If you have a crash with an error message, if it relates to any of the following please click the relevant link for more info:
Warning: Failed to find a default database to use. Please make sure your installation is not corrupt.
An error has occurred while installing Football Manager (missing app configuration)
Steam or Football Manager is already running
Unable to Initialise Steam API
Content File Locked or Disk Write Error
If it's none of the above, please bear in mind the minimum specifications have increased in recent years for Football Manager, so even if you able to previously run a version of the game you may not be able to this version. Most systems will run the game without issue, but if your system is quite old or you're unsure, please contact our Support Team and attach your DxDiag and any crash dump (which can be found here by default - C:\Users\Your Windows Username\Documents\Sports Interactive\[Football Manager title]\crash dumps) so we can access and see if you are able to run the game.
For all other crashes on launch not mentioned above, if you're running any custom graphics/logos/skins/editor file or any additions of any type, remove them as a test and see if the game launches. If you find it does, then you'll know it's a problem related to these.
Then once you've removed them, do as follows:
If this doesn't help, generally a crash dump on game start is related to a system or conflicting error, so we suggest the following steps to be completed in the following stages. We suggest after each stage trying the game to check and see if the troubleshooting guide fixes the issue.
Stage 1
Make sure your Graphics Card drivers and installed and fully up to date.
Stage 2
Check any programs which are known to cause issues with FM and/or Steam.
Stage 3
Stage 4
There may be a problem with the files and folder location, so to check if this is the case:
- First of all, right-click on your desktop and select 'New' -> 'Folder'
- Create a folder and name it something to distinguish it (say SI backup)
- Once you've done this go to your Sports Interactive folder found within 'documents' which by default is at the following location - C:\Users\[YOUR WINDOWS USERNAME]\Documents\Sports Interactive\[Football Manager title]- if it's not at this default location we would suggest resetting it here by following these instructions -
- This should contain folders like 'games', 'crash dumps' etc. Please cut every folder from here and paste them into the folder you've created on your desktop.
- Once you've done this and the Sports Interactive\[Football Manager title] folder is now empty, launch the game. If it works, copy back the files from the desktop folder and hopefully it should now load without any issues.
Stage 5
If you have completed all of the above without being able to resolve your issue, please submit a support request for further assistance.
Please include as many details as possible and list any troubleshooting techniques you’ve tried already so they can help you in the most efficient way.
If you have a crash with an error message, if it relates to any of the following please click the relevant link for more info:
FM will damage your computer/malware error message
You can't use this version of the application "fm" with this version of OSX.
If you’ve encountered a crash whilst starting Football Manager please try the following troubleshooting techniques in order to try and resolve the issue.
Once you’ve done this, re-launch the game and try again.
If it's none of the above, please bear in mind the minimum specifications have increased in recent years for Football Manager, so even if you able to previously run a version of the game you may not be able to this version. Most systems will run the game without issue, but if your system is quite old or you're unsure, please submit a support request with your System Info attached for further assistance.
- If any error message appears, exactly what it says
- Your System Information
Once we have the above information, we will be able to look into your issue directly and determine what the cause is. The sooner we can determine the cause, the sooner we will be able to provide further assistance to resolve this issue for you.