Musescore 4 won't open

• Dec 17, 2022 - 11:58

I found out about the new release today and downloaded it just now through Muse Hub.
when I double click the desktop icon, the splash screen will come up, saying "loading", but it closes after a few seconds and nothing happens.
I've tried reinstalling twice with no luck.
Running on Windows 10 64bit.

Comments

• Dec 17, 2022 - 13:13

Same problem, tried downloading with and without Muse Hub. Either way I get a successful install, but invoking the program yields only the splash screen, then nothing. Task manager indicates MuseScore 4 is not running...?

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• Dec 19, 2022 - 22:33

Same with me. I got it to work by setting my soundcard to 16bit, 44kHz and direct mode. I have the SoundBlaster Z se. Anything else and looks like the sound engine crashes the application or something like that. 24 bit or 48-96k will not work. I think they have a bit of work to do.

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• Dec 17, 2022 - 13:25

Same exact problem here. I've installed and uninstalled MuseScore 4 in a variety of ways:
- Via Muse Hub, onto the C: drive (same issue as you're describing)
- Via Muse Hub, onto the D: drive (it refused to find or even open the program)
- Via independent installer, on the C: drive and on the D: drive (same issue as you're describing)

I tried repairing the install through the independent installer, two different things popped up:
1. "MuseScore 4 setup was interrupted. Your system has not been modified. To install this program at a later time, please run the installation again. Click the Finish button to exit the Setup Wizard."
2. "Click the Finish button to exit the Setup Wizard."

Any known fixes for this? I've been really excited to try MuseScore 4 but this is a bit of a bummer.

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• Dec 17, 2022 - 20:17

Try turning off 3rd party audio software. Steelseries sonar messed with my musescore, and it worked when i switched it off.

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• Dec 28, 2022 - 23:43

Hi! I'm one of the developers and I'm trying to find out why MuseScore crashes when such audio software is used. You could maybe help us by running the test build mentioned in https://musescore.org/en/node/338271#comment-1160393, and uploading the resulting log files here according to the instructions in that comment. Hopefully that will give us a clue of what's going on!

Also, could you give some specifications about the software you were using, specifically which sample rate does it use and does it have more than 2 channels? (i.e. would MuseScore see more than 2 channels if the software is used as the default audio output?)

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• Dec 29, 2022 - 19:06

I followed your instructions as far as I could attempting to run the test build, but Windows Defender refuses to allow uninstalled software to run on my PC (which is doubtless a good thing). I would have to install your test version, it seems before I could actually run it. I am using Windows 10 Pro 64-bit with a Bose Audio System. It is 2 channel with a sample rate of 16-bit, 48000 Hz (DVD Quality). This sample rate selection is grayed out (I can't select any other option). If you can provide a test build install, I would be happy to run it and send you the test logs. Good luck and good hunting...!

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• Dec 17, 2022 - 21:20

I had this same issue. The only way I could get MuseScore to run was to go into my Windows settings and change my normal default audio settings, which use my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for input and output, to my laptop's internal mic and speakers. Then, Musescore worked fine, but that means I'm stuck with my laptop sound system.

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• Dec 22, 2022 - 12:15

I had the same issue while using my Behringer UMC404HD.
The Windows audio output was set to "OUT 1-4 (BEHRINGER UMC 404HD 192k)".
After switching the windows audio output setting to "OUT 1-2 (BEHRINGER UMC 404HD 192k)" MuseScore started.
1-2 is one stereo output and 3-4 the other, so apparently MuseScore gets confused with the 1-4 option somehow.

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 12:41

This worked for me too. Musescore 4 on WIndows 11 was crashing on startup. I uninstalled, reinstalled, repaired, etc. What finally worked was to disable all external audio inputs and outputs.

I found Musescore 4 very slow and had score display buffering on playback. This is on a brand new, fully updated Microsoft Surface Laptop, so it is unlikely to be a hardware issue. I am going to back to v3 while the bugs with v4 are fixed. Maybe I'll try again in 6 months.

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• Dec 17, 2022 - 22:57

I installed the MuseHub yesterday on an M1 Mac running OS 12.6. It opened once to allow me to install MuseScore 4, but now it won't open again to allow me to reinstall MuseScore 4. And I can't reinstall the MuseHub itself, because it reports that the MuseHub is already running on my computer. Yet it is not shown running under the list of open applications under Force Quit, which is unique. And if I try to put the MuseHub application in the trash, it again reports that it is running, so I can't do that either. Catch 22. So I am at a standstill.

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• Dec 18, 2022 - 13:17

Now two days after I installed Muse Hub up pops a query that it needs my permission to install a "helper". I give it permission and it seemed to install, but Muse Hub will still not open. And the Muse Hub still can't be trashed because it still thinks that it is open despite not being in the list of open applications. So I appear to have an application constantly running on my computer that I can't get rid of.

I did manage to install MuseScore 4 on it own.

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• Dec 24, 2022 - 04:57

I downloaded MuseScore 4 and used it a couple of times without a problem, but then for some reason I encountered the exact same issue you are describing where it tries to load for a moment and then closes. After reinstalling the program to no avail, I came to this forum feed and saw that it might be a problem with the audio output. I realized that I had unplugged my headphones from my computer earlier today. I plugged them back in and voila, it opened. To double check I closed the program and unplugged the headphones and sure enough it doesn't open again. I also tried unplugging the headphones while the program is open, and that forced it to close down. I don't know why it is a problem but clearly it is.

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• Dec 24, 2022 - 19:24

Not really. Some other notation programs work this way. If you disconnect audio input or output devices while the program is running, it might shut down or stop working. Make sure devices are connected and disconnected while the program is not open. Also, make sure your device is selected in Edit>Preferences>I/O.

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 00:30

Hello everyone,

I have created two test versions that may resolve the problem. It would be great if you could test them, and report which one works best, the one called wasapi_autoconvert or the one called wasapi_closest_convert_manually. You can download them from:
- wasapi_autoconvert: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xqyh83m21l0cngg/MuseScore-wasapi_autoconvert-…
- wasapi_closest_convert_manually: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n9nxhs3g9laurci/MuseScore-wasapi_closest_conv…

To run them, extract the downloaded ZIP file, and in the resulting folder, go to the bin folder, where you will find MuseScore4.exe. Double-click it to run it.

It would be great if you could test which of these versions work the best: can you open a score and does playback sound correctly? And does it indeed not crash anymore?

Additionally, it would be great if you could upload the log files from %localappdata%\MuseScore\MuseScore4Development\logs. You may need to rename them to .txt or wrap them in a ZIP file to be able to upload them here.

Thanks in advance!

Update: I have already submitted wasapi_closest_convert_manually to become part of the next patch release, see https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/pull/15698.

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 03:20

Running an executable image (.exe) downloaded to a folder on your hard drive is an act that can destroy your system. My system won't permit it (thankfully). Anyone who has their PC set up to permit this is going to get burned. Please provide an installation package instead and I would be happy to conduct testing...

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 14:34

Sorry, but this is not true and makes no sense. I'll have to set the record straight here.

First of all: if I would give you an installer package, it would install exactly the same exe file.

The only difference is that the installer would put this executable in some hidden location on your system; some things will be in C:/Program files/, other things in even more hidden locations. So, if I would give you an installer, you are going to have a difficult time to uninstall the exe when you're done.

With this normal exe file, you can run it and when you're ready, just move the folder to the trash and there are no traces of it anymore.

Also, keep in mind that an installer package itself is effectively an executable file too, it's only called "msi" instead of "exe".

Don't get me wrong: I'm not denying that you must be careful when downloading software; only download it from official sources, like directly from the developers (of which I am one). But this is exactly the same for exe files as for installer packages (which are exe files themselves and install more exe files).

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 17:31

You seem to be missing the point. I receive a message indicating that Windows Defender will NOT allow MuseScore.exe to execute. No override capability is offered. All of my installed applications with the exception of MuseScore4 run with no issues. When I researched this, I was able to locate several recommended procedures to invoke Windows Defender to change this behavior. Unfortunately, the Windows Defender option settings are grayed out. Investigating this led to the realization that the McAfee Total Protection software on my system has seized control of my Windows Defender settings. I was unable to discover how to pry the McAfee sofware off of my firewall settings, short of uninstalling it. I have a support agreement with my cable company who provide the McAfee software free of charge. However, my previous experience with my cable company as regards McAfee software support has not been stellar. Up to now I have not had the time to investigate further, and I am confident that by the time I work through all of the issues involved, someone at MuseScore will have already resolved this issue and moved on...

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 17:49

Your point seemed to be that "exe files are generally bad". But now I understand you wanted to say that these specific development builds from MuseScore are prohibited to run on your machine. That is probably because these builds don't go through the full signing and certification processes of Microsoft (as we do with full release builds), because it would be wasteful to do that for every development build (usually dozens of those are created every day, for all platforms together). In practice, these builds are just as valid and virus free as release builds, but sometimes it takes some effort to convince your antivirus software about that.

Anyway, I have already heard from a few other people that the problem seems solved with this build, so don't worry if you don't get the chance to test them too. Thanks for your efforts anyway.

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 14:43

If you prefer to download straight from GitHub where these builds are created, rather than from DropBox where I reuploaded them, you can do so:
https://github.com/cbjeukendrup/MuseScore/actions/runs/3825386952
https://github.com/cbjeukendrup/MuseScore/actions/runs/3825484702
You will need a GitHub account for this, and the 7zip tool to unzip the 7z file inside the downloaded zip file. Not convenient for most people, therefore I re-uploaded to DropBox.

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• Jan 3, 2023 - 18:32

I will upload my logs later today, but here were my results:

Auto Convert: same problem as before with an earlier dev build: it loads, but it won't play. I can add notes, though. No audio. It did have the Focusrite available in the drop-down in the Preferences | I/O menu, though.

Convert Manually: seems to work just fine.

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• Jan 26, 2023 - 18:57

I've tried running the latest version, MuseScore 4.0.1, but the same problem is occurring. I'm attaching the log from a few minutes ago; I got the application running by changing my system settings to use the default audio device, and when I went into preferences in MuseScore to change over to the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, MuseScore immediately crashed, just as it had been doing before. I re-ran the development version, and it works just fine.

If the fix to the dev version wasn't implemented in 4.0.1, then that would explain things. Otherwise, I have to wonder if there is some deep registry file in Windows that was set when I initially installed version 4, and it's not getting changed because... I don't know, Windows?

Attachment Size
MuseScore_230126_124438.txt 11.52 KB

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• Jan 26, 2023 - 23:51

Before you open MS4, is the Focusrite selected as the default system device? It may or may not get selected automatically. If it is, then open MS4. You may find MS has selected the Focusrite already. Or not. These things can be a mystery.

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• Jan 27, 2023 - 01:32

MS4 won't open if the Focusrite is selected as my audio device in Windows; it gets as far as the splash screen, but it closes with no error messages. The Focusrite is my default device 100% of the time, as it feeds to my amp and monitors. I can get MS4 to open if I go into my Windows settings, select my laptop's on-board sound as the audio device, and then open MS4. But once in MS4, all audio is through my laptop speakers. I can go to Windows and change the audio device back to Focusrite, but MuseScore still plays through the laptop speakers. If I set MS4 to use the Focusrite, it immediately crashes.

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• Jan 5, 2023 - 14:35

I have the same problem. Running on M1 mac OS Ventura 13.0.1

Installed through Muse Hub. The app icon just bounced up and down not opening. Right clicking it says not responding. Opening the app directly crashes it. Notification says it quit unexpectedly.

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• Jan 6, 2023 - 12:57

If you're on macOS, you must be experiencing a different issue, since the specific kind of crash of this issue is Windows only.

The only known cause on macOS are VST plugins. When MuseScore crashes while loading a VST plugin, it registers this plugin as "disabled", so that it won't attempt to load that crashy plugin again. After sufficient attempts, all crashy plugins will be disabled and MuseScore should launch fine.

It would be great if you could create a new issue about this, and upload the crash log from the "Quit unexpectedly" dialog (you might need to click "Show details", which should give you a huge report in plain text. Would be great if you could copy that and paste it in a txt file, and upload that).

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• Jan 20, 2023 - 18:27

For anyone who may be interested, I was unable to launch MuseScore 4 under Windows 10 x64 until I closed the "Positive Grid USB Audio Device Driver" v4.80.0. This is used for the Spark Amp product line. Once I closed that driver MuseScore 4 loaded.

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• Feb 9, 2023 - 15:41

I Had this same issue and figured out that the solution for me was changing my computer settings from 24 bit audio down to 16 bit, not sure if its a glitch in the code or if musescore just doesn't support 24 bit

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• Feb 10, 2023 - 22:56

It's absolutely hopeless. I tried most of what was listed here as a fix. I checked Windows Defender and my firewall and added Musescore 4. I disabled all external audio in & out except my computer audio. I turned off my interface. It reinstalled Musehub and MuseScore 4 a few times. It continues to crash after the GUI opens up saying "loading". I have Win 10 64 bit pro. Obviously, the computer is aborting the execution of the application for some reason. Please test out and release an udpate. It's been a couple of months now and I am falling behind on the learning curve. Thanks!

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• Feb 11, 2023 - 00:59

I posted my experience using a Bose 5 PC Audio System with results similar to other users, a splash screen displaying "loading" then the dialog disappeared and so did MuseScore 4. Thankfully, MuseScore 3 still worked.
My PC gave up the ghost a few weeks later and I purchased and eventually received another one and commenced reinstalling all of my applications, including MuseScore 3 and 4.

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the new release, 4.0.1 solved my issue. I am thus far very impressed with the tutorials and my initial experience using the app. I understand the frustration of those users who still have unresolved issues preventing them from upgrading. I was eager to get going as well.
Hopefully, the remaining issues blocking users from upgrading are going to be resolved in the near future,,,

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• Feb 23, 2023 - 21:57

I'm seeing audio output is the issue, and changing it works, but i set the audio output in MuseScore itself. What do I do to reset this and maybe get it to open? I'm at a loss. That, and, it started doing this after i changed the output in MuseScore; it crashed then started refusing to open at all. I think I'll stick to 3 for now while this is figured out. Same issue; I reinstalled it many times to no avail, and when it opens it'll show the splash screen for a split second and then disappear with nothing. win10 x64

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• Mar 3, 2023 - 13:24

Hi,

I had MuseScore 4 installed via MuseHub. Then it got upgraded to 4.0.1. Everthing worked fine until today - now I am having the same issue - the splash screen appears and disappears. I am attaching my log file from the dev build. Seems like it has a problem loading the palette?

Thanks,
Krasimir

Attachment Size
MuseScore_230303_150530.txt 19.67 KB

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• Apr 6, 2023 - 10:40

I have the same problem with my laptop.
If I set my audio output to my Bluetooth headphones, then ms4 does not start up. I then set my audio to system speakers and start ms 4 again, now it works. Then I set the audio back to headphones and all works, even when restarting ms4.
Hope this helps for now.

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• Apr 6, 2023 - 16:39

I got it to work but it was a bit more involved that setting audio to system speakers. Here is my fix:

1) Control Panel > Settings > Sound > Related Settings > Sound control panel
2) Under playback tab, DISABLE YOUR EXTERNAL AUDIO INTERFACE & enable your PC or system speakers if they are not already enabled. If you have a plugin for sound correction, you can leave the setting alone.
Disable everything else under playback if you don't use it. I'm not sure if it affects anything, but I disabled everything but PC speakers and my sound correction plugin.
3) Open Musescore 4.02.230651553
4)Open a score, select an instrument and add a few notes. The sound may come out of your PC speakers and if you're using sound correction software, it may sound distored. Here is the fix:

1In Musescore 4.02, go to Edit > Preferences > I/O. See what audio device is being used by Musescore 4.02.
There is a dropdown list showing all your available audio devices.
2)Enable your external audio interface in Windows Sound control panel playback tab.
3)Check the dropdown in Musescore audio device and see if your external audio interface is showing.
If it is, then select it and hit ok. If not, you may have to reopen musescore first. Also do not disable the current audio device Musescore is using if you have to close it out.
4) Once you have selected your external audio interface in Musescore I/O, make sure you have selected your external audio interface (where your headphones are plugged in) from the Windows speaker icon in the taskbar wherever it is located.
5)Play your score in Musescore 4.02 and the instrument should sound correct.

I was able to close out Musescore 4.02 and open it again.

Thank you Frank (and bobjp) for the advice which got me headed towards the root of the problem. It is an audio device issue. Previous version of Musescore would open and not play if you didn't have the correct I/O set up, but for some reason Musescore 4.02 will crash, so you have to disable your audio devices first except the PC speakers. Then go and make the changes once Musescore 4.02 opens up.

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• Apr 12, 2023 - 01:24

Seems like the issue is still happening. I'm a brand new user and was a hopeful convert from an older version of Sibelius. Latest install on a fresh Windows 11 build, and like the others, it closes almost immediately after the splash screen. I run Dante Virtual Soundcard for my DAW output (ASIO), and I assumed stopping that and moving to sound defaults would solve the problem, but even going back to all defaults, I could never get past the splash screen. Super disappointed as I'm all about supporting stuff like this. I guess I'll try again in a few months...

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• Apr 12, 2023 - 18:45

I was able to fix the problem on Win10. I don't know about Win11 but have you tried adding an exclusion to windows defender for MU4? If you have any external interface for sound or any other type of ASIO device that might be running, disable it and use your PC or laptop speakers until MU4 opens up. I don't know if this applies to what you did but you can't simply change the defaults, you have to disable everything but your system sound. Then you can change the audio settings in MU4.

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• Jun 28, 2023 - 14:03

I have the same problem with Musescore 4 (splash screen comes up but closes after a few secs) but I'm running Ventura 13.4.1 on a MacBook Pro. Any suggestions anyone? Thanks in advance!

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• Jun 28, 2023 - 14:20

Try the 4.1 beta which contains fixes for some of the issues that can cause this. See the Announcements forum for details on how to get it. If that works, then great. If not, then we'd need more details about your system, like what audio device, whether it worked before then suddenly stopped, etc.

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• Jul 23, 2023 - 21:35

Ensure you do not have the 4.1 update AND the previous 4.0 version both installed. Delete the older version and start the programme from the Start Menu to open up MuseSore from the Muse Hub.

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• Mar 22, 2024 - 02:10

I was having the same issue, splash screen displayed then nothing. In my case it appears that the problem was having undocked palettes. With the palettes undocked I was still able to open scores by clicking the "Open Others" button on the initial Musescore window - but none of the ways I was opening scores previously would work - this included double clicking from File Manager, clicking on any file in the Recent Files list and opening from hyperlinks in a spreadsheet. These were all working fine yesterday - but suddenly not today. So when I had a score open (using the only way that was working) I noticed that the palettes were undocked. I wondered if the undocked palettes could be causing the issue so I re-docked them, closed and tried opening again - every way that was not working before is working now. I have closed and reopened a number of times now as I am kind of shocked that something this simple could have been the problem. So if you are having this issue but are able to open an score from the "Open Others" button check to see if you have undocked the palettes - if so re-dock all of them.

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• Jul 20, 2024 - 22:02

I can access my scores via the app but I can't access File, Edit etc. in short all of the controls at the top of the page. What do I do to fix this?

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• Jul 20, 2024 - 23:56

What do you mean you “can’t access”? Something goes wrong when you clicking them? Or you’re looking the wrong the wrong place therefore don’t see them? Be sure you are looking in MuseScore Studio - the free and open source music notation software you install on your computer. Those menus are not a thin in the website or the mobile apps - those aren’t notation editors.

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