Why Is Minecraft Taking Forever to Load?

By Daniel Hatter

Updated September 22, 2017

Poor performance can ruin your experience with
i Photo courtesy Mojang

"Minecraft" is an open-world Java game built around the concepts of survival, exploration and creativity. It doesn't require an expensive gaming rig to run, but in the interest of smooth game play, Mojang recommends at least a 2.6-GHz CPU, 4GB of RAM and a video card with support for OpenGL 2.1. If "Minecraft" is taking forever to load or performing poorly, there are several potential causes.

Open Programs

Too many programs running concurrently with "Minecraft" can slow down your computer, especially if it barely meets the recommended specifications. Right-click the Windows taskbar, select "Task Manager," and open the "Performance" tab to view the current utilization of your CPU and RAM. If they're anywhere close to being fully utilized, close any unnecessary programs and then load "Minecraft" again.

Video Settings

The "Minecraft" video settings control the look and feel of the game. If they're set too high and your computer isn't powerful enough, you can experience slowdowns and poor performance. To access these settings, click the "Options" menu and click "Video Settings." To improve your performance, select "Fast" instead of "Fancy" for Graphics; choose "Short" or "Tiny" instead of "Far" for Render Distance; set Smooth Lighting to Off and set Clouds to Off. Click "Done" to save the changes.

Texture Packs

If you use a texture pack other than the default, "Minecraft" could slow down as a result. This is especially the case if it's a high-definition texture pack (32-bit textures or above). If the slowdown you're experiencing makes it unplayable, disable the texture pack. Click the "Options" menu, "Texture Packs" and then "Default" to enable default textures. Click "Done" to save the changes.

Server Location

Playing on a multiplayer server adds the ability to play with friends and access your "Minecraft" worlds from different physical locations. If the server you're trying to play on has a slow Internet connection or too many people are logged into it, performance of the game on your computer can be badly degraded. Connect to a different server or play a local game if the server you're connected to is running slowly.

Java Version

"Minecraft" requires Java to run. For the best performance of "Minecraft" and other Java-based applications, you need to have the most updated version of Java installed. To find out if you have the most recent version of Java, visit the Verify Java Version Web page (link in Resources) and click the "Verify Java Version" button. Click "Run" when prompted by your computer. Follow the prompts to update Java if the Web page says you're running an outdated version.

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