MS Store game (Forza Horizon 5) won't work after clean install

Today I wiped my SSD and did a clean install of Windows 11 22H2. I spent a few hours reconfiguring everything, installing drivers etc. All went without a hitch.

Then I downloaded Forza Horizon 5 from the MS Store through the Xbox App. It appeared to install correctly but wouldn't load. I clicked the icon and the cursor circle appeared for a second or so then nothing. It doesn't even show a process for it in Task Manager.

Windows was on C: drive, game was installed on D: partition. The new version of the Xbox app installed the game to D:\XboxGames.
Same Windows/Xbox account as the game was bought with, same SSD as before.

In the end I restored my backup image of both C: and D: drives. Did an in-place upgrade to 22H2 and it's all ok. Game is working as it was before

@BrianInEngland

I swear... the In-Place upgrade is the greatest thing Microsoft ever came up with.

Ghot said:

@BrianInEngland

I swear... the In-Place upgrade is the greatest thing Microsoft ever came up with. :)

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Yes but I wanted a clean install to fix some issues which the IPU hasn't fixed

BrianInEngland said:

Yes but I wanted a clean install to fix some issues which the IPU hasn't fixed

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I don't enjoy saying this, but... "If at first you don't succeed..."

Ghot said:

I don't enjoy saying this, but... "If at first you don't succeed..."

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Yes I may retry next week, it's a lot of work to reinstall everything.

BrianInEngland said:

Yes I may retry next week, it's a lot of work to reinstall everything.

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Just do it when you're feeling frosty.

Had a look online to see what i could find, Alot of people can't seem to get it to work after experiencing this but it might be worth trying none the less. If you're running MSI afterburner/an OC on you're gpu try removing those too, My FH5 didn't like me using afterburner.​

Also try launching the game through the .EXE file and run it as admin in the off chance.

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Repairing Forza Horizon 5 game files on Xbox Game Pass​

If you play the game via the Xbox Game Pass app, you can use the Windows Repair utility instead. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
2. Type in “Forza Horizon 5” and right-click on the Forza Horizon 5 search result.
3. Click App settings.
4. In the App settings menu, click on the Repair button.
5. Wait for a few moments to allow the system to repair the game.

Alternative to try

Run the game with the latest Microsoft Visual Studio.​

Microsoft Visual C++ is an application that supports Microsoft games; if you don’t have this software installed or there are missing files, Forza Horizon 5 may not launch. You can reinstall this important software component with these steps:

1. To launch the Run box, press Windows Key + R.
2. Type in appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
3. In the list, look for the Microsoft Visual C++ programs.
4. After selecting each entry, click Uninstall.
5. Download and install Microsoft Visual C++ from the Microsoft website.

Devlin1888 said:

Had a look online to see what i could find, Alot of people can't seem to get it to work after experiencing this but it might be worth trying none the less. If you're running MSI afterburner/an OC on you're gpu try removing those too, My FH5 didn't like me using afterburner.​

Also try launching the game through the .EXE file and run it as admin in the off chance.

​

​

Repairing Forza Horizon 5 game files on Xbox Game Pass​

If you play the game via the Xbox Game Pass app, you can use the Windows Repair utility instead. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard.
2. Type in “Forza Horizon 5” and right-click on the Forza Horizon 5 search result.
3. Click App settings.
4. In the App settings menu, click on the Repair button.
5. Wait for a few moments to allow the system to repair the game.

Alternative to try

Run the game with the latest Microsoft Visual Studio.​

Microsoft Visual C++ is an application that supports Microsoft games; if you don’t have this software installed or there are missing files, Forza Horizon 5 may not launch. You can reinstall this important software component with these steps:

1. To launch the Run box, press Windows Key + R.
2. Type in appwiz.cpl and press Enter.
3. In the list, look for the Microsoft Visual C++ programs.
4. After selecting each entry, click Uninstall.
5. Download and install Microsoft Visual C++ from the Microsoft website.

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I already run MSI Afterburner, the game works fine with my current Windows install. It wouldn't work after clean installing earlier today. If I try again I will use your suggestion to Repair after installing.

BrianInEngland said:

I already run MSI Afterburner, the game works fine with my current Windows install. It wouldn't work after clean installing earlier today. If I try again I will use your suggestion to Repair after installing.

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Yeah turn it off for a test, sometimes it conflicts with one and not with another but fh5 is a game that it seems to affect a good % so just a shout to turn it off and see what the deal is. Might not fix it but worth a go

Devlin1888 said:

Yeah turn it off for a test, sometimes it conflicts with one and not with another but fh5 is a game that it seems to affect a good % so just a shout to turn it off and see what the deal is. Might not fix it but worth a go

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It wasn't installed when I did the clean install. I was in the process of re-installing all the apps when I downloaded FH5. At that point I'd literally only installed/updated my drivers. FH5 was showing as installed after the 100GB (!) download but it just wouldn't run. I'll have to try the clean install again and use the app Repair if I have no luck

When you click on the three dots in no.2 click manage and try that too.

Devlin1888 said:

View attachment 31315

When you click on the three dots in no.2 click manage and try that too.

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Thanks for the advice! I will try all these when I get round to clean installing Windows again

BrianInEngland said:

Thanks for the advice! I will try all these when I get round to clean installing Windows again

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No prob, Again not sure if it will fix it but worth a shot, Hope you get it going!

Thing is, though, on a clean install with a clean download, you shouldn't have to repair the install you literally just installed. But, to be fair, it's possible a single file can cause it to go wonky.

As a FH5 player also, I can attest to both it being weird sometimes, but also to it having no issues on my system with Afterburner. But this was after I reverted from a Beta version of Afterburner to the regular release.

I recently did a clean install and am using eVGA's PreciosX1 instead, and will test with it (I've somehow skipped putting FH5 back on the machine lol).

johnlgalt said:

Thing is, though, on a clean install with a clean download, you shouldn't have to repair the install you literally just installed. But, to be fair, it's possible a single file can cause it to go wonky.

As a FH5 player also, I can attest to both it being weird sometimes, but also to it having no issues on my system with Afterburner. But this was after I reverted from a Beta version of Afterburner to the regular release.

I recently did a clean install and am using eVGA's PreciosX1 instead, and will test with it (I've somehow skipped putting FH5 back on the machine lol).

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Exactly, if you buy a new pc with 22H2 and own FH5, it should just download, install and work out of the box. I've never had problem with the game using Afterburner.

BrianInEngland said:

Exactly, if you buy a new pc with 22H2 and own FH5, it should just download, install and work out of the box. I've never had problem with the game using Afterburner.

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100% agree. But we all know pcs don't work like that unfortunately 😂

Devlin1888 said:

100% agree. But we all know pcs don't work like that unfortunately 😂

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Nope. Maybe it's because I use a separate partition for games, otherwise the C: drive takes a lot of space for a backup. FH5 is installed on D: now and works fine

BrianInEngland said:

Nope. Maybe it's because I use a separate partition for games, otherwise the C: drive takes a lot of space for a backup. FH5 is installed on D: now and works fine

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Shouldn't be an issue, I have games on my main drive, my 2nd drive and my 3rd drive and none differ in that regard. Weird one none the less, but glad you've got it working in some capacity albeit in a different install location but if that's all you had to do to sort it, then that's pretty neat.

Devlin1888 said:

Shouldn't be an issue, I have games on my main drive, my 2nd drive and my 3rd drive and none differ in that regard. Weird one none the less, but glad you've got it working in some capacity albeit in a different install location but if that's all you had to do to sort it, then that's pretty neat.

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Well I'm using my original Windows install which I made a backup of. The issue occurred after doing a clean install yesterday. I restored the backup and did an in place upgrade, the game still works. It's always been installed on D:

Windows 11 21H2 - game installed and working on D:

Clean install 22H2 - game installed to D: but won't run

Restore 21H2 and D: partition, upgrade to 22H2 - game works fine



I still want to do a clean install so will try again another time

Probably worth the time to find out why it didn't work - and if it fails again, be sure to take a close look at your Event Logs and see if anything else seems to be not working as well.