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Your Project Zomboid server is stuck on starting

Project ZomboidUpdated Oct 18, 20263 min read

A Project Zomboid server can take a few minutes to start, and longer when it downloads mods or installs a game update. It is ready when the Console prints *** SERVER STARTED ****. If the badge still says Starting after that long, read the last line of the Console to see what it is doing.

What the last line tells you

Last lineWhat it meansWhat to do
Checking for game server updates..., then Steam linesIt is installing a new buildWait. A start after an update takes a few minutes longer
pnh-workshop-check: verifying item <number>...It is downloading a modWait. A big list takes longer. The server downloads mods at every start
Loading ... or Initialising Server Systems... with other lines after itThe game is loading its dataWait. It is normal for about a minute or more
Waiting for response from Steam serversThe game is contacting SteamWait a minute, then see below
If the server hangs here, set UPnP=false.The game is looking for a routerIt gives up after a few seconds. See below if it does not
The Console of a Project Zomboid server while it loads its data

First start

The first start of a new server or a new Server Name builds a world and takes longer: What happens the first time you start your Project Zomboid server.

If it does not move for several minutes

  1. Do not press Kill yet. Wait at least five minutes on a modded server.
  2. Click Stop and wait for Offline. Then Start again.
  3. If it hangs again at the line If the server hangs here, set UPnP=false., the game itself suggests the fix. Stop the server, open .cache/Server/<Server Name>.ini under Files, find the line that starts with UPnP=, change its value to false, click Save content and start again. We have not needed this on PlayNHost, so use it only if the server really stops at that line.
  4. If a mod was added last, remove it: How to remove a mod from your Project Zomboid server.

Get help

Open a ticket with the last 100 lines of the Console. Use Share log: How to use the Console on your Project Zomboid server. Other causes: Your Project Zomboid server will not start.

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