If you are using OBS and get the “OBS did not shut down properly” error message when you launch OBS Studio, it usually means OBS was not closed correctly during the previous session. This means the next time it starts you will be asked to choose if you want to start in Safe Mode or Normal Mode. While Safe Mode aims to help prevent crashes by disabling plugins and scripts, the message gets really annoying when you see it almost every time you open OBS.
Takeaways:
- Why does OBS keep showing the “OBS Did Not Shut Down Properly” message when starting?
- Learn how to get rid of the OBS Safe Mode Normal Mode prompt on launch.
Table of Contents
Why OBS Shows This Message
OBS Studio includes a shutdown detection feature that checks if the program crashes, freezes, or is forced to close. When this happens OBS assumes something went wrong and offers Safe Mode on the next launch. This helps protect your setup from problematic plugins or corrupted settings. However, the warning can sometimes pop up even when OBS has been closed correctly.
How to Fix the “OBS Did Not Shut Down Properly” Error
Here's a solution you weren't expecting to see... Always close OBS using the built in menu instead of force closing it. If you are/were recording or streaming make sure that you stop all of these things before closing OBS. Rather than using the X in the top right corner try closing it a different way.
- Open the File menu and select Exit.
- After closing, check Task Manager to confirm no OBS processes are still running.
- If they are, end them manually.
Update OBS Studio
Bugs in older versions can cause shutdown detection errors. Though I personally haven't seen any that cause issues with shutting down OBS. Either way, it's worth checking for updates.
- Go to Help and select Check for Updates. If a newer version is available, install it and restart the program.
Disable Shutdown Check
If the message appears every time despite proper shutdown, you can disable the check.
Add this parameter to the OBS shortcut target:
--disable-shutdown-check
- Right click the OBS shortcut, open Properties, and go to the Shortcut tab.
- In the Target field, add a space at the end and paste the parameter.
- Save your changes and relaunch OBS.
This will skip the check that triggers the safe mode request. Just don't forget that you have set it because you might need to use Safe Mode at some stage.
Disable Plugins
Third party plugins are a common cause of startup issues and other problems in OBS so try disabling any that you are using.
- Open OBS and go to Tools, then Plugin Manager.
- Disable all plugins and restart the program.
- If the message disappears, re enable plugins one by one until you find the one causing the problem.
- Update or remove the faulty plugin.
Turn Off Replay Buffer
The Replay Buffer feature can sometimes interfere with proper shutdown.
Open Settings, go to Output, and switch Output Mode to Advanced. Under the Replay Buffer tab, uncheck Enable Replay Buffer. Apply the changes and restart OBS.
Roll Back to a Previous Version
If the issue started after an update, go back to an older version for a little while. Skipping updates is something you might find yourself doing from time to time.
- Check your current version under Help and About.
- Then download an older version from the official OBS repository.
- Uninstall the current version, restart your system, and install the previous release.
Reinstall OBS Studio
If none of the above solutions work, it's time to clean install OBS. This sucks as you will have to set everything up again but it should solve the problem. The main thing to pay attention to are the plugins and third-party stuff you used the first time around. So install one at a time and see what happens. The second one triggers the error you know which one to avoid.
