desktop mode alike and neither works.
I've also been sure to try it on a fresh PC restart before opening a browser or discord or anything else.

When the issue happens, is the PC over heating at all?
No, I brought up the temperature sensors in Steam OS and clicked the play button a bunch of times and the temp gauges didn't budge. The launcher still did not appear.

Were any update or changes made to the PC around the time of the issue?
No hardware changes have been made since the last time it was working.
The only potential software change I can think of is maybe I installed some other game from steam, but I think that would be unlikely to interact in any way.
Hmmm. It's possible there was an update to SteamOS itself?

Could you provide a system report? Simply go to the 'Config' option on the Final Fantasy XIV launcher and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.
Alas, I cannot. At least not in the manner described. My issue is that the launcher, does not launch.
Brief overview is I have a shop-built PC, with this description copied from the store page:
AMD Ryzen 7 7700 CPU cooled by the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Spectrum V3 CPU Air Cooler Silver, ASUS Prime B650EM-A WiFi DDR5 Motherboard, ASUS Dual Radeon RX 9060 XT GDDR6 16GB graphics card, 32GB Corsair Vengeance 6000MHz DDR5 memory, 1TB Kingston NV3 M.2 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, Aerocool B509A Flow TG Mid Tower Case with 650W PSU Black.
I have installed SteamOS on it for my chosen operating system, and it is up to date.
If that doesn't cover it, is there another way I can gather the info you're looking for here?

[IminaBucket]

When I previously ran into a similar issue with Steam on Linux, I resolved it using the method described here. I needed to edit FFXIV_BOOT.CFG and set WebView2RuntimeInvalid to 1.

I actually have tried this too, before I tried deleting every config file I could find entirely to try to make it install fresh.

I'm starting to wonder if it would help if I re-installed SteamOS entirely...

[Thampbayoyows]

Thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!

Please try the following troubleshooting methods in order to resolve the issue:

- Verify the files within your Steam “Library” folder, right click the game you are having trouble with, and choose ‘Properties’ > ‘Local Files’ > “Verify integrity of game cache”. This will verify that the game is installed properly.

-Launch FINAL FANTASY XIV as an administrator through Steam by going to the game in your library, then navigate over to 'Properties' > 'Local Files' >'Browse Local Files', search for the .exe file for FFXIV, then right-click the file and click 'Properties' >'Compatibility' > check 'Run this program as an administrator'.

- Clear the Steam cache by opening the Settings panel by selecting Steam. Once there go to 'Settings'. Once in the 'Settings' panel, select the 'Downloads' tab. At the bottom of the page, click 'Clear Download Cache' and then select 'Okay' to continue the process. Once the cache is cleared, please log into Steam again.

- Uninstall and reinstall the Steam application.

- Make sure Steam and FINAL FANTASY XIV are installed on the same drive. If not, we advise install both on the C drive.

- Ensure Steam is the only program running in the background. Close any additional programs as they may interfere with the game's running environment.

- Make sure Steam and both FINAL FANTASY XIV are allowed through any anti virus software or fire walls.

- Update your Windows Operating System using Windows Update. Make sure to install any optional updates as these aren't installed automatically.

-Perform a clean boot by doing the following: Open the Task Manager and select the 'Start Up' Tab. disable everything here and restart the PC.

If the issue is still present after the reinstallation of the game, please respond with a FINAL FANTASY XIV System Report, if possible. On the game launcher, select 'Config' option and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.'


Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!

[Mikoko_Miko]

So the Webview wasn't related after all. A couple of other things that come to mind:
I once resolved an issue by disabling Steam Settings > Downloads > Shader Pre-Caching and then re-enabling it.
I've also had it fail to launch when free disk space got extremely low, which was resolved by freeing up more space.

[IminaBucket]

Thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!

Please try the following troubleshooting methods in order to resolve the issue:

- Verify the files within your Steam “Library” folder, right click the game you are having trouble with, and choose ‘Properties’ > ‘Local Files’ > “Verify integrity of game cache”. This will verify that the game is installed properly.

-Launch FINAL FANTASY XIV as an administrator through Steam by going to the game in your library, then navigate over to 'Properties' > 'Local Files' >'Browse Local Files', search for the .exe file for FFXIV, then right-click the file and click 'Properties' >'Compatibility' > check 'Run this program as an administrator'.

- Clear the Steam cache by opening the Settings panel by selecting Steam. Once there go to 'Settings'. Once in the 'Settings' panel, select the 'Downloads' tab. At the bottom of the page, click 'Clear Download Cache' and then select 'Okay' to continue the process. Once the cache is cleared, please log into Steam again.

- Uninstall and reinstall the Steam application.

- Make sure Steam and FINAL FANTASY XIV are installed on the same drive. If not, we advise install both on the C drive.

- Ensure Steam is the only program running in the background. Close any additional programs as they may interfere with the game's running environment.

- Make sure Steam and both FINAL FANTASY XIV are allowed through any anti virus software or fire walls.

- Update your Windows Operating System using Windows Update. Make sure to install any optional updates as these aren't installed automatically.

-Perform a clean boot by doing the following: Open the Task Manager and select the 'Start Up' Tab. disable everything here and restart the PC.

If the issue is still present after the reinstallation of the game, please respond with a FINAL FANTASY XIV System Report, if possible. On the game launcher, select 'Config' option and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.'


Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums!

I am at work at the moment and will check some of these things that I can when I get home.

But one again, I would like to clearly state two things.

1 - I AM NOT USING WINDOWS. I am using SteamOS, which is a distribution of Linux. Copy-pasted Windows directions are not applicable to my issue.

2 - MY LAUNCHER DOES NOT LAUNCH, OPEN, OR APPEAR ON MY SCREEN, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, FOR ANY LENGTH OF TIME, IN ANY PERCENTAGE OF THE ATTEMPTS, AT ALL. I cannot perform any action within the launcher that you ask me to, for the stated reason that it failing to open is the entire problem that I'm asking for help solving.

I do not intend that to look angry or confrontational, I'm just not sure how else to more clearly emphasise the relevant information I am providing to try and narrow down the possible causes of my issue, or to define my issue in the first place.

[IminaBucket]

- Verify the files within your Steam “Library” folder, right click the game you are having trouble with, and choose ‘Properties’ > ‘Local Files’ > “Verify integrity of game cache”. This will verify that the game is installed properly.
This is not possible for FF14. Steam reports on that screen that "FINAL FANTASY XIV Online is using third party software (ie, the launcher) to update it's own files. Content updates and file management by Steam are not available." This has not been possible for as long as I've owned the game and had to sort out troubles before. This is also not possible on Windows for the record, and I would have hoped that FF14's tech support would have been aware of this too?

-Launch FINAL FANTASY XIV as an administrator through Steam by going to the game in your library, then navigate over to 'Properties' > 'Local Files' >'Browse Local Files', search for the .exe file for FFXIV, then right-click the file and click 'Properties' >'Compatibility' > check 'Run this program as an administrator'.
This is a windows method and not applicable. On Steam OS I need to launch the game through Steam so that the Proton compatibility layer handles the calls to Windows and it runs correctly.

- Clear the Steam cache by opening the Settings panel by selecting Steam. Once there go to 'Settings'. Once in the 'Settings' panel, select the 'Downloads' tab. At the bottom of the page, click 'Clear Download Cache' and then select 'Okay' to continue the process. Once the cache is cleared, please log into Steam again.
Okay this I can try. Unfortunately, it didn't help.

- Uninstall and reinstall the Steam application.
The Steam app is baked into Steam OS immutably as far as I can tell. It does not appear in the app list as a thing I am able to uninstall.

- Make sure Steam and FINAL FANTASY XIV are installed on the same drive. If not, we advise install both on the C drive.
They are on the same drive.

- Ensure Steam is the only program running in the background. Close any additional programs as they may interfere with the game's running environment.
According to the system monitor, the only things running are Steam and SteamOS itself.

- Make sure Steam and both FINAL FANTASY XIV are allowed through any anti virus software or fire walls.
Neither of these things are active on my system at this time. The launcher is also failing to start, not failing to connect. This doesn't sound likely to be the cause to me.

- Update your Windows Operating System using Windows Update. Make sure to install any optional updates as these aren't installed automatically.
I am not using Windows. Steam OS is up to date with no updates pending, optional or otherwise.

-Perform a clean boot by doing the following: Open the Task Manager and select the 'Start Up' Tab. disable everything here and restart the PC.
I am not using Windows. Steam OS does not by default enable any automatically starting tasks except for core OS tasks and the Steam App. I have checked the list anyway and none are there.

If the issue is still present after the reinstallation of the game, please respond with a FINAL FANTASY XIV System Report, if possible. On the game launcher, select 'Config' option and to the right of 'System Information' click on 'Display.'
The issue still persists after multiple attempts to re-install. Once again, I cannot generate a system report using a tool within a launcher that will not start.

If this forum (at least officially) cannot or will not provide support for this game installed on Linux then I would appreciate it if someone just said so instead of just yeeting random quotes out of the Windows support scripts at me and hoping something sticks.