How to Fix VS Code Not Opening on Windows: Step-by-Step Guide for Blank Screen & Extension Issues

Last Updated: September 12, 2025 · Applies to: Windows 10/11 · Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate

🔧 Quick Fix Summary

Main Causes: Extension conflicts, corrupted user data, GPU rendering issues

Solution Order: End processes → Run without extensions → Test clean profile → Disable GPU → Reset data → Reinstall

📋 Table of Contents: Jump to a Section

• 🔍 Check Your Symptoms
• 1️⃣ End Background Processes
• 2️⃣ Run Without Extensions
• 3️⃣ Test Clean Profile
• 4️⃣ Disable GPU Acceleration
• 5️⃣ Reset User Data
• 6️⃣ Complete Reinstall
• ✅ Final Checklist
• ❓ Frequently Asked Questions

When you double-click the VS Code icon and nothing happens, or it briefly appears then disappears, you're dealing with one of the most common VS Code issues. These problems are typically caused by extension conflicts, corrupted settings files, or graphics rendering errors.

This guide provides step-by-step solutions to diagnose and fix the issue without losing your data. Follow each method in order, and you'll likely resolve the problem quickly.

🔍 Do You Experience These Symptoms?

• Double-clicking VS Code icon shows no response
• Code.exe appears briefly in Task Manager then disappears
• Blank window or black screen with "Not Responding" status
• VS Code stopped working after an extension update
• Issues started after Windows updates or driver updates
• Launch screen appears but welcome window never shows

If any of these sound familiar, try the solutions below in order.

1️⃣ End Background Processes

Hidden VS Code processes can prevent new instances from starting properly.

Using Task Manager

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager
2. Look for Code.exe or Visual Studio Code in the "Processes" tab
3. Right-click → "End task"

Select the Visual Studio Code process in Task Manager, then click End task.

Using Command Line

1. Press Windows + R → type cmd → press Enter
2. Type the following command and press Enter:

taskkill /IM Code.exe /F

✅ If this fixed your issue: Make sure VS Code closes completely when you exit it in the future.

2️⃣ Run Without Extensions

Extension conflicts are the most common cause of startup issues. Let's run VS Code with all extensions disabled.

1. Press Windows + R → type cmd or powershell
2. Type the following command and press Enter:

code --disable-extensions

✅ If this fixed your issue:

• Identify the problematic extension by enabling them one by one
• Open VS Code and press Ctrl + Shift + X for extension management
• Start by disabling recently installed or updated extensions

Using Built-in Features

• Temporary Profile: Command Palette → Profiles: Create a Temporary Profile (may also appear as Settings Profiles: Create Temporary Settings Profile depending on your version)
• Extension Bisect: Command Palette → Help: Start Extension Bisect

3️⃣ Test with Clean Profile

This checks if your settings or workspace data is corrupted.

code --user-data-dir "%TEMP%\vscode-clean"

This command creates a completely fresh VS Code environment in a temporary folder.

• User data location: %APPDATA%\Code\
• Extensions location: %USERPROFILE%\.vscode\extensions

4️⃣ Disable GPU Acceleration (Fixes Blank Screen)

Graphics driver conflicts can cause blank screens or unresponsive windows.

Temporarily Disable GPU

code --disable-gpu

Permanently Disable GPU Acceleration

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + P → Preferences: Configure Runtime Arguments
2. This opens argv.json in your application settings folder (not in the installation folder). Add the following:

{
  "disable-hardware-acceleration": true
}

Pro tip: If you see a persistent blank screen after updates, try deleting the GPU cache at %APPDATA%\Code\GPUCache or %APPDATA%\Code\Cache\GPUCache depending on your version.

5️⃣ Reset User Data

⚠️ Warning: This will reset your personal settings. Create a backup first!

Backup and Reset Process

1. Close VS Code completely
2. Press Windows + R → type %APPDATA%
3. Rename the Code folder to Code.backup (Insiders or other editions may have slightly different folder names)
4. Launch VS Code again

6️⃣ Complete Reinstall

Standard Reinstall

1. Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps (or Apps & Features on Windows 10)
2. Uninstall Visual Studio Code
3. Download the latest version from the official VS Code website
4. Choose User Installer (personal) or System Installer (all users)
5. Install and restart your computer

Portable Mode

1. Download the ZIP version from the official website (only ZIP supports portable mode)
2. Extract and create a data folder next to Code.exe
3. Run Code.exe → all settings and extensions will be stored under the data folder. Some extensions may still use system directories for temp/cache files.

✅ Final Checklist

• --disable-extensions works → Disable/remove problematic extensions
• --user-data-dir works → Reset user data is needed
• --disable-gpu works → Apply permanently in argv.json
• Portable ZIP version works → Existing installation is corrupted → Reinstall
• Run code --status for diagnostic information (requires VS Code in PATH and GUI instance running)
• Check logs via Command Palette → Developer: Open Logs Folder or %APPDATA%\Code\logs
• If PATH issues occur, manually add installer-specific bin path:
  • User Installer: %LocalAppData%\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin
  • System Installer: C:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code\bin

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Will resetting user data remove my extensions?

A: No. Extensions are stored separately in %USERPROFILE%\.vscode\extensions.

Q2. VS Code won't start in corporate environments (AppLocker)?

A: Try adding "disable-chromium-sandbox": true to argv.json (recent versions use this instead of --no-sandbox --disable-gpu-sandbox). Always confirm with your IT department before applying, since it may conflict with security policies.

🔗 Related Resources

• VS Code Command Line Options (Official)
• Windows Setup Guide (Official)
• Portable Mode Documentation