I've launched the launcher and got "checking invalid game files..."

Aashiana

I don't have Steam so I'm assuming not there

LadyJohanna

Aashiana wrote: »

can you guys help a non-techie - where are you finding these files that you're copying into your folder exactly?

I did a fresh install to an alternate drive and grabbed the Launcher folder from it (using File Explorer and copy/paste). I thought maybe a more current version of files from a working Launcher would help .. but it didn't.

I also just uninstalled/reinstalled the game via Steam and that also did nothing.

Next step will be to delete the entire Zenimax directory under my Steamapps/common folder and scrub everything and do a fresh installation but that's another day ... not today.

Whatever was broken yesterday, continues 24 hours later and no solution.

LINCARD1000

Epona222 wrote: »

You said it was stuck on "Updating" though - that isn't the issue most of us on this thread are experiencing, sadly.

You're right. I thought it similar enough though in that for most of you it got past that updating bit but then got stuck. I suspect the issue I had is the same or related. What happened for me obviously doesn't help or offer hope for others like yourself though, I'm really sorry :-(

Epona222

LINCARD1000 wrote: »

Epona222 wrote: »

You said it was stuck on "Updating" though - that isn't the issue most of us on this thread are experiencing, sadly.

You're right. I thought it similar enough though in that for most of you it got past that updating bit but then got stuck. I suspect the issue I had is the same or related. What happened for me obviously doesn't help or offer hope for others like yourself though, I'm really sorry :-(

No worries, it's just very frustrating not being able to play - I'm going to have missed a whole day at least.

I am glad you managed to get yours sorted though!

StabbityDoom

Aashiana wrote: »

can you guys help a non-techie - where are you finding these files that you're copying into your folder exactly?

We're not copying files, if I understand your question, we're sending them to Kevin to forward to the people working on it. Kevin has a link above showing where/how to do it.

DatRascal

Been playing ESO since Beta and by far this is the WORST update we have had so far. The number of crashes and bugs are over the top.

Karminathevamp

LadyJohanna wrote: »

I did a fresh install to an alternate drive and grabbed the Launcher folder from it (using File Explorer and copy/paste). I thought maybe a more current version of files from a working Launcher would help .. but it didn't.

I also just uninstalled/reinstalled the game via Steam and that also did nothing.

Next step will be to delete the entire Zenimax directory under my Steamapps/common folder and scrub everything and do a fresh installation but that's another day ... not today.

Whatever was broken yesterday, continues 24 hours later and no solution.

The patcher broke last night while trying to launch the game. I got a short updating loading bar then the Checking invalid game files appeared. I still have the same problem right now. I used the eso64.exe and it worked last night, but not today because of the new DLC.

I'm sure that something broke the patcher last night. It was working well on Sunday. Was there a stealth ESO update?

Anyway, I'm downloading the game again. We'll see in a few hours how it goes.

ThayanKnight

Fwiw I have both Steam and Bethesda clients on my PC and the Steam Launcher updated without issue, but the Bethesda client is getting the 'Checking for invalid game files...' issue.

Nevidyra

This is extremely frustrating. I'm losing out on dailies, new content, and ESO+ time I've paid for. It's getting ridiculous.

Is there a way to force the game to update so I can open eso64.exe and bypass the launcher? Or is there somewhere I can download the update from as a temporary fix? @ZOS_Kevin

StabbityDoom

Nevidyra wrote: »

This is extremely frustrating. I'm losing out on dailies, new content, and ESO+ time I've paid for. It's getting ridiculous.

Is there a way to force the game to update so I can open eso64.exe and bypass the launcher? Or is there somewhere I can download the update from as a temporary fix? @ZOS_Kevin

That's the question I was asking earlier and the answer is no. However **SOME** people are having luck with the zenimax launcher (if you bought the game after 2016, that won't work with an only steam version) so you'd have to own a zenimax (non-steam) version, which some of us do.

Kathulhu

If it helps...

When I try to validate my files through Steam, it gives me the message: All 0 files successfully validated.

There's obviously more than 0 files.

Nevidyra

StabbityDoom wrote: »

Nevidyra wrote: »

This is extremely frustrating. I'm losing out on dailies, new content, and ESO+ time I've paid for. It's getting ridiculous.

Is there a way to force the game to update so I can open eso64.exe and bypass the launcher? Or is there somewhere I can download the update from as a temporary fix? @ZOS_Kevin

That's the question I was asking earlier and the answer is no. However **SOME** people are having luck with the zenimax launcher (if you bought the game after 2016, that won't work with an only steam version) so you'd have to own a zenimax (non-steam) version, which some of us do.

I don't have ESO on steam, but nothing is working. I'm using the bethesda/zenimax launcher launcher.

I've about had it with all of this. I've stuck with ESO throughout some of the worst patches the game has seen, but this legitimately might be the breaking point for me. There's not even a fix in sight.

hanszimmers

I just deleted all the screenshots from: The Elder Scrolls Online - game - client... And it worked lol

Karminathevamp

Well, after re-downloading the game (92 Gb) I was able to play again without any problems at all. Let's hope after the patch in the morning that my game will still work. Good luck all.

blighted-gt

hanszimmers wrote: »

I just deleted all the screenshots from: The Elder Scrolls Online - game - client... And it worked lol

It worked for me too, funnily enough.
I deleted my Launcher folder and moved the screenshots in my client folder elsewhere juuust in case. Re-downloaded the launcher and yep, it finally started to update. Came here to post about it but you beat me to it. Weird fix.

StorybookTerror

I just spent a few hours helping a friend work through this issue. We got it working with a workaround.

Her logs showed this error:

11/01/2022 23:09:19 Unable to invoke method (CC12B51E-4713-459B-A608-520EDE5B3286) ({"method":"listFolder","value":"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Zenimax Online\\Launcher\\..\\The Elder Scrolls Online\\game\\client"})
11/01/2022 23:09:19 http://127.0.0.1:57609/js/host-3.6.12.4.js (5001): Unable to invoke method (CC12B51E-4713-459B-A608-520EDE5B3286) ({"method":"listFolder","value":"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Zenimax Online\\Launcher\\..\\The Elder Scrolls Online\\game\\client"})
11/01/2022 23:09:19 Notification center caught unhandled exception: Cannot read property 'fileList' of null
11/01/2022 23:09:19 http://127.0.0.1:57609/js/host-3.6.12.4.js (5001): Notification center caught unhandled exception: Cannot read property 'fileList' of null

So, it couldn't list the files to see if any needed fixing, and died.

We moved the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Zenimax Online\The Elder Scrolls Online\game folder aside—just renamed "game" to "backup game". (We had also edited Launcher\launcher.settings to have "startAutoRepairOnInstalledApplications": true instead of false, but I don't know if this is essential.)

With the "game" folder moved aside, we ran Bethesda.net_Launcher.exe. The launcher realized the game client wasn't there, and reinstalled it. I'm told it was about a 5GB download, but it didn't have to download the full 80+ GB that a full reinstall would have taken. My friend was able to log in after that.

Hope this helps anyone who's still stuck on launcher problems.

MissHeartseekerx

Deleting screenshots also worked for me. Updating now, so we'll see what happens I guess!

Edit: All updated. Got in game, proceeded to crash after about a minute. Deleted Harvest Map, been playing happily for a while with no issues except long loading screens.

opalbee

Deleting the screenshots folder didn't work for me, but StorybookTerror's workaround did, so thank you for that! It's unfortunately too late for me to get my tickets for 11/1, but one would hope ZOS would be generous enough to extend the event another day so we can catch up?

HappyDan

Oh wow moving all my screenshots now allows me to patch the client nice.

Nevidyra

Removing all of the screenshots from my client folder worked as well. I'm updating and patching now, launcher is working fine.

What..?

Inari Telvanni

StorybookTerror wrote: »

I just spent a few hours helping a friend work through this issue. We got it working with a workaround.

Her logs showed this error:

11/01/2022 23:09:19 Unable to invoke method (CC12B51E-4713-459B-A608-520EDE5B3286) ({"method":"listFolder","value":"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Zenimax Online\\Launcher\\..\\The Elder Scrolls Online\\game\\client"})
11/01/2022 23:09:19 http://127.0.0.1:57609/js/host-3.6.12.4.js (5001): Unable to invoke method (CC12B51E-4713-459B-A608-520EDE5B3286) ({"method":"listFolder","value":"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Zenimax Online\\Launcher\\..\\The Elder Scrolls Online\\game\\client"})
11/01/2022 23:09:19 Notification center caught unhandled exception: Cannot read property 'fileList' of null
11/01/2022 23:09:19 http://127.0.0.1:57609/js/host-3.6.12.4.js (5001): Notification center caught unhandled exception: Cannot read property 'fileList' of null

So, it couldn't list the files to see if any needed fixing, and died.

We moved the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Zenimax Online\The Elder Scrolls Online\game folder aside—just renamed "game" to "backup game". (We had also edited Launcher\launcher.settings to have "startAutoRepairOnInstalledApplications": true instead of false, but I don't know if this is essential.)

With the "game" folder moved aside, we ran Bethesda.net_Launcher.exe. The launcher realized the game client wasn't there, and reinstalled it. I'm told it was about a 5GB download, but it didn't have to download the full 80+ GB that a full reinstall would have taken. My friend was able to log in after that.

Hope this helps anyone who's still stuck on launcher problems.

I tried this, and the deletion of screenshots, and neither of them have worked.

Prax3des

hanszimmers wrote: »

I just deleted all the screenshots from: The Elder Scrolls Online - game - client... And it worked lol

This worked like a charm, lol. Thank goodness for users like you.

Also, make sure you're deleting them from the game folder in steamapps, since the one in Documents won't work. (Tried that one first, since that's where I typically access my screenshots.)

Kelinmiriel

StorybookTerror wrote: »

I just spent a few hours helping a friend work through this issue. We got it working with a workaround.

Her logs showed this error:

11/01/2022 23:09:19 Unable to invoke method (CC12B51E-4713-459B-A608-520EDE5B3286) ({"method":"listFolder","value":"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Zenimax Online\\Launcher\\..\\The Elder Scrolls Online\\game\\client"})
11/01/2022 23:09:19 http://127.0.0.1:57609/js/host-3.6.12.4.js (5001): Unable to invoke method (CC12B51E-4713-459B-A608-520EDE5B3286) ({"method":"listFolder","value":"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Steam\\steamapps\\common\\Zenimax Online\\Launcher\\..\\The Elder Scrolls Online\\game\\client"})
11/01/2022 23:09:19 Notification center caught unhandled exception: Cannot read property 'fileList' of null
11/01/2022 23:09:19 http://127.0.0.1:57609/js/host-3.6.12.4.js (5001): Notification center caught unhandled exception: Cannot read property 'fileList' of null

So, it couldn't list the files to see if any needed fixing, and died.

We moved the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Zenimax Online\The Elder Scrolls Online\game folder aside—just renamed "game" to "backup game". (We had also edited Launcher\launcher.settings to have "startAutoRepairOnInstalledApplications": true instead of false, but I don't know if this is essential.)

With the "game" folder moved aside, we ran Bethesda.net_Launcher.exe. The launcher realized the game client wasn't there, and reinstalled it. I'm told it was about a 5GB download, but it didn't have to download the full 80+ GB that a full reinstall would have taken. My friend was able to log in after that.

Hope this helps anyone who's still stuck on launcher problems.

Additional details on this, as I was working with him on this (although he deserves all the credit for it).

First, I checked that Steam, the Launcher, and ESO weren't running.

I actually did two things in this folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Zenimax Online

Deleted this file: \Launcher\Bethesda.net_Launcher.version
Renamed this folder: \The Elder Scrolls Online\game
to: \The Elder Scrolls Online\backup game

I hope this bit of info might help some of you, as it helped my housemate; and perhaps also help ZOS decipher the cause.
Additional details on the system/setup: PC/Windows 10. She purchased the game through Steam, but at the turn of the year, bought a base-game copy to unlock it so she can bypass Steam when she wants to.

Mahleisen

hanszimmers wrote: »

I just deleted all the screenshots from: The Elder Scrolls Online - game - client... And it worked lol

I wish I would've seen this sooner, maybe this could have prevented me from re-installing the game the entire night haha
But reinstalling the game helped too if deleting the screenshots didn't work for a few people

Rykoth

.... the screenshot thing worked. WTF.

Greystag

I've been struggling with this issue since the patch yesterday...

I just tried the screenshot workaround and it worked, lol.

ThayanKnight

Removing the screenshots from the client folder worked for me too.

verminjerky

hanszimmers wrote: »

I just deleted all the screenshots from: The Elder Scrolls Online - game - client... And it worked lol

Honor on your whole family.
Honor on you.
Honor on your cow.

It worked! I just scooted those screenshots from my client folder to the ESO screenshots folder in my documents and boom, fixed.

Did you have a hunch or was this a coincidence?

Sily

Okay, that makes no sense, but moving screenshots from "The Elder Scrolls Online\The Elder Scrolls Online\game\client" worked. That makes absolutely no sense.

Hey ZOS, why are screenshots saved in both my docs and game folder?
Is there going to be any compensation for this downtime?

verminjerky

P.S. I am honestly very disappointed that this bug wasn't prioritized. I work in software and while it's sometimes hard to recreate something and it may be the users who wind up finding the variable affecting them and putting two and two together, I am really put off that this issue was backburnered.

- We were the first ones to experience a serious bug with this update as it began before the launch of the new DLC.
- We knew, ahead of time, it would prevent us from logging in as soon as the DLC came out.
- We were the only ones prevented from logging in entirely.
- It wasn't an edge case, a lot of people were affected. Since this problem is related to screenshots, we're likely very underrepresented here.
- The dev team didn't replicate the bug, but that doesn't mean they weren't able to. Someone they had access to almost certainly would've experienced it if they had fully mined their possible resources.

I know Cyrodiil was on fire (pretty much literally) and I know people using addons were experiencing crashes. And those are important. But this is affecting a lot of players, many of whom probably won't see this solution, and it's the one and only bug that was completely preventing people from playing. Everyone experiencing crashes and the people who normally like to play in Cyrodiil were still able to get into the game. We weren't.

I don't think this was handled optimally.