You installed PDF Arranger on Windows, clicked its icon, and nothing happened: no window, no message, the app simply does not start. Launch failures after an install have been reported by Windows users in the project’s issue tracker, and in practice they usually come down to a damaged download, an incomplete install, or something on the PC interfering with the app. The steps below isolate each of those, in order.
Step 1: Restart and try once more
It sounds basic, but do it first: close anything related to the failed launch, restart the PC, and start PDF Arranger from the Start menu rather than from a desktop shortcut. This rules out a leftover process from the first failed start and a broken shortcut in one move. If the app opens now, you are done.
Step 2: Verify your installer, then reinstall
A corrupted installer can produce an install that looks complete but will not run. Download the MSI again from our download page, which links to the official GitHub 1.14.0 release, and verify the file before installing. Open Command Prompt in your Downloads folder and run:
certutil -hashfile pdfarranger-1.14.0-windows-installer.msi SHA256
For the official 1.14.0 installer, the result must match this SHA-256 exactly: 33ba1c3028cc81eb364b8eed288389fc8a4869c015ce817b9408a3d31e0e90b0. If it does not match, delete the file and download it again. Then uninstall the current copy (Settings > Apps), run the verified installer, and follow our Windows installation guide if you want the step-by-step version. Note that the official Windows build is a 64-bit (x86_64) build, so it needs a 64-bit edition of Windows.
Step 3: Check whether security software is interfering
As a general troubleshooting step, security and antivirus software can sometimes block or quarantine a newly installed program it does not recognise yet. If PDF Arranger stopped launching right after an install or an update, open your security software and check its protection history or quarantine list for entries relating to PDF Arranger, and follow that product’s own instructions for restoring or allowing a file you trust. Only do this for an installer whose hash you verified in Step 2, and re-download from the official source rather than trusting copies from download sites.
Step 4: Bypass the install with the portable build
The portable ZIP needs no installation at all. Download it from the same download page, extract the whole ZIP to a new folder, and run the app from there. Two outcomes are possible:
- The portable build works: your installed copy is damaged. Uninstall it and reinstall from the verified MSI, or simply keep using the portable build; our portable guide explains how it differs.
- The portable build also will not start: the problem is on the PC rather than in one install, which makes the security-software check in Step 3 and a report to the developers (below) the right next moves.
Step 5: Make sure you are on the current version
Launch problems in older releases may already be fixed. Version 1.14.0 (May 23, 2026) is current at the time of writing. If you installed PDF Arranger some time ago, or through a third-party package, replace it with the official 1.14.0 build from GitHub Releases before digging deeper. If the app does start but then fails to open a particular file, switch to our guide on PDF Arranger not opening a PDF instead, because that is a different problem.
Still not launching?
Search the official GitHub Issues tracker for your Windows version and a short description of what happens, and open a new issue if yours is not there. State that you verified the installer hash and tried the portable build: those two facts save the developers a full round of questions. Mention your Windows edition, how you installed the app, and whether any security software reported anything at the same time.