"OBS Studio did not properly shut down" on Multiple OBS Instances

[tomatoplaster]

Ever since the most recent update (which I installed not long after it went up, but I'm not sure how long its been tbh), every time I start a second instance of OBS, I get the above error message, which asks me to Run in Safe Mode or to Run in Normal Mode.

This persists across restarts, and there doesn't seem to be any functional issue in using the program when launching in normal mode. Has anyone else been having this happen?

Log beginning:

14:41:51.080: ================================
14:41:51.080: Warning: OBS is already running!
14:41:51.080: ================================
14:41:51.080: User is now running multiple instances of OBS!
14:41:51.080: Crash or unclean shutdown detected
14:41:52.764: [Safe Mode] Normal launch selected, loading third-party plugins is enabled
14:41:52.765: CPU Name: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 8-Core Processor
14:41:52.765: CPU Speed: 3394MHz
14:41:52.765: Physical Cores: 8, Logical Cores: 16
14:41:52.765: Physical Memory: 65438MB Total, 55173MB Free
14:41:52.765: Windows Version: 10.0 Build 19045 (release: 22H2; revision: 6456; 64-bit)
14:41:52.765: Running as administrator: true
14:41:52.765: Windows 10/11 Gaming Features:
14:41:52.765: Game DVR: On
14:41:52.765: Game Mode: Probably On (no reg key set)
14:41:52.766: Sec. Software Status:
14:41:52.767: Microsoft Defender Antivirus: enabled (AV)
14:41:52.767: Windows Firewall: enabled (FW)
14:41:52.767: Current Date/Time: 2025-10-25, 14:41:52
14:41:52.767: Browser Hardware Acceleration: true
14:41:52.767: Hide OBS windows from screen capture: false
14:41:52.767: Qt Version: 6.8.3 (runtime), 6.8.3 (compiled)
14:41:52.767: Portable mode: false
14:41:52.794: OBS 32.0.1 (64-bit, windows)
14:41:52.794: ---------------------------------
14:41:52.828: ---------------------------------

 

[CheeseFries]

I get it as well every time I start a second instance of OBS. I also am unable to close that second window and forced to end the task in task manager. Some assets also will not appear in the second instance regardless of what I do. I will be going back to trusty 30.2.3. Each update after that messes up OBS for me.

 

[prgmitchell]

you'd need to include the full log but my guess is you just need to run any additional OBS instances in portable mode.

Running in Portable Mode | OBS

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. Stream to Twitch, YouTube and many other providers or record your own videos with high quality H264 / AAC encoding.

obsproject.com

 

[CheeseFries]

you'd need to include the full log but my guess is you just need to run any additional OBS instances in portable mode.

Running in Portable Mode | OBS

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. Stream to Twitch, YouTube and many other providers or record your own videos with high quality H264 / AAC encoding.

obsproject.com

Never tried that but I will give it a shot. I just went back to 30.2.3 and all is running buttery again, so I will tackle that later on. Thanks.

 

[99e]

Ever since the most recent update (which I installed not long after it went up, but I'm not sure how long its been tbh), every time I start a second instance of OBS, I get the above error message, which asks me to Run in Safe Mode or to Run in Normal Mode.

This persists across restarts, and there doesn't seem to be any functional issue in using the program when launching in normal mode. Has anyone else been having this happen?

Log beginning:

14:41:51.080: ================================
14:41:51.080: Warning: OBS is already running!
14:41:51.080: ================================
14:41:51.080: User is now running multiple instances of OBS!
14:41:51.080: Crash or unclean shutdown detected
14:41:52.764: [Safe Mode] Normal launch selected, loading third-party plugins is enabled
14:41:52.765: CPU Name: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 8-Core Processor
14:41:52.765: CPU Speed: 3394MHz
14:41:52.765: Physical Cores: 8, Logical Cores: 16
14:41:52.765: Physical Memory: 65438MB Total, 55173MB Free
14:41:52.765: Windows Version: 10.0 Build 19045 (release: 22H2; revision: 6456; 64-bit)
14:41:52.765: Running as administrator: true
14:41:52.765: Windows 10/11 Gaming Features:
14:41:52.765: Game DVR: On
14:41:52.765: Game Mode: Probably On (no reg key set)
14:41:52.766: Sec. Software Status:
14:41:52.767: Microsoft Defender Antivirus: enabled (AV)
14:41:52.767: Windows Firewall: enabled (FW)
14:41:52.767: Current Date/Time: 2025-10-25, 14:41:52
14:41:52.767: Browser Hardware Acceleration: true
14:41:52.767: Hide OBS windows from screen capture: false
14:41:52.767: Qt Version: 6.8.3 (runtime), 6.8.3 (compiled)
14:41:52.767: Portable mode: false
14:41:52.794: OBS 32.0.1 (64-bit, windows)
14:41:52.794: ---------------------------------
14:41:52.828: ---------------------------------

I get the same error since the recent update

I run using scheduled task and I am running with this parameter.

"C:\Program Files\obs-studio\bin\64bit\obs64.exe"
--disable-shutdown-check --disable-updater --disable-missing-files-check --startrecording

The --disable-shutdown-check doesn't seem to be working. As a result, my recording doesn't auto-start because the popup keeps asking me to select an option... Please at least put a checkbox on this option "don't show again" on this popup.

 

[peacefulstream]

I'm not using a second instance, but I'm getting this same error - on two different devices (macbook m1 and m3) - my OBS is essentially dead at this point and I need to use it a few times per week. If anyone can help, please please please do.