The modern world is unthinkable without the Internet. In many ways, we became dependent on it due to the fact that the World Wide Web offers us communication opportunities that we simply did not know before. Could anyone even a few years ago suggest that you can not only talk at a distance, but also see your interlocutor at the same time?
If you have ever dealt with a computer, you probably understand that we are talking about the Skype program. She has gained incredible popularity in recent years. No modern user can imagine life without this wonderful application.
Unfortunately, even in the case of the most reliable programs, there are various unpleasant surprises. What will you do if Skype does not start?
Most of the users will call the technical support service or look for a solution on various kinds of thematic forums. Unfortunately, they do not always help there, and not everyone has the time to look through hundreds of pages of messages, sifting out “grain from the chaff”.
In order to help you in this difficult situation, we have prepared this article.
What could happen?
If you have used the mentioned program since its inception, then you must remember that in those days Skype was extremely stable, and no one had heard of its glitches. Unfortunately, over time, the program was overbought by Microsoft, and soon after that the problems began.
Perhaps these events are in no way interconnected, but the fact remains: Skype does not start quite often in recent years. Often a problem is associated with some kind of violations on the company's servers. But even more often it happens that the new version is simply incompatible with some new standards, once again adopted by the notorious Microsoft leadership.
Delete the previous version
Often a problem can be solved quite simply. To do this, uninstall and reinstall the program. There are two methods to do this. The first is to use the standard Taskbar. How to do it?
Click on the "Start" button, look for the item "Control Panel" there. A dialog box appears in which to find the "Programs and Features" option. Click on the link, after which a list of all the utilities installed on the computer opens. Find Skype there and click on the “Delete” button, which is located at the top of the working window.
The standard “Uninstall Wizard” is launched, which will help you remove the program for video calls from your computer. After that, you can download the installation package of the new version and reinstall the utility.
And if Skype does not start even after that? Most likely, the whole point is a bad uninstall, after which traces of the program remained on the hard disk and in the registry. To prevent this from happening, we recommend that you use the wonderful utility Revo Uninstaller Pro.
We use the removal utility
It is designed just for those cases when some program does not want to normally be deleted from your OS. How to use it? Everything is extremely simple.
Launch Revo Uninstaller Pro, and then view the list of programs that is presented at the bottom of the working window. You are looking for "Skype" there, select it by clicking the left mouse button. After that, look at the top of the working window: there is an “Delete” icon, which you should click on.
First, the standard uninstall program will open. After that, a dialog box of the Revo Uninstaller itself appears, in which you need to choose the method of scanning the hard disk. We recommend that you stay on the "Advanced", as in this mode the program searches for the greater number of "traces" remaining from the utility. Select the option “Select all”, then click “Delete”.
What, Skype does not start even after conducting this kind of operation? Then we will use a solution from Microsoft itself, although it does not differ in special elegance.
Microsoft Method
Before executing this instruction, we strongly advise you to reinstall the program using the instructions above. If Skype does not start, Windows 8 (like other OSs of this family) can display its tray icon, but the application does not go further.
Watching such a picture? Right-click on the manipulator, and select "Exit" in the drop-down menu. After that, click the "Start" button, look for the "Run" field there, and then enter the command there:% APPDATA% \ Skype. Click OK.
Now you need to find and delete the small shared.xml file. It contains information on setting up the application. If you remove it, then the configuration will be reset to default, after which the launch of the program will become possible. How to find him? Just drive the name into the "Run" field and press Enter.
Does the computer not find anything? Then do a simple operation. You should again find the "Control Panel". In the dialog box there is a "Folder Options" item. Open the “View” tab, and then check the box “Show hidden files, folders and drives”. Click OK.
Search the file again. We delete it, we try to launch again. And if Skype does not start after the update? After all, the version is already the newest !?
Most original method
Oddly enough, sometimes even novice users find ways to solve the problem that would hardly have occurred to their more experienced colleagues. It is about creating a new account in Windows. It is advisable to create it with the rights of "Guest".
Very often, after entering the newly created Uchetka, it turns out that Skype starts working normally. This technique is especially effective in the case of Windows XP.
Antivirus?
Sometimes it happens that after updating an antivirus program, it suddenly starts taking Skype files for malware, and then deletes them. In any case, such excesses happened to users of the AVG program of older versions.
What to do? Try turning it off temporarily, reinstalling Skype and trying to start it again. Approximately the same symptoms can occur if your firewall does not allow it to go online. In this case, you need to deal with opening ports. Try to allow all connections through port 8080. This usually helps.
Skype doesn’t start? Is the white window the only sign of his presence on the computer? Here the matter is something else.
We put the portable version
On older versions of Windows, it happens that the latest versions of Skype turn out to be simply incompatible due to some problems with updates or system files. In this case, the only way out is to use the portable version of the application. It can be run both from the hard drive and from removable media.
This method works perfectly when, for some reason, the important kernel32.dll library is missing from your system. Skype does not start due to the fact that part of its modules are simply not activated.
Database Problem
Another common reason why the correct operation of the program is impossible. In this case, you must close the application by clicking on its icon in the tray with the right mouse button and selecting the "Exit" item.
Then go to your profile, which is located at: "C: \ Documents and Settings \ Your Windows Account Name \ Application Data \ Skype \ Your Skype Account Name \". The path indicated by us should contain a folder, after which the program will work.
So you found out what to do. Skype does not start for many reasons, but almost all of them can be eliminated by your own efforts.