You decide which services we may enable for analytics, personalization, and external content.
We use cookies and similar technologies on our website to personalize content, embed external media, and better understand how individual areas are used.
Necessary cookies
These entries support essential functions such as security, stability, and form processing.
Optional sections
AnalyticsMarketingPersonalizationExternal media
Your data may be processed with your consent or on the basis of legitimate interests. In the cookie settings, you can reject or explicitly allow each optional category.
Some services process personal data in third countries. By consenting, you also agree to this transfer. You can find more information in our Privacy Policy.
You can reopen and change your selection at any time. · 1.0.2
Game Server Down, Won’t Start, or Keeps Crashing – What Now?
Is your game server not starting or crashing? Find the cause in the log, check your mods, RAM, and configuration, and get your server back online.
10 November 20266 min read0 Views0 helpful
Introduction
If your game server is down, won’t start, or keeps crashing, there can be many reasons. The important thing is not to try restarting it right away, but to check the log file first. It usually contains error messages that explain exactly why the server crashed. If you restart the server right away, the log file will be recreated and the old one deleted. That means you won’t be able to see the errors anymore.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Don’t restart it right away! First, check the status page for an outage, then check the log file for error messages that may explain the crash. Restarting recreates the log file and deletes the old one, so you may no longer be able to see the error.
Errors usually contain words like 'Error', 'Cant find', or 'Couldnt load'. Search for the error text on Google to quickly find the cause.
This can happen if the server crashed immediately or the log file was deleted by a restart. In this case, the only thing you can do is restart the server and hope the error appears again.
Yes. If a host or the network at a location goes down, several servers may be affected at the same time. Common signs include an empty console or a server that appears online in the web interface but can’t be reached in-game. Check the status page, and don’t restore a backup during an outage.
Crashes at regular intervals usually point to a script, mod, or plugin with a memory leak, or to consistently full RAM. Disable mods one at a time and check your server’s resource usage.
The resource usage shows that the RAM is consistently full, and the server crashes or restarts. If it exceeds its allocated resource limit for an extended period, it will be automatically suspended. If your server is consistently underpowered, an upgrade or downgrade to get more RAM may help.
Start a support chat and leave the server unchanged so support can investigate it, or use your ZapX Pass to restore a backup or reinstall the server.
The entire server is reset to its original state—all server data, such as worlds, configurations, plugins, and mods, will be deleted.
Send the latest error lines from the log file as text, details of what you changed most recently (mod, plugin, config, or game update), and the approximate time of the crash. Don’t restart the server beforehand, so the log is preserved.
Feedback
Was this article helpful?
Your feedback helps us prioritize and improve content.
0 of 0 Users found this article helpful.
Personal support
Need more help than the guide provides?
Our ZAP support team knows your product — briefly describe your issue and we'll help you personally.
Navigation
Game Server
Is there currently an outage?
Not every outage is caused by your server. If a host or the network at a location goes down, several servers are usually affected at the same time. Typical signs include being unable to start the server at all, an empty console and log file, or the server appearing online in the web interface but being unreachable in-game.
In this case, first check our status page. You can also get outage notifications for your locations sent directly to you. See Set up notifications.
Warning
Don’t reset anything during an outage: Don’t restore a backup or reinstall the server while there’s an outage. This won’t solve the problem and could cost you your data. Once the outage is resolved, your server will usually work as usual again.
View the log file
You can easily open the log file from the menu on the left.
Then you can view it using the green eye icon. Make sure you always open the most recent log file.
You can identify it by its date or name.
Once you’ve opened it, check it for errors (errors usually contain words like "Error", "Cant find", or "Couldnt load"). The most important lines are the ones just before the crash.
A typical example is a FiveM server with an incorrect server license key: the log file reports an error with the license key, and the server stops starting.
You can then search for the error on Google, for example, to see if it’s a known issue. This is usually a quick way to find the cause.
If you can’t find anything about the error, you can send it as text or a screenshot in Live Chat.
Log file is empty
Unfortunately, this can happen too. If the log file is empty, it couldn’t be created because the server crashed immediately or was deleted by a restart. In this case, you can only try restarting the server and hope that the error appears again or that the server starts working.
Server won’t start – common causes
A typical scenario: You click Start, the server gets stuck on “Initializing,” or switches back to offline after a few seconds. The most common reasons are:
Missing or incompatible mods and plugins: This is the most common cause. Often, a dependency is missing (a mod required by another mod), or a mod isn’t compatible with your server version. The log usually mentions the mod’s name. Upload the missing mod using SFTP or remove the mod you added most recently.
An error in a configuration file: After changing the config, even an invalid value or typo can prevent the server from starting. Undo your last change.
After a game update: Mods, plugins, or your world may no longer be compatible with the new version. Update them or wait for compatible versions to become available.
Installation or update is still running: Don’t start the server while an installation or update is in progress. Otherwise, game files may be missing. The first start after an installation can also take a little longer.
Invalid license key or server token: Games that require their own key won’t start without a valid one.
Changed ports: If you changed ports in the configuration file, the web interface may remain stuck on “Initializing” even though the server is running. Use the ports assigned to your server during setup.
The most important rule: Undo your last change first, then test just one thing at a time.
Server crashes after starting or keeps crashing
RAM or CPU is at its limit: Check your server’s resource usage. If the RAM stays full, the server may crash or restart. If your server exceeds its allocated resource limit for an extended period, it will be automatically suspended. See Resource limit for what you can do.
Crashes at regular intervals (e.g. every 5–10 minutes): This usually points to a script, mod, or plugin with a memory leak. Disable mods one at a time until the crashes stop.
Crashes as soon as someone joins: The game save may be corrupted or a mod may be faulty. Restoring a backup from before the problem usually helps.
Only the game crashes, not the server: If the server keeps running and only your game crashes, the issue is usually with your game or modpack version. It must match the server version exactly.
Server is consistently underpowered: If your server regularly reaches its limits with your mods and players, an upgrade/downgrade to get more RAM or CPU can help.
Step-by-step checks
Rule out an outage: Check the status page.
Save the log file: Open the current log file and copy the latest error lines before restarting.
Identify your last change: What did you change most recently (mod, plugin, config, game update)? Undo that change first.
Test mods and plugins individually: Disable them one at a time or in small groups, restarting after each change.
Check resource usage: Is the RAM full or the CPU constantly at its limit?
Restore a backup: If none of this helps, restore a backup from before the problem (see below).
Contact support: Send us the error lines as text, details of your last change, and the time of the crash.
FiveM-specific checks
FiveM has a few common causes you can check right away. You can also find an overview in FiveM: Common issues.
License key: In server.cfg, check that sv_licenseKey has been copied in full and starts with cfxk_ (all lowercase). See Add your own license key for how to add your own key.
Resources: The server will fail to start if a resource is missing, duplicated, or doesn’t have an fxmanifest.lua file. Comment out resources in server.cfg one at a time to find the faulty one. The name after start must match the folder name exactly. See Installing resources. Resources detected as dangerous by the system are automatically disabled. See Resource contains prohibited logic.
Database: If the log reports database connection errors (e.g. with oxmysql), go to Configuration, then under Actions, click Reconfigure MySQL connection string and restart the server. See Fix database connection issues for more information.
Find errors in txAdmin: The Live Console in txAdmin shows errors and warnings in real time. See txAdmin interface.
Performance spikes: Use the profiler to find resources that are slowing down the server. In the Live Console, enter profiler record 100, then profiler view. Resources above 6 ms are suspicious. See Using the profiler.
Clear the cache: As a last step, you can clear the cache. See Clear the cache.
No solution in Live Chat
If you haven’t found a solution on Google or in Live Chat, there are 2 options. The first is to start a support chat and leave the server as it is so support can investigate it more closely.
The second option is to restore a backup or reinstall the server.
Option 1 – Restore a backup
We automatically back up your game server every day. With your ZapX Pass, go to Backups on the left and restore the latest backup using Restore (the arrow icon). Your server should then work as usual again. For step-by-step instructions, see Backups.
Option 2 – Reinstall the server
Start the reinstallation using the Reinstall button under Actions on the overview page. This resets the entire server to its original state—all server data, such as worlds, configurations, plugins, and mods, will be deleted. See Server reset for more information.
Reinstallation didn’t help
Unfortunately, this is the worst-case scenario. The only option is to have support check the server via support chat, as this indicates a more serious problem. We’ll do everything we can to resolve it as quickly as possible so you can use your service as usual.
If your server keeps crashing because it’s reaching its limits with your mods and players, an upgrade/downgrade is usually the long-term solution.
Server hosting from €2.49 / month, online instantly, DDoS protection included.
Preferred source on Google
