Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic was a fabulous game in its time, which remains upheld as one of the gaming industry’s bests to date. After the first game was released back in 2003 by Obsidian Entertainment, the company had to do the impossible, create a sequel to an already hit game, and somehow make it better. It’s well known that media sequels rarely trump the first one, be it games, movies or other media. But as we all know, Star War Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (or simply titled KOTOR 2), was tremendous. It improved upon the establishment of the first game in every possible way, making it a much more engaging and fun experience. KOTOR 2 was released in December 2004, and ever since then, it has been hailed as one of the, if not the, best game of all time. Not only was KOTOR 2 just a good sequel, but it was also a damn great game. And it has aged well considering it is nearly two decades old, with so many fans still going back to it. It remains a classic and so, new and old players alike still jump in on this old classic and experience it.

As such, KOTOR 2 remains a game which is widely available on most platforms. The game has a huge fan following and thus, it is available to play right now on Android, the Nintendo Switch, Mac systems, iOS, Linux, Xbox and of course, Windows PC. Out of all these, of course, Windows remains the most commonly used platform to play old games such as KOTOR 2. However, Windows 10 (and also 11) in particular often have some troubles while running older games on their software. This stems from the newer architecture in these systems, causing some troubles for the games released when the operating systems weren’t released. A common issue for KOTOR 2 (and KOTOR 1) on Windows 10/11 is that the game crashes immediately after boot. This can be a very troublesome issue for fans of Star Wars and especially for KOTOR 2 fans. Immediate crash after startup can be a bummer for eager gamers who want to dive into this legendary game which has shaped generations and instead, they are faced with disappointment due to issues with Windows operating systems. Not to worry though, because there are many different ways to fix the KOTOR 2 crash on startup Windows 10 and 11. Read below to find out all the methods.

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Problem With Windows 10/11 On Old Games

Before we address the issue of the KOTOR 2 crash on startup Windows 10 and 11, we need to address the issue with both Windows 10 and 11 when it comes to playing older games on it. This has been an ongoing issue that disrupts the fun of gamers wanting to visit (or revisit) old games, especially games with 32-bit and 16-bit memory addressing. This is because the games are unable to support 64-bit memory addressing which is present in modern computers. Furthermore, older games are designed for the older dated software: a game made for Windows 95 needs to be reworked. Windows 10 is a 64-bit system, and it simply does not support 16-bit applications running (even in Compatibility Mode). Also, older games might be running with some libraries which were present in the older systems at that time but are nonexistent today. Same with older DRM (Digital Rights Management) of older games which has changed in the modern day and thus the games cannot boot.

This issue with newer systems having trouble with older games will always remain true, as we advance our tech but the older games aren’t made to be able to run on that tech. There are workarounds to this, of course, as we will discuss. But it does need to be acknowledged that over time, we lose software made for older technology unless we revamp it for modern technology. That is why popular games get remade very often, and companies like Sony IN or Microsoft put effort into its backward compatibility. The issue with older games on PC is much more in Windows, and in fact, Mac, which isn’t even a good machine for gaming, can run older games very well. But of course, with all new devices change is a constant. And the change means that older software which is built for older hardware, simply cannot keep up with the newer hardware which has newer features. That is why many of the older games cannot be played on newer devices. The strong gaming community however makes it so that most popular and famous games get workarounds to be playable even today on modern devices. Such a game is KOTOR 2. Below, we explain how to run KOTOR 2 crash on startup Windows 10.

5 Methods To Fix KOTOR 2 Startup Crash On Windows 10/11

Under this, we cover all of the different methods you can use to fix KOTOR 2 crash on startup Windows 10. Simply follow the instructions as stated in each method and see what works for you.

Method 1: Run Game As Administrator

It’s possible that by running the game as Administrator the bugs and crashing of KOTOR two gets fixed. This is because as an administrator the game will be allowed to do tasks which it can not normally do, which means it will have access to more system resources. The method to do so is as follows.

• Step 1: Inside the installation file of KOTOR 2, locate the .exe file.
• Step 2: Right-click on the .exe file and access the “Properties” option by clicking on it.
• Step 3: In the Properties window, select the “Compatibility” tab.
• Step 4: Under settings, select the checkbox “Run this program as administrator”.

After this, whenever the game boots up it will run as administrator. This can help fix the issues with the game crashing on startup.

Method 2: Update Graphics Drivers

Graphics drivers are what run the visuals of games on PC. It’s very important to make sure the graphic drivers are updated, as older drivers might get buggy which can cause issues with games. The procedure to update drivers is given below.

• Step 1: Open Device Manager.
• Step 2: Under it, click on “Display Adapter”.
• Step 3: Under Display Adapter, select your GPU and right-click on it.
• Step 4: Now click on the “Update Driver” option.

While doing this, your drivers will be updated to their latest version. As we mentioned, this can be helpful with fixing game issues such as startup crashes.

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Method 3: Delete ClientRegistery.blob (For Steam)

The ClientRegistery.blob file retains the information for all the games you have installed through Steam on your device. However, these files can get corrupted at times, and result in games on Steam crashing immediately after boot. Not to worry though, as these files can simply be deleted as they will be restored next time you boot up Steam. The method to do so is as follows.

• Step 1: Make sure that Steam is completely closed.
• Step 2: Access the Steam directory. Usually, it is on C:\ProgramFiles\Steam but may have changed depending on where you’ve kept it.
• Step 3: Under the Steam directory, delete all the ClientRegistery.blob files.
  After doing this, the next time you boot up Steam, these files will be remade and restored, and this could perhaps help KOTOR 2 run without crashing on startup.

Method 4: Run KOTOR 2 In Compatibility Mode

As we discussed earlier, the Windows 10/11 operating systems cannot work like the older systems and thus some older games have issues. That’s why these systems feature a compatibility mode, making the game run on an emulated version of the older software (like Windows 7, 8, Vista et cetera). The procedure to access this is as follows.

• Step 1: Inside the installation file of KOTOR 2, locate the .exe file.
• Step 2: Right-click on the .exe file and access the “Properties” option by clicking on it.
• Step 3: In the Properties window, select the “Compatibility” tab.
• Step 4: Under the Compatibility tab, hit on the checkbox saying “Run this program in compatibility mode” to make the setting enabled.
• Step 5: Now, under the options of the Windows version, select Windows Vista (Service Pack 1) or 2.
• Step 6: Also make sure that you are running the game as administrator, by using method 1.
  After this, the game will run on an emulated Windows Vista version, the version for which the game originally was made. This can stop the KOTOR 2 startup crash on Windows 10 and 11.

Method 5: Disabling Full Screen Mode (Editing swkotor.init File)

A common reason for both KOTOR 1 and KOTOR 2 to crash on Windows 10 or 11 is that it is always enabled as fullscreen, and the windowed mode is disabled. This makes the game crash in some situations, but there is a workaround to disable full screen mode, by editing the game’s .init file. The procedure to do so is given below.

• Step 1: Access the installation folder of KOTOR 2. For installing by Steam, the default folder path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\swkotor\
• Step 2: Find and locate the swkotor.init file, and right click on it.
• Step 3: Select the “Open with Notepad” option.
• Step 4: Under the graphics options section within the file, find “Fullscreen = 1”. Edit it and change it into “Fullscreen = 0”.
• Step 5: Below it, type in “AllowWindowedMode=1” in the file.
• Step 6: Check if there is a vertex buffer setting under the graphics option in the file. If not, enter “Disable Vertex Buffer Objects=1” underneath the previous line.
• Step 7: Save your changes by clicking on File and hitting the Save button.
  Now, with this edit the game will open in a windowed mode, and not take up the entire screen. This has reportedly stopped KOTOR 2 crashing for Windows 10 and 11 users.

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To Conclude

KOTOR 2 is a classic game which remains extremely popular and well known, not just amongst Star Wars fans but for gamers as a whole. It’s a game which has shaped a generation, and is currently getting a remake for the Play Station 5. It stands among the legends of gaming titles, such as Assassin’s Creed 2, God of War, SplinterCell, Breath of the Wild, or the modern Elden Ring. As an old game, it sometimes has startup crash issues on Windows 10 and 11. However, after reading the article we hope your game runs as intended with no issues. Comment which method worked for you, and happy gaming!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q) Is KOTOR 2 Better than KOTOR 1?

Ans: KOTOR 2 improves upon its predecessor in almost every single way, with new mechanics and revamps to the old ones, and a stronger and more mature story. For most gamers, KOTOR 2 is a better game, but they’re both great games.

Q) When will the KOTOR 2 Remake come out?

Ans: The remake was supposed to be out in 2022, but it got delayed to an unspecified date in 2023. However, Bloomberg reports that the game still needs more work, so we might get another delay. Hopefully that means a polished and bug-free game when it releases on the PS5!