Common ProPresenter errors and how to fix them

These are the problems that come up most often, roughly in the order teams encounter them. Each one starts with the fix that works most of the time, so try that before anything more involved.

The installer will not run

Most likely fix: re-download from the official page and allow the file past SmartScreen on Windows or Privacy & Security on macOS.

Truncated downloads are common on unstable connections and look exactly like a corrupted installer. Check the file size looks plausible before blaming the machine. Antivirus tools also quarantine large signed installers, so check the quarantine list if the file vanishes after downloading.

The application crashes on launch

Most likely fix: restart the machine, then launch again before opening any other application.

If it still crashes, the usual culprits are an incomplete install, a permission that was denied on first launch, or a corrupt preference file. Reinstalling over the top is safe because your libraries and media live in a separate support folder. Back that folder up first regardless.

Media shows as missing

Most likely fix: the files moved. Point the application back at their current location.

This happens after copying a library to a new machine, after an external drive gets a different letter or mount point, or after someone tidies a folder. Prevent it by keeping all media inside one folder structure that travels as a unit, and by never linking media from a USB stick you plan to remove.

The output screen is black, duplicated or showing the desktop

Most likely fix: set displays to extended rather than mirrored, then re-select the output in screen configuration.

If the screen was working and stopped, suspect the physical chain: a long HDMI run, an adapter that lost handshake after sleep, or a projector that switched input. Test by waking the machine from sleep, which is when these failures show up. There is more detail in our multi-screen setup guide.

A watermark covers everything

Most likely fix: the copy is unlicensed on this machine. Activate it, restart the application and check the output again.

This catches teams out after a reinstall or a hardware change, because the licence is tied to the installation. Verify activation midweek after any change rather than discovering it as people arrive. See our licence guide for what the free version does and does not allow.

Video plays but there is no audio, or audio goes to the wrong place

Most likely fix: check the audio output device selected inside the application, which is separate from the system output.

Teams routing sound through an interface or a USB desk frequently find the application defaulting to the built-in speakers or an HDMI output. Also check that the correct output is not muted at the desk, which is embarrassingly often the actual answer.

Video stutters or drops frames

Most likely fix: re-encode the clip to a standard delivery codec at a sensible bitrate and play it from internal storage.

Our performance guide works through this in a diagnostic order that finds the cause quickly.

Bible or scripture lookup is not working

Most likely fix: confirm the translation is installed on this machine and that the machine has internet access if the translation requires it.

Translations are per-installation, so a new machine will not automatically have what the old one did. Some translations are paid because of publisher licensing, which surprises people who assumed the feature was universal.

When to contact official support

If the problem is licensing, activation, account access or a genuine software fault, Renewed Vision support is the right destination and this site cannot help with any of them. Arrive with the information they will need: your operating system version, the ProPresenter version, exactly what you did before the error, and whether it happens on a second machine. That single paragraph turns a three-email exchange into one reply.