RStudio empty on startup - No windows, no menus, no rendering

Question

When I start RStudio, none of the windows inside the main frame come up, and none of the menu options display menu options when clicked. It's just an blank page.

It feels like some kind of graphics rendering or window management problem.

I'm running Windows 7. I have the latest version of R, which is 3.1.1. I have the latest RStudio, which is 98.1062.

How to fix it?

Answer 1

Reset the RStudio state. Do this:

• Close RStudio if open.
• Go to this directory: %localappdata%\RStudio-Desktop
• Rename that directory as a type of backup.
• Start RStudio.

RStudio will see the configuration directory is missing and regenerate it with correct values.

Everything should work after that.

Other threads I found helpful here are:

• https://support.rstudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/200534577-Resetting-RStudio-s-State
• https://support.rstudio.com/hc/communities/public/questions/200666647-RStudio-096-16-Windows-7-gives-empty-screen?locale=en-us

Thanks!

Answer 2

Renaming the RStudio state by renaming %localappdata%\RStudio-Desktop did not work for me. However i made it work by renaming another config folder in %appdata% instead.

• Close RStudio
• Go to this directory: %appdata%\RStudio
• Rename the folder
• Restart RStudio