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Troubleshooting: App Won't Start or Crashes

This article helps you fix issues where AdBlock360 doesn't start, doesn't appear in the system tray, or crashes unexpectedly.

App Won't Start

Work through these steps in order:

1. Check system requirements

Confirm your PC meets the minimum requirements:

  • Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows 11
  • At least 2 GB RAM
  • At least 200 MB free disk space

See Installation & System Requirements for full details.

2. Look in the system tray

AdBlock360 runs in the background without a visible window. It may already be running without showing an obvious window:

  1. Look in the system tray (bottom-right corner of the taskbar, near the clock).
  2. If you don't see the icon, click the small arrow to expand hidden icons.
  3. If the AdBlock360 icon is there, the app is already running — click it to open the app on the Home tab.

3. Restart the app

If the app seems stuck or unresponsive, restart it via the tray menu:

  1. Right-click the AdBlock360 icon in the system tray and choose Quit.
  2. Launch AdBlock360 again from the Start menu (search for "AdBlock360").
08-14-AdBlock360-Settings-About-Tray-Menu.png

The tray menu's Start / Stop item only toggles AdBlocking — it does not restart the app.

If the tray icon doesn't respond, use Task Manager instead:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. In the Processes or Details tab, look for any process named AdBlock360.
  3. If found, select it and click End Task.
  4. Launch AdBlock360 again from the Start menu.

4. Restart Windows

A simple restart resolves many startup issues, especially if a previous crash left a process in a broken state.

  1. Restart your PC.
  2. AdBlock360 should start automatically on boot (if autostart is enabled).
  3. If it doesn't appear in the tray, launch it manually from the Start menu.

5. Run as Administrator

In rare cases, AdBlock360 may fail to start due to insufficient permissions:

  1. Open the Start menu and search for AdBlock360.
  2. Right-click the app and select Run as administrator.
  3. Accept the UAC prompt if it appears.

If this resolves the issue, check your Windows user account permissions.

6. Reinstall AdBlock360

If the above steps don't help, a clean reinstall often resolves corrupted installation files:

  1. Uninstall AdBlock360 via Windows Settings → Apps → find AdBlock360 → Uninstall.
  2. Restart your PC.
  3. Download the latest installer from adblock360.com.
  4. Run the installer and follow the setup wizard.

App Crashes

If AdBlock360 starts but then crashes (closes unexpectedly), log files can help identify the cause.

Finding the Log Files

AdBlock360 saves diagnostic log files that our support team can use to investigate crashes.

  1. Open Settings → Advanced.
  2. Click Open Log Folder — Windows Explorer opens directly in the logs directory.
08-11-AdBlock360-Settings-Advanced-Logs-Folder.png

Alternatively, open the folder directly:

  1. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type %ProgramData%\AdBlock360\Logs and press Enter.
  3. You'll see files like AdBlock360.Core, AdBlock360Svc, AdBlock360Updater, and UI.

Creating an Error Report

When contacting support about a crash, please include:

  1. A description of what you were doing when the crash occurred.
  2. The log files from the folder above (zip them if there are multiple).
  3. Your Windows version (press Windows + R, type winver, press Enter).
  4. Your AdBlock360 version, shown at the top of Settings → About (for example AdBlock360 version: 4.2.1.0222).

Contacting Support

If you cannot resolve the issue yourself:

  1. Collect the information listed above (log files, Windows version, app version).
  2. Submit a support request and attach the log files.

Our team will review the logs and get back to you with a solution.

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