Game errors and crashes: fixes
Find your error by its text or code below — each has an explanation, causes by frequency and a step-by-step fix from simple to advanced with official Microsoft, NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and Valve links. If your error is not listed, start with the universal five: restart, GPU driver from the vendor, Visual C++ 2015–2022 (x64 and x86) and DirectX End-User Runtime, verify game files, disable overlays.
The universal five: fixes most problems
Restart, not shut down — resets the driver.
GPU driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel.
Visual C++ 2015–2022 x64 + x86 and the DirectX End-User Runtime from Microsoft.
Verify game files in Steam, EGS, EA app, Xbox app.
Disable overlays: Discord, Steam, NVIDIA/AMD, Game Bar, Afterburner.
Where a game launch breaks
Each launch stage produces its own errors. Identify the stage and you immediately narrow the search.
- 1. Launcher and licenceSteam write error, steam_api64.dll
- 2. Anti-cheatEAC, BattlEye, Vanguard
- 3. DLLs and packagesmsvcp140, 0xc000007b, d3dx9
- 4. DirectX / VulkanFeature Level, DX12, vulkan-1
- 5. GameplayDXGI, crashes, stutters, heat
Severity traffic light
Fixed in minutesUsually a component install or file check is enough
26Takes some timeSeveral possible causes — work through the steps top to bottom
33May be hardwareIf simple steps fail — check PSU, RAM and temperatures
10Green — usually solved by installing a component in minutes. Yellow — several possible causes, work through the steps. Red — after software steps, check hardware: power, memory, cooling.
🚫 Won’t launch: DLL and error codes (19)
0xc000007b
Error 0xc000007b when starting a game
Code 0xc000007b (STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_FORMAT) means a 32-bit program tried to load a 64-bit DLL or vice versa. It is…
🔎 11 157/mo
0xc0000005
Error 0xc0000005 (memory access violation)
0xc0000005 is STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION: the program accessed memory it has no right to. In games this is a bug in the…
D3DCompiler_47.dll / _43
D3DCompiler_47.dll / D3DCompiler_43.dll not found
D3DCompiler is the HLSL shader compiler. Version _43 is installed by the DirectX End-User Runtime. Version _47 is…
vulkan-1.dll
vulkan-1.dll not found
vulkan-1.dll is the Vulkan Runtime loader installed by the NVIDIA, AMD or Intel driver. The error means no driver is…
unarc.dll / ISDone.dll
unarc.dll returned an error code during game install
unarc.dll is the FreeArc unpacking module used by unofficial game installers. The error means an archive could not be…
0xc0000142
Error 0xc0000142 when starting a game
0xc0000142 is STATUS_DLL_INIT_FAILED: a library loaded but its initialisation failed. Typical culprits are overlays…
0xc0000906
Application error 0xc0000906
In Microsoft’s NTSTATUS list 0xc0000906 is STATUS_VIRUS_INFECTED: a file the game tries to load was flagged by…
MSVCP140.dll
MSVCP140.dll is missing: what to do
MSVCP140.dll is the C++ standard library from the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015–2022. Download both…
VCRUNTIME140.dll
VCRUNTIME140.dll / VCRUNTIME140_1.dll not found
VCRUNTIME140.dll and VCRUNTIME140_1.dll are part of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable 2015–2022. An error about _1…
MSVCR100.dll / MSVCR120.dll
MSVCR100.dll, MSVCR110.dll, MSVCR120.dll: older Visual C++ packages
msvcr/msvcp files numbered 100, 110 and 120 belong to Visual C++ 2010, 2012 and 2013. The 2015–2022 package does not…
api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll
api-ms-win-crt-runtime-l1-1-0.dll is missing
api-ms-win-crt-*.dll files are part of the Universal C Runtime (UCRT). It is built into Windows 10 and 11; on Windows…
d3dx9_43.dll
d3dx9_43.dll is missing: the fix
d3dx9_43.dll is a helper library (D3DX) from the old DirectX SDK. It is not part of Windows 10/11 even though DirectX…
xinput1_3.dll
xinput1_3.dll is missing: how to fix it
xinput1_3.dll is the XInput 1.3 controller library from the DirectX SDK (June 2010). Windows 10/11 only include…
XAudio2_7.dll
XAudio2_7.dll is missing
XAudio2_7.dll is the XAudio 2.7 audio engine from the DirectX SDK. Windows 10/11 include only XAudio 2.8 and 2.9, so…
PhysXLoader.dll
PhysXLoader.dll is missing: the fix
PhysXLoader.dll is part of NVIDIA PhysX System Software, the physics engine of older games (roughly 2006–2015). The…
MFPlat.DLL
MFPlat.DLL is missing when launching a game
MFPlat.DLL is the core of Media Foundation, which games use to play video cutscenes. Windows N and KN editions…
steam_api64.dll
steam_api64.dll not found: how to restore it
steam_api64.dll (and the 32-bit steam_api.dll) is the Steamworks library a developer puts in the game folder. It is…
0xc0000135
Error 0xc0000135 at launch
0xc0000135 is STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND: Windows did not find a library the program needs and could not name it in the…
🖥 DirectX, drivers and GPU (25)
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED: why the game crashes
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED (0x887A0005) means the game lost its connection to the GPU: the driver restarted after a…
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG: GPU hang in a game
DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG (0x887A0006) means the GPU could not complete the game’s commands and hung — Windows reset the…
nvlddmkm / Display 4101
Display driver stopped responding and has recovered
Windows restarts the driver if the GPU does not respond for about 2 seconds (the TDR mechanism — Timeout Detection and…
AMD Driver Timeout
AMD: “Driver Timeout has occurred”
The AMD Software “Driver Timeout has occurred” window appears after Windows restarted the Radeon driver due to a hang…
LowLevelFatalError / UE Crash Reporter
Unreal Engine game crash (Crash Reporter)
The “The UE-… Game has crashed and will close” window is Unreal Engine’s crash reporter; the cause is in the first…
Code 43
GPU Code 43: driver or hardware fault
Code 43 (CM_PROB_FAILED_POST_START) means the GPU driver reported a device failure to Windows. Microsoft recommends…
Feature Level 11.0, Shader Model 5.0
“D3D11-compatible GPU (Feature Level 11.0, Shader Model 5.0) is required”
Unreal Engine shows this message when it cannot create a Direct3D 11 device of the required level. On modern PCs the…
DX12 is not supported
“DX12 is not supported on your system”
The game could not create a DirectX 12 device. Causes in order of frequency: an old or Windows-supplied driver, the…
Out of video memory
“Out of video memory”: what it means and how to fix it
Unreal Engine’s “Out of video memory trying to allocate a rendering resource” means the engine could not place a…
VK_ERROR_*
Vulkan errors in games
Vulkan errors come in two groups. At launch (VK_ERROR_INCOMPATIBLE_DRIVER, VK_ERROR_INITIALIZATION_FAILED…
OpenGL / GLFW 65542
OpenGL error: “the driver does not support OpenGL”
OpenGL is provided by the GPU driver; “Microsoft Basic Display Adapter” has practically none. Errors like “GLFW error…
UnityPlayer.dll
Unity game crash (UnityPlayer.dll)
UnityPlayer.dll is the Unity engine core, so it is “blamed” for nearly any Unity game crash, even when a driver or mod…
NVIDIA Installer failed
NVIDIA Installer failed: why the driver won’t install
“NVIDIA Installer failed” means the installer could not replace the driver files: Windows Update is installing a…
NVIDIA Installer cannot continue
NVIDIA Installer cannot continue: incompatible driver
The NVIDIA installer stops when the package does not match the system: a driver for another series or for desktop…
AMD Error 182
AMD Error 182: unsupported graphics
Per AMD, Error 182 appears when the AMD Software installer finds graphics this package does not support: embedded…
AMD Error 1603
AMD Error 1603: general driver install error
Error 1603 is a generic Windows installer error. AMD lists five causes: a conflict with other graphics software…
Microsoft Basic Display Adapter
Microsoft Basic Display Adapter: no GPU driver
“Microsoft Basic Display Adapter” is a generic driver built into Windows. Per Microsoft, the system uses it when a…
AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition
AMD Software: Adrenalin won’t open: causes and the fix
Most often Adrenalin won’t open after Windows Update replaced the AMD driver with its own version: the app and the…
NVIDIA App
NVIDIA App won’t open: causes and the fix
NVIDIA App runs on top of the graphics driver and NVIDIA services: if the driver is not fully installed, the services…
Something went wrong. Try restarting GeForce Experience
GeForce Experience: “Something went wrong. Try restarting GeForce Experience”
The message means the GeForce Experience window could not reach its NVIDIA services. Restart the PC and check in…
DLSS
DLSS missing in a game: causes and what to do
DLSS works only on GeForce RTX graphics cards and only in games where the developer added it. If the option is missing…
📉 Crashes, stutters and lag (10)
Kernel-Power 41
PC restarts during games
A sudden shutdown or reboot under gaming load is almost always hardware: the PSU cannot handle the GPU’s power spikes…
Out of memory
“Out of memory” in games
Out-of-memory errors occur when the game exceeds RAM plus the page file (committed memory). Enable an automatically…
🛡 Anti-cheat, Steam, sound and input (15)
Easy Anti-Cheat
Easy Anti-Cheat errors
Most Easy Anti-Cheat errors are fixed by repairing the service: in the game folder open EasyAntiCheat and run…
BattlEye
BattlEye errors
BattlEye is an anti-cheat with the BEService service and a kernel driver. “Failed to start BattlEye Service” and…
VAN 9001 / VAN 9003 / VAN -81
Riot Vanguard errors
Vanguard is Riot Games’ anti-cheat with a kernel driver that starts with Windows, so a restart after installation is…
EA app
EA app errors: installation and launch
For almost all EA app installation errors (INST-14-1603, INST-14-1460, INST-14-1612) EA recommends installing…
EA Javelin anticheat
EA Javelin anticheat errors
Restart the game first — EA recommends starting there. The anti-cheat needs Windows 10 20H1 (build 10.0.19041) or…
Secure Boot / TPM 2.0
Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 for anti-cheat games
Check in Windows: msinfo32 → “Secure Boot State: On” and “BIOS Mode: UEFI”; tpm.msc → version 2.0. If something is…
RICOCHET Anti-Cheat
RICOCHET Anti-Cheat: TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements
According to the official Call of Duty blog, Black Ops 7 on PC requires TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot — without them the…
FACEIT Anti-Cheat
FACEIT Anti-Cheat: Windows security requirements
Since November 25, 2025 FACEIT has required TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot for all players; IOMMU and VBS requirements roll…
Disk write error
Steam disk write error
Steam cannot write game files into the library folder: antivirus interferes, the folder is write-protected, a file is…
LS-0013
Epic Games Launcher: won’t start, error LS-0013
LS-0013 means the game failed to launch. Epic recommends verifying game files, clearing the launcher cache, running…
A Ubisoft service is currently unavailable
Ubisoft Connect won’t connect or launch
The message “A Ubisoft service is currently unavailable” means the client could not reach Ubisoft services. First rule…
Battle.net
Battle.net won’t open
Close all Battle.net and Agent processes in Task Manager and run Battle.net as administrator. If that fails, delete…
Steam
Steam won’t open
End all Steam processes (including steamwebhelper) in Task Manager and start Steam again. If that fails — Win+R →…
💥 Crash breakdown for each game
Cyberpunk 2077 crashing or not launching: causes and fixes12 GBCounter-Strike 2 crashing or not launching: causes and fixesValve Anti-Cheat (VAC) · 8 GBDota 2 crashing or not launching: causes and fixesValve Anti-Cheat (VAC) · 4 GBMinecraft crashing or not launching: causes and fixes8 GBGrand Theft Auto V crashing or not launching: causes and fixesBattlEye · 8 GBLeague of Legends crashing or not launching: causes and fixesRiot Vanguard · 2 GB · TPM 2.0Elden Ring crashing or not launching: causes and fixesEasy Anti-Cheat · 12 GBCall of Duty: Warzone crashing or not launching: causes and fixesRICOCHET Anti-Cheat · 8 GB · TPM 2.0God of War crashing or not launching: causes and fixes8 GBThe Sims 4 crashing or not launching: causes and fixes4 GBForza Horizon 5 crashing or not launching: causes and fixes8 GBSTALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl crashing or not launching: causes and fixes16 GB
Diagnostics for your PC
Enter your GPU, RAM and game — we will compare them with the requirements and point out what matters for your PC. If you are signed in and saved a PC, it is filled in automatically.
This is a hint based on specs, not a measurement. Browsers cannot see your driver version or power supply model: the FPSHQ app for Windows shows your driver version and real FPS.
Key figures
Unique FPSHQ metrics from this page's data
69
errors with step-by-step guides
4
categories
5.8
average steps per error
Oct 2, 2026
guide verified
Game errors by category
69 errors in the FPSHQ registry; each has causes, timed steps and links to primary sources.
In short
Why not download DLLs from DLL sites?
A single DLL does not install the whole package, is often the wrong version or bitness (hence 0xc000007b) and may contain malware. Official Microsoft packages and launcher file verification fix it properly.
- errors with step-by-step guides
- 69
- categories
- 4
FAQ
Why not download DLLs from DLL sites?
A single DLL does not install the whole package, is often the wrong version or bitness (hence 0xc000007b) and may contain malware. Official Microsoft packages and launcher file verification fix it properly.
Where do I start if the game crashes without an error?
Open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application and find “Application Error” at the time of the crash: “Faulting module name” points to the culprit — a driver, an overlay or the game itself.
All games crash — is it hardware?
Not necessarily, but likely. If the driver is cleanly updated and overlays are off yet different games crash, check temperatures and RAM (mdsched.exe), reset overclocks and XMP, and evaluate the power supply.
Will there be guides for specific games?
We add game pages only where there is confirmed data about a game’s known issues. For any game, diagnostics already work: choose a game and we compare its requirements with your PC.