First off... I'd suggest completely uninstalling VEGAS from your computer.

Then download VEGAS again, a brand new build just launched yesterday, so it may have addressed your problem already.

Reinstall that from scratch.

Make sure you also download the deep learning models, links in my next post.

Reboot your computer before launching it.

Then see if the problem persists.

After completely removing VEGAS from your system, and restarting, download these files, install them, reboot again, and then let me know if that helped.

VEGAS Pro 20 Build 326: https://rdir.magix.net/?page=KM8YQU96NTT1

Deep Learning Models 20.4: https://rdir.magix.net/?page=LHEFN95YY0ZY

+ 1 @fr0sty - @RachelBanner - Much better solution than mine.

First off... I'd suggest completely uninstalling VEGAS from your computer.

Then download VEGAS again, a brand new build just launched yesterday, so it may have addressed your problem already.

Reinstall that from scratch.

Make sure you also download the deep learning models, links in my next post.

Reboot your computer before launching it.

Then see if the problem persists.

Thanks a bunch! I'll check out those links and give it another shot. Much appreciated!

+ 1 @fr0sty - @RachelBanner - Much better solution than mine.

Thanks! I'm grateful for all the help!

Thanks! I'm grateful for all the help -

@RachelBanner - Team Work! 😊

Seems like other users (including myself) are reporting a similar problem, with getting several false starts that needing cancelling in the task manager before Vegas finally opens your project. Happening since v19 for me. Had assumed it was just my hard drive set up, but seems to be several others. See the post here https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vegas-20-will-not-start-and-the-desktop-icon-goes-away--139203/

From what I can tell false starts may be false shutdowns where Vegas remains in memory and blocks a new instance from starting.

I have had an issue with 20.236 where it didn't open when clicking the icon and it wasn't in the process list which was baffling. I'm keeping an eye on it to see if this occurs again. On happened on my desktop, not my laptop.

I am sad to report I am also one of those unfortunates who have to kill Vegas via the task manager before using it. I had the issue more often than not with Vegas 20 build 204 and it still is an issue with yesterdays new build 326.

I start my PC, click/double click the icon, and nothing happens. Then I need to kill Vegas in the task manager, and then I can start to use it. I never reported it before, as I think it is a minor nuisance, as Vegas 20 build 204 was very stable in my case.

Some OS issue with Vegas and Windows 11 22H2 perhaps? Are windows 10 users also affected?

The new Welcome screen might give a workaround. If I open Vegas with no project in (i.e. without choosing a previous project to open, just the programme) it always seems to open. Then I can pick the previous project I want to work on from the Welcome screen list. That list is different to the 'previous projects' list I get under the task bar icon. So maybe there's something going wrong between Vegas held recent projects and Windows 11 held recent projects?

Are windows 10 users also affected?

It's just more common in Windows 11. It's happened to me in Windows 11 as well on other computers back in Windows 10 days with earlier versions of Vegas Pro as well as with other programs including MS's very own Outlook (most recently as yesterday in W11).

I experimented a bit just now with open close Vegas and observing the task manager, and sure enough - sometimes Vegas is still in memory even tough Vegas was shut down. If you then shut down your PC, windows will save the memory to disk (Virtual Memory Page File) to be able to start up faster.

In one particular instance it was still in memory and then after a few seconds it disappeared from memory. I am guessing that following scenario can happen: a person who has finished working with Vegas closes Vegas, and shuts down his pc as his next action. The following day he starts up his PC and wants to open Vegas, but he cannot as the memory with a Vegas process still in it; is re-loaded in memory from the startup...

As a workaround you can clear the Virtual Memory Page File every time you shut down your PC (there is a setting in windows registry or vis Group policy) to do that automatically. This defies the purpose of faster boot however.

Or you can delete the page file if you have enough memory (not recommended, as some programs may crash without it).

@bitman I always deactivate Fast Startup in Control Panel. From the web:

First, open the Windows Control Panel. Next, go to the Power Options screen. When there, select the Choose What the Power Button Does option. Finally, click the checkbox for Turn on Fast Startup and hit save.

Jøran Toresen

I start Vegas using task scheduler which allows you to run it in Admin mode and bypass the box you have to say yes to when running it when you set admin via the exec file.

I experimented a bit just now with open close Vegas and observing the task manager, and sure enough - sometimes Vegas is still in memory even tough Vegas was shut down. If you then shut down your PC, windows will save the memory to disk (Virtual Memory Page File) to be able to start up faster.

In one particular instance it was still in memory and then after a few seconds it disappeared from memory. I am guessing that following scenario can happen: a person who has finished working with Vegas closes Vegas, and shuts down his pc as his next action. The following day he starts up his PC and wants to open Vegas, but he cannot as the memory with a Vegas process still in it; is re-loaded in memory from the startup...

As a workaround you can clear the Virtual Memory Page File every time you shut down your PC (there is a setting in windows registry or vis Group policy) to do that automatically. This defies the purpose of faster boot however.

Or you can delete the page file if you have enough memory (not recommended, as some programs may crash without it).

This sounds like a promising explanation esp for those of us who rarely close the program normally (because it crashes frequently). Thank you for this.

@J-Toresen - Yo Torsie!

Possibly related?

Application shortcuts might not work from the Start menu or other locations

Status    Originating update    History
Resolved    N/A

Resolved: 2023-01-18, 19:28 PT
Opened: 2023-01-13, 13:40 PT
After installing security intelligence update build 1.381.2140.0 for Microsoft Defender, application shortcuts in the Start menu, pinned to the taskbar, and on the Desktop might be missing or deleted. Additionally, errors might be observed when trying to run executable (.exe) files which have dependencies on shortcut files. Affected devices have the Atack Surface Reduction (ASR) rule "Block Win32 API calls from Office macro" enabled. After installing security intelligence build 1.381.2140.0, detections resulted in the deletion of certain Windows shortcut (.lnk) files that matched the incorrect detection pattern.

Windows devices used by consumers in their home or small offices are not likely to be affected by this issue.

Workaround: Changes to Microsoft Defender can mitigate this issue. The Atack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules in Microsoft Defender are used to regulate software behavior as part of security measures. Changing ASR rules to Audit Mode can help prevent this issue. This can be done through the following options:

Using Intune: Enable attack surface reduction rules | Defender for Endpoint: Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Using Group Policy: Enable attack surface reduction rules | Defender for Endpoint: Group Policy
Microsoft Office applications can be launched through the Microsoft 365 app launcher. More details on the Microsoft 365 app launcher can be found in Meet the Microsoft 365 app launcher

Next steps: This issue is resolved in security intelligence update build 1.381.2164.0. Installing security intelligence update build 1.381.2164.0 or later should prevent the issue, but it will not restore previously deleted shortcuts. You will need to recreate or restore these shortcuts through other methods. For additional information and help recovering missing shortcuts, see Recovering from Attack Surface Reduction rule shortcut deletions (updated on January 17, 2023 to include additional guidance and scripts to help with recovery).

Affected platforms:

Client: Windows 11, version 22H2; Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 11, version 21H2; Windows 10, version 21H2; Windows 10, version 20H2; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2016; Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB
Server: None

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/status-windows-11-21h2