HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT “The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria” LAUNCH ISSUES

Okay, you Lord of the Rings enthusiasts, today I’m going to show you how to fix when you are unable to launch The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria game on your Windows computer or if you are facing crashing and freezing issues. 

Gaming is one of the absolute ways to have buckets and buckets of fun, whether on your own or with your mates. You just launch your platform, grab your controllers, and let the former take you on a survival adventure in a far far away magical location with dwarves, fire-breathing dragons, and some feisty elven lass. 

Sometimes, it’s simply all about racking up points and collecting rewards for pleasure, but it’s also possible to make a pretty penny while at it by streaming one’s gameplay on Twitch, YouTube, and other sites for ad money, subscriptions, donations, and merchandise sales. 

But things can be challenging if you go launch your game, and it fails to start, freezes midplay, or keeps crashing. Of course, popular franchises like LOTR  often face extra scrutiny from fans, forcing developers to try and deliver a stupendous experience. Still, sometimes technical problems sneak past, turning that epic adventure into an epic pain in the b**t.

Why your LOTR: Return to Moria game won’t launch?

The primary causes for LOTR: Return to Moria’s unable to launch are out-of-date video drivers and system services. However, these aren’t the only culprits, you may also be a victim of the following issues:

• You are running out of date software. If you are running an outdated game or using a system with out-of-date software, you might experience launching, freezing, and crash errors, among other problems. Games and other PC software typically work properly when kept up-to-date
• You are running the game without administrative access, making it impossible for the software to perform tasks that require administrative privileges
• Your game files have been corrupted, including missing or damaged executables, data files, configuration files, and other resources
• You are running too many applications in the background, denying the ga, me the resources it needs
• Your system doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for the game
• Your system drive is bad

How to fix LOTR: Return to Moria game launch errors

In some cases, it’s possible to MacGyver the situation real quick and fix your  Return to Moria game that won’t launch. Here’s a look:

Check system properties

Perhaps you were too excited to get started on this game you didn’t even check whether your system meets the minimum requirements. It happens. We understand how the promise of exploring the vast underground caverns and reliving the magical adventures of middle-earth can just about send any Tolkien fan out of their wits. So why don’t you go ahead and check if your system meets the minimum requirements to run this game first? 

• Operating System: Windows 10/11 64-bit
• Processor: Intel Core i5 6600K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480
• Storage: 20 GB available space

Restart PC

If your system meets the above requirements, but the game still won’t launch, try restarting. Of course, everybody knows this quick trick to fix crashing or freezing software like video games. However, this fix is so obvious that most people ignore it because they think it might not work, especially if they assume the problem is on the developer’s end.  Don’t ignore this step; it’s quick and works most of the time. Just restart your PC once, launch the game, and check if it’s working correctly. 

Rename OpenXR

If you are still facing the problem after restarting your PC, rename the openXR folder. Simply go to Steam> Epic games launcher > library. Then click on the three dots (. . .) on the game icon, click on manage, and look for the folder icon in front of the installation. Click on the folder to get into the gaming installation folder. In the folder, navigate Engine > Binaries> ThirdParty>OpenXR. Right-click on the OpenXR folder and rename it whatever you want then launch the game to see if it works.

Run the game from the game installation folder

If the above fix didn’t work, click on the three dots again in the Epic game launcher library. Click on manage, open the game folder, and double click on the Moria application, then try launching the game from the installation folder. If this executable file doesn’t work, click on the Moria folder, then Boinaries>Win64, and double-click on the Moria executable inside the folder.

You can also try running the game as an administrator. Simply right-click on the executable and select ‘Run as administrator’.  It’s even better if you set this feature as permanent. Click on the executable>properties>compatibility tab> tick Run as admin. Restart your device and launch the game.  

Other tweaks to try include using compatibility mode or disabling full-screen optimization to fix the Return to Moria game won’t launch issue.

Update the Return to Moria game

Click on the game platform to launch it, find the game in the game library, then check for available updates and install them. Sometimes, all the game needs to launch easily is the latest version of the software. 

Run the latest version of Windows

Update your windows to the latest version of the OS. Simply open Windows settings, navigate to Windows update, click on Check for updates, and wait for the computer to do its thing. Once your computer has finished updating, restart the PC and launch the game.

Close some of the background apps and processes

Too many background processes can keep the game from accessing the resources it needs to launch properly. Some of the apps running in the background may be unnecessary, so consider closing them. You just need to launch Task Manager and click on the processes tab. From here, end all unnecessary apps. 

Consider disconnecting other services, too, such that only the epic game launcher and the game are running. 

• Disconnect additional joystick, controllers, and multiple monitors
• Disconnect any external devices you are not using ( hotas, wheel, pedals, mouse, Razer Tartarus)
• Disconnect any additional USB adapter 
• Close all  overlay applications on Discord, Nvidia Shadow Play, AMD overlay, or  GeForce Experience
• Terminate all overclocking applications such as Riva tuner, MSI Afterburner,  etc. 
• End third-party services and software such as Razer Synapse Corsair software,  nahimic services, MSI Dragon Center, lightingservice.exe
•  Remove gpu undervolt

You can also try running a clean boot. Go to the Windows startup search bar, type msconfig, and select System Configuration, then navigate to the General tab >Selective startup and clear the checkbox named Load startup items. Next, move to the Services tab> Tick hide all Microsoft services and select Disable all. Click OK and reboot your PC.

Connect the display cable to the graphics slot

If your computer has a dual graphics card, an inbuilt one, and an extra chip from, say, NVIDIA or AMD, connect the HDMI, DVI, DP, or other display cable to the graphics card slot for the second chip. you can find this lost on the front or back of your PC tower. Do not connect the cable to the slot for the integrated card.

Get the latest graphic drivers

Your Return to Moria game may fail to launch if the OS is not communicating well with the video card hardware. Press the Win + X combination to bring up the device manager and click on Display Adapters. Next, right-click on the graphics card and choose to update the driver. You’ll be prompted to search and install the latest drivers, you can choose to look for them online or on your computer (if you already downloaded them with Windows updates). Once you’ve updated the drivers, restart your PC and launch the game.

For users with a gaming tower and graphics card from NVIDIA, AMD, etc, go to the specific manufacturers’ websites and get the latest drivers for your card and OS version. Once you get the driver package, click on it and run as administrator to launch the installation box. Make sure to click the box that says ‘perform clean installation’ and proceed. 

Run the game on the dedicated graphics card

For laptops with dual graphics cards, run the game on the dedicated graphics card. Simply type graphics settings in the Windows search box, click on graphics settings, and then click on browse. 

In the pop-up folder, go to the gaming installation folder (This PC>ReturnToMoria). In the game installation folder, select the game executable file and click add. Once the game is added, click on options,  select High Performance, and save. 

Next, click on browse (again). Open the game installation folder>Moria folder > Binaries > Win64 and select the executable in this folder then click add. Once the game is added, click on options,  select High Performance, and save. 

Verify game files

Corrupted or damaged game files such as executables, data files, and configuration files can interfere with the loading of resources (sound, textures, models) and game logic, leading to launching issues, glitches, freezing, or crashes.  To verify game files, go to the game platform>The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria and right click then navigate to properties>Local Files and click verify the integrity of Game Files.

If the files are beyond fixing, you can delete them but you’ll lose all the game’s progress if you don’t have a backup somewhere. To see game files,  open File Explorer> This Pc> C Drive (or whatever you named it)> users> username> AppData > local>  moria> saved> saved games. If you don’t see AppData, click view and show hidden folders.

To delete the files, go back to moria and delete the entire folder tree. Once you’ve deleted the folder, launch the game and start afresh. Always install games from trusted sources to avoid corrupted file issues. Also, keep your PC software up to date and back up your files to prevent data loss.

Allow the game exe file through your antivirus program 

If you have a party antivirus program like Avasts, Mcafee, etc, make sure you allow the game executable file through this antivirus program. If you are using Windows security, launch Windows settings> Privacy & Security (Updates & Security)  > Windows Security > Virus and threat protection, and scroll to the Manage ransomware protection menu. Click on this menu and click on ‘allow an app through controlled folder access’. Click on ‘yes’ to allow, then click on Add an allowed app > Browse all apps, then navigate to the gaming installation folder (This Pc > ReturnToMoria ). In the folder, click on the executable and select open. 

Again, click on Add an allowed app > Browse all apps then navigate to the gaming installation folder, go inside the Moria folder > Binaries > Win64 and select the executable in this folder, then click open.

Next, go to Control panel > System and Security > Windows Defender firewall >  Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall> Change settings >  Allow another app > Browse. In the pop-up box, go to the gaming installation folder and add all executables, as already explained above. Once you’ve added all executables, click OK and launch the game. 

Get a new graphics card

Sometimes, launching issues may be a result of an insufficient GPU; getting a powerful graphics card can help with picture rendering issues. Carefully research your PC’s graphics chip and get one that’s compatible and an upgrade. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations to install the card and launch your PC to see how it helps your game.

Lower down graphics settings

If you can launch the game, switch to window mode and lower down graphics settings. Simply go to the game settings and click the video tab. Change fullscreen to windowed mode, then lower down resolution. You can also turn off VSync, NVIDIA dlss, and AMD FSR and even try high, medium, or low graphics quality. 

Alright, folks, the above-mentioned tips should be able to do something for your game-launching issues. As mentioned, the cause of launching issues is typically bad graphic drivers and too many background apps. However, if these do not work, feel free to try the following additional tips:

• Expand system RAM to increase memory resources
• Launch the game from an SSD to reduce in-game loading and hasten launch times
• Increase virtual memory in the View Advanced System Settings menu
• Install visual C++ AND DirectX or update them to the latest versions
• Clean your PC regularly to remove dirt and dust.

In case you are still experiencing Return to Moria launch issues even after trying all the above-mentioned troubleshooting tips, then consider running the game on a different machine. If you don’t have one, try your friend’s PC and see how the game performs. If it launches successfully, then try to use the same settings on your machine or buy one that looks just like the one your friend has, and you’ll be good to go.