inability to open matkab on my laptop after installation

i installed matlab on my laptop(dell), but it did not open and with that, i could not be able to do anything at all, please help me on fixing it thanks

[Torsten]

The answers forum is a group of MATLAB volunteers, not TMW employees. If the below answer from AI doesn't help, contact official MATLAB support:

https://uk.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

Answer from AI:

If MATLAB does not open after installation, try restarting your computer, running MATLAB as an administrator, or resetting its preferences by renaming the preferences folder. If the problem persists, you may need to disable third-party applications, check for Java or graphics driver issues, or perform a clean reinstallation.

Quick fixes

This video demonstrates how to quickly fix MATLAB not opening by running it as an administrator:

01:10

Pavan Kumar kachala

YouTube • 25.11.2021

• Restart your computer: A simple reboot can resolve conflicts with other running programs.
• Run as administrator: Right-click the MATLAB shortcut and select "Run as administrator" to rule out permission issues.
• Reset preferences: Corrupted preferences are a common cause.

1. Close MATLAB.
2. Open the Run dialog box (Windows Key + R).
3. Type %appdata% and press Enter.
4. Navigate to MathWorks > MATLAB.
5. Rename your version folder (e.g., R2023b to R2023b_old).
6. Start MATLAB; it will create a new preferences folder.

• Check for hanging processes: Open Task Manager to see if a MATLAB process is running but not visible. End the process and try launching again.

Advanced troubleshooting

• Disable third-party software: Temporarily disable startup programs and non-Microsoft services to see if a conflict is the cause. You can do this by running msconfig and disabling items in the "Services" and "Startup" tabs.
• Test alternative startup modes: Open Command Prompt and try running MATLAB with different command-line flags:
• matlab -nodesktop: Starts MATLAB without the desktop environment.
• matlab -nojvm: Starts MATLAB without the Java Virtual Machine.
• matlab -softwareopengl: Forces the use of a different rendering mode.
• If MATLAB starts in one of these modes, it points to a problem with the desktop environment, Java, or graphics rendering.
• Check for Java issues: If the command-line tests point to a Java problem, check your system for an environment variable named MATLAB_JAVA. If it exists, try removing it.
• Update or reinstall graphics driver: Since MATLAB uses hardware-accelerated graphics, outdated or corrupt graphics drivers can cause startup problems. Try updating your graphics driver or performing a clean reinstallation.
• Check installation path: Ensure that MATLAB was not installed in a location with non-ASCII characters or a folder that already contained many other files (like the root of the C: drive).
• Reinstall: As a last resort, you can try completely uninstalling MATLAB, ensuring all related files are removed, and then performing a fresh installation.
• Contact MathWorks Support: MathWorks provides free installation support and may have specific solutions for your issue.

Answer 1

[Omkar K]

Hi,

It might be because MATLAB's prefdir is corrupted.

Please delete the following folders (previous prefdir)

• C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\MATLAB\R2018a
• C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\MATLAB\R2018a_licenses
• C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\MATLAB\R2018b
• C:\Users\YOUR_USER_NAME\AppData\Roaming\MathWorks\MATLAB\R2018b_licenses

Refer the following MATLAB answers post, It answers your issue.

https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/451089-matlab-doesn-t-open-it-s-installed-and-activated