This problem is often caused by some missing or corrupt Windows components and the following guide should help make sure these are installed and working correctly.
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE
The first thing to try is to disable your security software temporarily as this can interfere with the game launching. If you're familiar with your brand of software, you can whitelist the Elite Dangerous files. These files are called elitedangerous64.exe, and Watchdog64.exe. These can be found in either the EDLaunch folder or the game folder. You can find these by using the folder locations FAQ.
VISUAL C++ REDISTRIBUTABLES and .NET framework
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Check for updates on your computer. ***This is a crucial step and must be completed before proceeding!***Go to Start/search --> type in 'windows updates' --> Check for updates
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Open Programs and Features and uninstall all items beginning with Microsoft Visual C++...
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Run Disk Cleanup in Windows. Make sure to tick the option to Delete temporary files
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Restart your PC
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Run the installers found here:
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And the x64 download of 2015/17/19 at the top of the page here:
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Open Windows Features by typing Windows Features in Start --> Search.
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Turn off all available versions of .NET in this window (these should be v3.x and v4.x), click OK.
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Restart your computer.
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Open Windows Features again.
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Turn on all available versions of .NET in this window (once again v3.x and v4.x). Click OK.
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Restart your computer again. Windows Update should repair all .NET components at this point.
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GPU DRIVERS
And lastly, please try a clean installation of your graphics drivers, you can find out how to do this from our guide here.
Should the issue persist please open a ticket with our customer support team by clicking the button below who will be able to look further into the problem for you.