Ultimate 5 Ways to Fix Fallout 76 Crashing On Startup [FIXED]

Fallout 76 has been crashing on startup for several players, to the point where players have talked about the issue on various forums; including the official Fallout 76 subreddit. As soon as you launch Fallout 76, you see the “Please stand by” screen, but suddenly the game goes blank and crashes with no further information. Occasionally, you can keep the game open for a few minutes before it crashes. Some players might not even be able to launch Fallout 76 at all. 

Key Takeaways

• Fallout 76 is reportedly crashing for several players on PC randomly. The crashes range from freezing to hard crashes to desktops.
• Firstly, ensure that your GPU is equal to NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB and a CPU equivalent to Intel Core i5-6600k 3.5 GHz.

• Try the following fixes to resolve this Fallout 76 crashing issue:
  • For NVIDIA users, make a DxDiag file to check for any conflicting AMD drivers and use the AMD Cleanup Utility tool to remove them.
  • Confirm that you have the latest version of DirectX Runtime. If not, download it.
  • Use your launcher’s built-in tools to check and fix any missing or corrupted game files.
  • Disable your antivirus software to see if that is causing the crashing issue, if it is, add your launcher and Fallout 76 to its exception list.
  • Make sure that you have enough storage space on your drive. Disable any in-game overlays and lower your graphic settings if you have a low-end PC.
  • Ultimately, you can try to see if your GPU’s device drivers are updated, along with running Fallout 76 with admin privileges.

What Causes Fallout 76 Crashing On Startup?

Before moving on to fixing the crashing issue, you must first understand what could potentially cause it. Generally, crashing issues can happen because your PC’s hardware is not strong enough to run the game. They can also happen because of software issues like outdated GPU device drivers, corrupted or missing game files, or lacking important game components. 

A few quick things you can try out before more complicated fixes are restarting your PC along with the Fallout 76 launcher. Additionally, do make sure to confirm that your PC has the hardware needed to run Fallout 76 by reading the following requirements:

Minimum Hardware Requirements

These hardware requirements are the bare minimum. You can run Fallout 76 on low or medium graphic settings with these. 

GPU: NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB or AMD Radeon R9 285 2GB
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600k 3.5 GHz or AMD Ryzen 3 1300X 3.5 GHz
OS: Windows 8.1 or 10 | 64-bit version
Memory: 8 GB RAM

Recommended Hardware Requirements

These requirements are recommended if you want to run Fallout 76 on high graphic settings without any sort of problems.

GPU: NVIDIA GTX 970 4GB or AMD R9 290X 4GB
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5 GHz
OS: Windows 8.1 or 10 | 64-bit version
Memory: 8 GB RAM

NVIDIA Users Should Delete Any Conflicting .dll Files

A rather tricky issue that can lead to Fallout 76 crashing on startup is a conflicting file called amdvlk64.dll. This file is originally supposed to be an AMD file, which is why it can conflict with your NVIDIA files and cause crashing or various other issues. While this issue is not too common, this should still be the first thing you look for before trying any other solutions. 

This file conflict can generally happen because of an incorrect driver download or a corrupted driver update. To see if this is what is causing the crashing issues, you will need to create a DxDiag file. Professional customer support agents generally use a DxDiag file to identify the source of a problem. In simpler terms, it is a file that is used to identify and diagnose any issue with your games. You will need to create this file to see if your PC contains amdvlk64.dl or not.

How To Create A DxDiag File

1. Press the Windows button + R on your keyboard simultaneously to open the Run menu.
2. Type DxDiag in the run menu and click ok. You might see a popup asking for a digital driver signing. You can close it or select the option that applies to you.
3. Once the DxDiag utility tool is open, locate the Save All Information option and click on it. You can choose to save the file wherever you desire, but the most optimal location is your desktop.
4. Once saved, the file will appear with the name DxDiag or DxDiag.txt.

You can open the DxDiag file via any software that can open .txt files. Once in, you will need to press CTRL + F at the same time, which will open a popup window that allows you to search for anything inside the file. In this Window, paste amdvlk64.dll and then click on “Find Next.” If nothing shows up, then this file is not the cause behind Fallout 76 crashing on startup, and you can move on to other fixes. If you do see this file, follow the next steps to remove it.

How To Remove Amdvlk64.dll

1. Download the AMD Cleanup Utility tool to remove amdvlk64.dll. 
2. When the download completes, go to the file location and run amdcleanuputility.exe.
3. You will see a popup window asking if you would like to use safe mode with the cleanup tool. While AMD recommends you run the tool in safe mode, you can still use it normally.
4. Once you select the desired option, you will see another window open, asking for your confirmation to start the process.
5. Click OK, and the utility tool will start the cleanup process. Do note that it is completely normal for the screen to occasionally stutter or blackout during the process.
6. Once the process completes, reboot your PC to remove the amdvlk64.dll file. 

Download The Latest Version Of DirectX Runtime

DirectX is one of the most important components that allow your PC to run the games you want. If you do not have DirectX installed or possibly have an outdated version that is no longer supported, it can lead to Fallout 76 crashing on startup. Normally, if you keep Windows up to date, then the latest version of DirectX is automatically installed. But sometimes, this is not the case. As such, you should manually go ahead and download DirectX.

1. Go here and click on the download button.
2. Once downloaded, run the .exe file to start the installation process.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions until the installation completes.

Verify Game Files On Steam And Microsoft Xbox App

This is another rather common cause behind many of the crashing issues you might be experiencing. Occasionally, your game files can disappear, get corrupted, or be accidentally deleted. This can cause the game to not operate as intended and even lead to crashing or freezing issues. Fortunately, both Steam and the Microsoft Xbox App provide great built-in tools to verify game files. These tools can automatically search for bad game files and instantly fix or replace them. 

Steam

1. Launch Steam and navigate to your game library.
2. From the list of games, locate Fallout 76 and right-click on it.
3. Now click on properties to open another window.
4. Navigate to the Local Files section in this window and click “Verify Integrity Of Game Files…“
5. The process will now begin and fix all of your game files.

Microsoft Xbox App

1. Open your Xbox App and go to the My Library section.
2. Select Fallout 76 from the list of games.
3. Now click on the 3 dots (…) to open a menu list, and then click on Manage.
4. This will open another Window, here, switch to the Files section and click on Verify and Repair.
5. The Xbox App will now begin the process and fix your game files.

Disable Your Antivirus Software

This may seem a little strange initially, but Windows Defender Firewall or any other antivirus software might be the reason behind Fallout 76 crashing. Antivirus software always protects your PC from potentially harmful malware and other viruses, but they can sometimes mistake trustworthy applications as threats. Of course, this includes Fallout 76 or the launcher you might use to play the game. To see if this is the case, disable your antivirus software and then try to launch the game. Here’s how to do it:

1. Press the Windows button on your Keyboard to open the start menu and go to Windows settings.
2. Once in, click on the Update & Security section and then go to Windows Security.
3. From the list of options, click on Firewall & Network Protection. This will open another separate security Window.
4. In this Window, disable all 3 options you see on the screen.

You should also disable any other antivirus software you might be running besides the default Windows Defender. Once disabled, try to launch Fallout 76 and see if there are any crashing issues. If there are, you can move on to the next solution and enable your antivirus software. But if you have managed to fix the crashing issues, then you should move on to adding Fallout 76 and its launcher as an exception in your antivirus software.

Add Fallout 76 As An Exception 

You cannot keep your antivirus software disabled forever, as you will be exposed to the dangerous malware and viruses spread throughout the internet. Instead, you should add Fallout 76 and the launcher you are using to play the game as an exception in your antivirus. Doing so will inform the antivirus that these applications are not a threat. As such, the applications will be able to run without any issues. 

Follow these steps to add exceptions in Windows Defender Firewall:

1. Follow the previous steps until you reach Windows Security.
2. Click on Virus & Threat Protection from the list of options.
3. In the new window, locate Virus & Threat Protection and then click on Manage settings.
4. Once done, scroll all the way down to find the Exclusions section. Right under it, click on Add or Remove Exclusions.
5. This will open another window where you can add Fallout 76’s game folder and its launcher as an exception. 

You can follow similar steps to add exclusions in any other third-party antivirus software you might have. 

Have Sufficient Storage Space

This is obvious, but it still gets overlooked because most storage drives require at least 20% free space to perform optimally. This means that your game can experience all sorts of issues even if your storage device is not completely full. Most people do not realize this, and the storage device itself ends up causing Fallout 76 to crash on startup. 

To see if this is the case, check the storage drive you downloaded Fallout 76 on and see if you have at least 20-30% free storage space. You can do this by double-clicking on your desktop’s “This PC” or “My Computer” icon. If your drive appears to be red or close to it, you should clear up some space.

How To Clear Storage Space

The easiest way is to delete unnecessary files, folders, or applications you might have downloaded. But a lot of the time, most of these files are important and we cannot afford to delete them. If this is the case for you, try to use the Disk Cleanup feature in Windows. This will clean out the cache, recycle bin, and all irrelevant files in your storage drive.

1. Right-click on your storage drive and then left-click on properties from the menu.
2. Make sure you are in the general tab, and then click on Disk Cleanup.
3. From the list of options, check anything you would like to clean.
4. Now click on OK and confirm the cleanup process. It should only take a few moments.

If you still cannot clean enough storage space, you might have to move your game to another storage drive with more space. 

Turn Off In-game Overlays & Lower Graphic Settings

You should do this if you have a low-end PC. Even if you have hardware that meets the minimum requirements, you might still sometimes struggle to run Fallout 76 due to various factors, especially if you have several background tasks or applications running. A pesky feature for low-end systems is in-game overlay, which uses up more resources than you might think. Most of these overlays are not very useful for the average player, so disabling them is a good idea.

The Xbox Gamer Bar and Steam offer the most commonly used in-game overlays. You likely have some other applications running their overlays, which you should also disable if they are not needed.

Along with this, lower your graphic settings for Fallout 76. You can lower your game resolution or make most graphic effects low to medium. This will further optimize the game for a low-end PC and allow you to run it without any issues.

How To Disable Overlays In Steam

1. Launch Steam and click on the Steam option at the top right corner.
2. This will open a list of options; click on settings from there.
3. Once in the settings menu, navigate to the in-game tab.
4. In The Steam Overlay section, uncheck “Enable the Steam overlay while in-game” and click OK.

How To Disable The Xbox Game Bar

1. Press the Windows Button on your keyboard or click on the Windows Icon on your desktop to open the start menu.
2. From here, go to Settings and click on Gaming.
3. Make sure that you are in the Xbox Game Bar section. 
4. From here, set the option to off for the Xbox Game Bar.

Other Potential Solutions

These methods might not be the most effective, but at this point, they are worth doing. First of all, you should make sure that your graphic card’s device drivers are updated to the latest version. Occasionally, NVIDIA or AMD might not automatically update your drivers, which can lead to Fallout 76 crashing on startup. 

Additionally, make sure to run Fallout 76 along with its launcher with admin privileges. Your PC might think that you do not have permission to run Fallout 76, so it stops the game from completely launching. To eliminate this possibility, right-click your launcher or Fallout 76 and run it as an admin.

Did Your Crashing Stop?

While Fallout 76 is not a new game, it still encounters many new errors and issues. This makes playing Fallout 76 incredibly frustrating, especially if you do not have a very powerful PC. But hopefully, with this guide, we have managed to eliminate one of these frustrating issues for you; the crashing on startup problem. If you can now play Fallout 76 without any issues, check out How To Get Fallout 76 Hardened Mass.

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