[Bug] EXE will not launch on Windows 11

[roafhtun]

Describe the bug

Downloaded for windows, the .exe will not launch. Tried with admin mode as well.

To Reproduce

Download for windows, and launch

Expected behavior

Open up SaveState

Screenshots

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Environment (Please complete this information)

• OS: Windows 11
• **Program Version: ** 2.5
• Version Type: (Choose one)
  • Official Release (Packaged)

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Log not possible since it will not launch.

[Matteo842]

Hi @roafhtun,

Thanks for reporting this.

I've just tested version 2.5 on both Windows 10 and Windows 11, and the .exe launches smoothly without any issues on my end.

Could you try a couple of quick troubleshooting steps?

Restart your PC: Sometimes a quick reboot clears up hanging background processes that might be interfering.

Check your Antivirus/Windows Defender: It is highly probable that an antivirus program or Windows SmartScreen is silently blocking the executable from running. Try temporarily disabling it or adding an exception for the file.

If it still refuses to launch, any extra information you can provide will help me troubleshoot this better with you:

Does it fail completely silently, or is there a brief loading cursor?

If you keep Task Manager open while launching, does the "SaveState" process appear briefly and close, or does it never show up at all?

Could you check the Windows Event Viewer (under Windows Logs > Application) immediately after trying to launch it? If Windows or an AV is killing the process, it will likely leave an error log there.

Let me know how it goes!

[kRVRKV]

@Matteo842 same for me
on launch a Windows Defender blocks a file made by the executable

This is where the Learn more leads to

[Matteo842]

Hi @kRVRKV,

Thanks for sharing this screenshot! This completely confirms the issue.

The Trojan:Win32/Wacatac.B!ml you are seeing is a very common false positive. The !ml at the end stands for "Machine Learning". Because the app is packaged as a single executable, it has to extract necessary internal files (like main.dll) into a temporary folder when you launch it. Windows Defender's heuristic scanner often flags this specific unpacking behavior as suspicious, even though the app is perfectly safe.

To run the application, you'll need to tell Windows Defender to allow it:

Go to the Protection history page (the one in your screenshot).

Click on the Actions dropdown for that blocked threat.

Select Allow on device (or "Restore").

(Alternatively, you can add the .exe file or the folder it's in to your Windows Security exclusions list).

I will also submit this version of the .exe to Microsoft's security intelligence portal for malware analysis. Once they analyze it, they will remove the false positive from their database so this stops happening to other users in the future.

Let me know if allowing the file through Defender fixes the launch issue for you!

[kRVRKV]

@Matteo842 Thanks, that absolutely worked. Was planning to do it anyways as by trusting all the people who watch and star this project. I hope OP can fix it as well.

[clawdney]

Hi! I'm interested in helping with this. Could you share more context about the use case?