The app won’t start
A failed startup almost always comes from one of three places: the machine’s configuration, the Windows virtualization layer, or the display of the window. The symptoms are different, and so are the actions. Start by identifying yours.
Before you start
Section titled “Before you start”Note your app version and what appears on screen, word for word. If you plan to ask for help, don’t restart the app twice before you’ve collected your logs: they are reset at each startup. The details are in Find your logs and report a bug.
The installation is blocked, or the configuration is rejected
Section titled “The installation is blocked, or the configuration is rejected”Windows shows a SmartScreen warning during installation. This is the signing certificate, which is recent. Click More info, then Run anyway. The installer is properly signed.
The Hardware step shows “This PC needs attention” (“This Mac needs attention” on Mac). The machine is below the minimum: less than 6 GB of RAM, fewer than two processor threads, less than 5 GB of free space, or an unsupported system. Free up space, or switch to another machine: this step doesn’t let you through, and there is no workaround.
Copy diagnostics copies the result of the checks, so you can attach it to a support request. The details of the requirements are in Check that your computer is compatible.
The window opens but stays white
Section titled “The window opens but stays white”The app responds, but its display stays empty: the window’s graphics process keeps crashing. This problem only affects Windows.
The app handles this on its own. After three close graphics crashes, it restarts once in compatibility graphics mode and keeps that mode for the next launches, including from your shortcut. You don’t need to do anything: let it restart. In this mode, 3D previews may be degraded or unavailable.
If the problem persists despite this mode, the app stops trying rather than restarting in a loop. A Windows window opens, titled “VibeStarter — display problem”, with a single
Close VibeStarter button. It asks you to contact support and attach your logs — see Find your logs and report a bug.
If the screen stays white even in this mode, it’s a different cause: retrieve your logs and report it.
Agents are slow, or the environment takes forever to start
Section titled “Agents are slow, or the environment takes forever to start”Without hardware acceleration, the app uses software emulation. A Degraded mode banner signals this: agents, editing and sync remain accessible, with reduced performance. New Blender computations are unavailable, including touch-ups, to avoid repeated failures. Blender models that already exist remain viewable and savable.
Click View diagnosis to open Settings → Application → VM acceleration. The Understand the diagnosis button explains the options without changing your Windows settings.
You can choose to stay on TCG and close the banner with its cross: Continue with TCG and hide this banner. This choice is kept after restarting the app, and it also applies to the Blender workshop banner. The diagnosis remains accessible in the settings; tick Show the banner when the environment uses TCG to show it again. Hiding the banner doesn’t re-enable Blender computations and doesn’t change the mode in use.
Blender is re-enabled when the environment has actually started with acceleration. A favorable detection in the settings isn’t enough if the current environment is still using TCG: save your work, quit VibeStarter completely, then reopen it.
To understand the results and the precautions, read Enable acceleration on Windows.
This diagnosis doesn’t apply: acceleration is native on Apple Silicon. If agents are slow on a Mac, look instead at available memory and the number of agents running, in My agent isn’t responding, or my quota runs down fast.
Enable acceleration on Windows
Section titled “Enable acceleration on Windows”Acceleration relies on Windows Hypervisor Platform (WHPX). VibeStarter provides a diagnosis and help understanding it. The app no longer offers to enable Windows features, prepare a trial boot, or make activation permanent. It uses WHPX when it is already available; you can also choose to stay on TCG.
Understand the diagnosis
Section titled “Understand the diagnosis”In Settings → Application → VM acceleration, click Recheck WHPX to refresh the result, then Understand the diagnosis. The Technical details give the result to attach to a support request.
- If WHPX is available and the environment is still on TCG, close your work and fully restart VibeStarter. No Windows change is needed on this path.
- If WHPX isn’t available: support can help you interpret what the app detects. The cause may depend on Windows features, firmware or other software; this result alone is not enough to identify an incompatibility.
- If virtualization is disabled in the BIOS/UEFI: check with your administrator or the manufacturer’s instructions for your exact computer model before doing anything.
Any changes are made outside VibeStarter, following Microsoft’s and the manufacturer’s instructions. A manual change also carries risks for startup and for other software. Back up your important files, and keep your BitLocker recovery key accessible from another device if the disk is encrypted. Don’t give this key to support. On a work or school PC, go through your administrator.
If an earlier version had already started a trial
Section titled “If an earlier version had already started a trial”The card shows Legacy acceleration trial to close if VibeStarter finds an old trial or a leftover boot entry. It no longer lets you confirm this old trial to durably activate the hypervisor.
Cancel the trial and Remove the boot entry remain available only for this identified legacy path. These actions require a confirmation, then administrator authorization; they still modify Windows and carry risks. Cancelling disables the hypervisor at the next startup: software that depends on it, such as WSL2 or Docker Desktop, may be affected. The Windows features remain installed. If an entry is still in use by Windows, you must restart before you can remove it.
Before you accept, save your work, close the agents and keep your BitLocker key accessible. If BitLocker is on, its protection is suspended for one restart; then check that it has resumed. If a check or an operation fails, keep the message and contact support before trying again: partial changes may have occurred.
Uninstalling VibeStarter does not restore Windows settings. If the app can’t find the old trial, it doesn’t offer a general hypervisor disablement: contact support to understand the situation.
Windows no longer restarts after enabling acceleration
Section titled “Windows no longer restarts after enabling acceleration”If an earlier activation or a manual change is followed by a blockage, avoid repeated attempts and random BIOS changes. Contact your administrator or support with the PC model, the error message and the changes made. Windows recovery tools may ask for the BitLocker key: keep it accessible from another device, and don’t give it to support.
The app can’t roll back if Windows won’t start. A recovery suited to the machine may be needed; no path guarantees restoring every configuration.
“Your environment didn’t start”
Section titled ““Your environment didn’t start””-
Click Retry. The second attempt almost always works.
-
If the failure repeats, open Technical details and keep the text shown for your report.
-
Restart the app.
-
If the screen “VibeStarter cannot start your workspace” appears, it offers up to three actions: Retry boot, then Recreate the disk and restore my projects, then Start from scratch. Go from the first to the last, not the reverse. The second one restores your projects from an archive on your computer; the code of your projects saved online is then updated automatically. The third one restores nothing: only the code saved online remains recoverable, from your project list.
Limits
Section titled “Limits”- Compatibility graphics mode works around the display crash; it doesn’t fix it. The cause is in the graphics driver or the machine’s runtime.
- The BIOS, UEFI, drivers and firmware are outside the scope of support, as are the system instabilities they cause.
- There is no Linux version available, no Intel Mac version, and no Windows on ARM version.