Steam will not launch the ESO Launcher

Lapin_Logic

A couple of days ago I installed Unity and that in turn installed "Visual Studio 2017", the rest of the day every time I launched ESO it gave a prompt "Do you want to allow X to make changes to your computer" I can't remember what X was now.

It did launch and play though, but today every time I click "play" in Steam it changed to the blue "Stop" button and then after 10 seconds returns to "Play" having not started anything.

I can get the launcher to run if I go into the folder and run the "Bethesda.net_launcher" it ran an update and launched but Steam does not know it is running and ESO wont log in because it wasn't launched from steam, I Can use my account log in to get online but one time I got a notice about "This was not launched from steam" or words to that effect and there was no log in "Name and Password" box, just the (eso log in screen) Play button.

So far I have verified the files, OK
I uninstalled Visual Studio 2017.
uninstalled, rebooted, reinstalled eso, I get the old school brown installer then the black screen saying "Hero" then it goes away and steam returns to "Play?"
Tried to run vcredist_x64, x86 and the 2015 variants but the computer says it can't because newer ones exist, so I uninstalled them and reinstalled them from the (Zenimax online>Launcher) folder, this did nothing, Bethesda.net_laucher had a shield symbol on it so I ran that and it has admin rights, it also added more files in the folder after it ran.

So currently Steam still not launching and I can log in using my old school password, can anyone help me get steam to actually bootstrap/ do it's job?

ZOS_Bill

@Lapin_Logic

Here are some additional changes you may need to make to get the ESO launcher working correctly with Steam.

1. The .exe that Steam requires to be launched to be compatible with the Steam overlay is not actually eso.exe, but a file called "zosSteamStarter.exe". If your Steam library is "pointing" to the wrong .exe file, it won't launch from the library. The correct file "zosSteamStarter.exe" will usually be in the following directory:

Steam\Steamapps\Common\Zenimax Online

After locating "zosSteamStarter.exe", right click it to run it as an administrator. You may want to set it to permanently run as an administrator in your Compatibility tab. You can also create a shortcut to this .exe to use it more easily in the future; this is the .exe that must be run to access the Steam overlay and log your Steam play hours.

2. In order for "zosSteamStarter.exe" to log the information such as play hours properly, you may have to lower your Windows UAC (User Account Control) settings. Lowering User Account Control settings to the minimum will allow Steam to gather this data properly.

You also may be encountering an issue where the ESO Launcher is not being added to the Zenimax Online directory. The thread linked below has troubleshooting which can help resolve this issue.

SOLUTION: Steam Windows 10 "Elder Scrolls Online is preparing to install" crash at 100% downloaded

Lapin_Logic

ZOS_BillE wrote: »

@Lapin_Logic

Here are some additional changes you may need to make to get the ESO launcher working correctly with Steam.

1. The .exe that Steam requires to be launched to be compatible with the Steam overlay is not actually eso.exe, but a file called "zosSteamStarter.exe". If your Steam library is "pointing" to the wrong .exe file, it won't launch from the library. The correct file "zosSteamStarter.exe" will usually be in the following directory:

Steam\Steamapps\Common\Zenimax Online

After locating "zosSteamStarter.exe", right click it to run it as an administrator. You may want to set it to permanently run as an administrator in your Compatibility tab. You can also create a shortcut to this .exe to use it more easily in the future; this is the .exe that must be run to access the Steam overlay and log your Steam play hours.

2. In order for "zosSteamStarter.exe" to log the information such as play hours properly, you may have to lower your Windows UAC (User Account Control) settings. Lowering User Account Control settings to the minimum will allow Steam to gather this data properly.

You also may be encountering an issue where the ESO Launcher is not being added to the Zenimax Online directory. The thread linked below has troubleshooting which can help resolve this issue.

SOLUTION: Steam Windows 10 "Elder Scrolls Online is preparing to install" crash at 100% downloaded

Thanks for the reply ZOS_BillE.
Still have a problem, will list the steps I have taken as per your recomendations.

.I have Lowered my UAC and given "zosSteamStarter" Admin rights in the compatibility tab.
.Steam is actually pointing to "zosSteamStarter"
.thing of note is I have an "Error" text file within the common>Zenimax online solder that contains "Cannot start process!", a Steam_appid that contains "306130"

Currently when I click Play in Steam Library it turns from Green too a blue Stop button now launches the ESO launcher but in 5 seconds the steam button returns to a green Play button, if I do click "Play in the ESO launcher that Steam just launched it boots the game until the log in screen where I get a pop up "Unable to initialise connection to Steam"
I have a file from the Logs folder if that is any use but it is too long to paste the text here.

Steam is working fine with every other title in my library including launching Steam VR when Oculus requires.

Thanks

ZOS_Bill

@Lapin_Logic

Thank you for the rundown of what you've done so far. In the link below is some addtional troubleshooting to help with the Steam connection.

What do I do if I'm getting a "Login error: unable to initialize connection to steam" message for The Elder Scrolls Online?

Lapin_Logic

ZOS_BillE wrote: »

@Lapin_Logic

Thank you for the rundown of what you've done so far. In the link below is some addtional troubleshooting to help with the Steam connection.

What do I do if I'm getting a "Login error: unable to initialize connection to steam" message for The Elder Scrolls Online?

I Could kiss you right now, THIS Fixed it.

Huge Thanks.

ZOS_Bill

We are glad to hear the launch issue is now fixed. With that being the case, the thread will be closed going forward.