Millions are familiar with Diablo which is easily one of the most popular gaming franchises, and especially with Diablo 2. The popular hack and slash game came out more than two decades ago, all the way back in 2000. It was extremely popular back when it first came out because of the story mode and multiplayer. 2 decades later, the game is still much more popular than most might guess, with a multiplayer mode that is still very much alive. There have been lots of changes made, but Diablo 2 is still the same great game at heart.
Today we’re here to talk about it, and specifically, one issue related to it that a lot of users frequently encounter. This refers to the Diablo 2 stuck on checking versions issue, which prevents the game from loading properly and prevents players from playing it. That makes it an issue that obviously needs to be fixed as soon as possible if you’re looking to play the game anytime soon. Luckily for you and all other users that encounter this problem even today, we’ve prepared a list of solutions given below.
How to Fix Diablo 2 Stuck on Checking Versions?
- Wait a Day
The first solution we recommend out of all else is to just wait for a day or maybe even two. That’s because Diablo 2 can get stuck on checking which version of the game is installed when there’s a restriction on your account. This restriction becomes longer and longer if you continue trying to launch the game, so just leave it be for a while and then try after that.
- Download the Latest Diablo 2 Patch
This version checking process is usually for the launcher to know whether or not Diablo is up to date on your PC. If it is up to date, the scan doesn’t take too long at all and should go away without any issues. But if it isn’t up to date, the system will continue to check before providing a prompt to download the update.
The game won’t run properly until this update is downloaded. So, if Diablo 2 is stuck on checking versions, just go to the Blizzard site to download the latest patch for the game and it should no longer happen, at least in most cases.
- Temporarily Disable Security Programs
A solution that tends to work for most that have an anti-virus installed on their PC is to disable it while launching Diablo 2. While the game checks for versions, anti-virus can recognize the scanner as a threat and prevent it from doing its job.
This leads to problems like this one, where it just keeps checking on and on until users force the game to shut down. That’s why disabling anti-virus programs is a much more effective solution than one might think, and also the solution which we recommend that you try out next.
- Additional Permission Issues
If the anti-virus isn’t the one that’s causing permission issues with Diablo 2 causing it to stay stuck on checking versions, it could be administrative settings related to Windows. These can usually be fixed with ease by creating a new user account on the OS. Just open up the start menu and go to the accounts menu.
There will be the option to edit and add users on the computer here. Click on the add option to create a new user and make sure that it is an administrative account, as the solution won’t work otherwise. Once that’s done, just launch the game while being logged in as this user and there should be no problems with the game starts.
- Reinstall Diablo 2
The last solution to try if all the other ones we’ve mentioned so far didn’t work requires you to completely uninstall Diablo 2 from your computer. Since the other fixes did not work, it’s safe to assume that there are corrupted files within the game’s folders. Instead of taking the much longer route of having to locate these exact files and replacing them, perform a clean uninstall and reinstall of the game to fix the issue.