How To Tell If Vanguard Is Installed

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Ready to get to the bottom of whether Riot Vanguard is on your system? You've come to the right place! Let's dive in and find out for sure.

Step 1: Check Your System Tray

Let's start with the easiest and most direct method. Look at the icons in the bottom-right corner of your taskbar, near the clock. This is your system tray.

Do you see a small, red shield icon? This is the Riot Vanguard icon. If you see it, congratulations! Riot Vanguard is installed and actively running on your computer.
What if you don't see it? Click the small up arrow (^) to expand the system tray. Sometimes, icons are hidden there to keep the taskbar clean. If you see the red shield after expanding, it's running.
What if you still don't see it? Don't worry! This doesn't mean it's not installed. It just means it's not currently active. Let's move on to the next steps to be certain.

Step 2: Look for the Riot Vanguard Folder

Riot Vanguard has a dedicated installation folder on your system. Finding this folder is a great way to confirm its presence, even if it's not currently running.

Open File Explorer: You can do this by pressing the Windows key + E on your keyboard.
Navigate to the Program Files directory: Go to C:\Program Files.
Search for the "Riot Vanguard" folder: Inside the Program Files folder, you should see a folder named Riot Vanguard.

If you find this folder, it means Riot Vanguard has been installed on your computer at some point.
If you don't see it, it might be in a different location, but this is the most common one. Let's explore other ways to check.

Step 3: Check Your Installed Apps List

Your computer keeps a list of all the programs and applications that are installed. This is another reliable way to check for Vanguard.

Method 1: Using Windows Settings

Press the Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
Click on Apps.
Click on Installed apps (or "Apps & features" in older versions of Windows).
In the search bar at the top, type "Riot Vanguard".

If it appears in the list, you know for a fact that it's installed.
You can also scroll through the list and look for it manually. The list is usually sorted alphabetically.

Method 2: Using the Control Panel

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type control and press Enter. This will open the Control Panel.
Click on "Uninstall a program" under the "Programs" heading.
In the list of installed programs, look for "Riot Vanguard".

If you find it here, it's installed.

Step 4: Verify Vanguard's Services in Task Manager

Riot Vanguard is a kernel-level anti-cheat, which means it runs as a service in the background. You can check for these services to confirm its presence.

Open Task Manager: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard.
Go to the Services tab.
Click on the "Name" column header to sort the services alphabetically.
Look for two services:
- vgc (Riot Vanguard)
- vgk (Riot Vanguard Kernel Mode Driver)

If you see these two services, especially vgc with the "Running" status, it's a strong indicator that Vanguard is installed and potentially active. The vgk driver is a core component that starts with your computer.

Step 5: Use the Command Prompt

For the more technically inclined, you can use the Command Prompt to check for the Vanguard services directly.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator: Click the Start menu, type cmd, right-click on "Command Prompt," and select "Run as administrator."
In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter: sc query vgc
You will see information about the vgc service. If it's installed, you will see a STATE of 4 RUNNING or 1 STOPPED.
- If you get an error that the service does not exist, it's not installed.
You can do the same for the vgk service: sc query vgk

This method gives you a direct, technical confirmation of the services' existence.

10 Related FAQ Questions

Here are some quick answers to common questions about Riot Vanguard.

How to uninstall Riot Vanguard? To uninstall Riot Vanguard, first close it from the system tray, then go to "Apps & features" in Windows Settings, find "Riot Vanguard" in the list, and click "Uninstall." You may need to restart your PC to complete the process.

How to know if Riot Vanguard is active? You can tell if Riot Vanguard is active by looking for the red shield icon in your system tray (the bottom-right corner of your taskbar). If the icon is present, it is running.

How to fix Riot Vanguard not installing? First, try restarting your computer. If that doesn't work, temporarily disable your antivirus or firewall, run the installer as an administrator, and ensure your Windows is up to date. If the problem persists, you may need to contact Riot Games support.

How to re-install Vanguard? If you have uninstalled Vanguard, simply launching a Riot Games title like Valorant or League of Legends will usually prompt you to re-install it. You will need to restart your PC for the installation to complete.

How to run Riot Vanguard as an administrator? Navigate to the Riot Vanguard installation directory (usually C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard), right-click on vgc.exe or vgtray.exe, and select "Run as administrator."

How to check Riot Vanguard's status? In addition to the system tray icon, you can check its status in the Task Manager under the "Services" tab by looking for the vgc service.

How to disable Riot Vanguard without uninstalling? Right-click on the Riot Vanguard icon in the system tray and select "Exit Vanguard." You will be prompted to confirm. Note that you will need to restart your PC and the service to play Vanguard-protected games again.

How to check if my computer is compatible with Riot Vanguard? Riot Vanguard requires a 64-bit version of Windows 10 or 11. For newer versions of games like Valorant, it also requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot to be enabled in your BIOS/UEFI settings.

How to find the Riot Vanguard installation folder? The default installation location is C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard. You can also find it by right-clicking the Riot Client icon on your desktop, selecting "Open file location," and then navigating back up the directory tree.

How to tell if a Vanguard process is running in Task Manager? In Task Manager's "Details" tab, you can look for processes named vgc.exe and vgtray.exe. These are the main Vanguard client processes.

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