SOLVED – Quark Xpress 8, 8.5, 9, 10, etc Won’t start! Crashing or Freezing on Launch (PC Windows 7, 8, 10, Vista)

Solution: QuarkXpress Crashes - How to Fix

Solution to fixing this occasional problem in Quark Xpress. This is a short article to help anyone else who may be experiencing this problem, but also as a way to remind myself the next time this problem happens to me. With only occasional use of Quark, I’ve still run into this problem about once or twice a year.

Description of the Problem:

When you launch QuarkXpress via a shortcut, doubleclicking on the executable, or any other method, the Quark Express splash screen shows up for a few seconds, then disappears and the program does not launch. If you click on the splash screen, it will gray out and Windows will say the program is not responding. Clicking to wait or search for a solution does not help. This problem persists after rebooting the system and is present despite no other programs running on the computer.

I’m still using Quark Xpress 8.5 which at this point is several versions old. However as far as I can tell this problem can occur somewhat regularly on newer versions like Quark 9 and 10 as well.

 

Solution! How to fix the problem with QuarkXpress not loading:

This appears to be the result of a corrupted file, probably a cache file or preferences file. As far as I can tell, I did not do anything to cause a corrupted file, but it may be that somehow Quark did not shut down correctly or maybe just experienced a bug. The solution every time this has happened to me has been to delete the local preferences and cache folder so that QuarkXpress will create a new set of preferences and reload the cache the next time you try to start it.

On Windows 7, 8, and 10 you will want to go to the following folder, copy it and make a backup of the folder somewhere like on your desktop, then delete the entire folder.

The location is: C:\Users\[YourUserName]\AppData\Local\Quark

You will want to delete that entire “Quark” directory. This removes all of your old preferences and clears the cache so keep in mind that most or all of your settings will be lost. Now try launching Quark again and hopefully it will launch successfully!

You could first try just deleting or moving some of the files in case you want to (hopefully) be able to avoid losing your settings. For example first try deleting just the folder named “PSProfileCache” and/or “PPD”. Then try launching quark to see if it worked. You may get lucky and delete the corrupted file or folder without needing to delete all of the files, thereby saving some or all of your preferences and settings.

Alternative Solutions

In case the above method didn’t work for you, here are a few other things to try:

  • Reinstall Quark
  • Update Quark
  • Delete the Windows font cache located at C:\Windows\System32\FNTCACHE.DAT
  • Reboot your computer (always try this first anyway)
  • Use windows System Restore to reload a restore point from when Quark worked
  • Uninstall or remove recent windows updates
  • Try applying new Windows updates

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13 Responses

  1. Matt says:

    Thank you from a Quark 9.5 user! This worked perfectly on a day when I have an important deadline and couldn’t afford the time to try reinstalling the program or figure out roll back a Windows update.

  2. John Moore says:

    Cheers for your suggestion to delete prefs. Just deleted those dated yesterday and it worked a treat.

  3. Kristina says:

    Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! It works! And perfectly! You saved my sanity!

  4. Bertille says:

    Hi All,

    URGENT HELP NEEDED: QuarkWpress File not opening.
    It’s an Annual Report I’ve been working on for days….. I’m stuck

  5. TIGEREYE says:

    DUDE YOU SAVED ME!

  6. Cezar says:

    Thank you! You saved my time!

  7. Irwin Gretczko says:

    Tried everything you suggested to no avail. This msg appears!
    QuarkXPress
    x
    QuarkXPress has encountered an issue and needs to close. Your recent changes might have been lost.
    QuarkXPress has attempted to rescue your document by saving it in a Desktop folder named Quark
    Rescue Folder. Open the rescued document in QuarkXPress and save it to a safe location.
    QuarkXPress has also created a file named “Send to crashreport@quark.com.log” in Quark Rescue
    Folder on Desktop. To help Quark improve QuarkXPress, send the log and any extra information you
    have in a confidential, anonymous error report.
    We appreciate your assistance.

  8. daydull says:

    @Irwin
    It sounds like the document you’re trying to open may be corrupted. The solutions in this article are more to fix a corruption of the Quark preferences files, so might not help in your specific situation. Do you have a backup or older save of the file? If not I’m afraid you may be out of luck. You could try opening on a different computer or different version of Quark.

    It’s a good practice to make multiple saves of a large or multi-hour/day file as you work on it so all data isn’t lost in a bad situation like this. Sorry I can’t be of more help!

  9. Irwin Gretczko says:

    I am not trying to open a file – just trying to load Quark and it will not load even after deleting all the files you suggested!

  10. daydull says:

    @Irwin
    Have you definitely tried reinstalling Quark? There were several other steps suggested. Based on the error message it definitely seems like a specific document is causing your issues. Are you trying to launch Quark by opening a document for example?

    If it’s really important, like it sounds, I would take the time to go through all the steps mentioned including uninstalling and reinstalling Quark. If you’ve definitely taken the time to do all the steps (even if they sound time consuming or like a hassle) unfortunately I don’t have any other suggestions for you

  11. Irwin Gretczko says:

    I am trying to launch the program directly not thru a document!

  12. Peter Mann says:

    Excellent advice. I’ve been using Quark 2022 since it was launched and no problems until today when it would not fire up – exactly as you describe. Followed your suggestion and, bingo!, it works again – thank you. Having to reset the preferences is a small price to pay.

  13. CORRADO says:

    SEI UN GRANDE MI HAI SALVATO!!

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