InDesign hangs indefinitely at "Starting Panels" on launch (Windows, all versions tested)

Forum|Forum|19 hours ago
July 20, 2026
4 replies
21 views

Hello,

I am using InDesign on Windows (latest version, 21.0) for the first time, and the app remains stuck indefinitely on the startup screen at the "Starting Panels" stage, never reaching the interface. I have let it run for up to 10 minutes with no result.

In Task Manager, the InDesign.exe process consumes around 47% CPU across 25 active threads throughout the hang, so it does not appear to be frozen but rather stuck in a process that never completes.

I also installed and tested an earlier version (20.0) from Creative Cloud, and the exact same issue occurs there as well, so this does not appear to be version specific.

Here is everything I have already tried without success:

- Resetting preferences (Ctrl+Alt+Shift at launch)
- Fully deleting the InDesign Preferences and Cache folders (AppData Roaming and Local)
- Deleting the Recovery folder
- Deleting the AdobeFnt*.lst font cache files in the Caches folder
- Temporarily disabling antivirus (Avast, file shield)
- Adding an antivirus exception for the InDesign installation folder
- Forcing software rendering via the ADOBE_DISABLE_GPU=1 environment variable, followed by a full restart
- Launching as administrator
- Testing with a different Windows user account
- Testing without an internet connection (Wi-Fi disabled)
- Checking installed fonts (251 fonts, within normal range)
- No third-party plug-ins installed
- Full uninstall and clean reinstall of InDesign via Creative Cloud
- Testing an earlier version (20.0), same issue occurs
- Verifying folder permissions on the InDesign Preferences folder and the Adobe PDF Settings folder (both already set to Read and Write for my user account)
- Confirming that other Adobe apps and Creative Cloud itself work normally, only InDesign is affected

None of these steps resolved the problem. Could you let me know how to generate a memory dump of the stuck process, or any other logs that might help identify the exact cause?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Best regards

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Thomas38575415qmk5,

I wanted to check in and see if you had a chance to try the suggestions shared earlier. Is InDesign still hanging at the "Starting Panels" stage?

If the issue persists, could you please try repairing the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables from Control Panel > Programs and Features > Microsoft Visual C++ > Change > Repair, then restart your computer? Also, please try the other troubleshooting steps outlined in the article, including renaming the CEP folders in addition to the UXP folder. You can find the detailed instructions here: https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/indesign/kb/crash-on-launch.html

If you're still seeing the same behavior after that, could you please generate a memory dump of the InDesign process? While InDesign is stuck, open Task Manager, go to the Details tab, right-click InDesign.exe, select Create memory dump file, and then share the dump with us here or via direct message.

Please let us know how it goes. We'll be happy to continue investigating this with you.

Abhishek