# 100% crash rate on launch with fresh install **URL:** \ **Category:** Technical Support\ **Tags:** acknowledged\ **Created:** [June 30, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412 "2026-06-30T19:50:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/1 "2026-06-30T19:50:01Z")
### Issue Type (Required): Crash - on Launch ### Issue Description (Required): Indefinite hang on first launch of a clean install, then all subsequent launches result instantly in a crash. Clean install of Darktide, all mods purged and AppData\Roaming\Fatshark cleared. First launch goes through normal questions about hardware and raytracing and AppData is created. Task Manager shows the launcher still running, but the game will never launch. After killing the task and relaunching, crashes begin immediately after clicking Start in the launcher. Each new crash results in a new .dmp file. ### [PC] Do You Use Mods? (Optional): Yes, and I’ve tried disabling them ### Reproduction Rate (Required): Constant (100%) ### Platform (Required): PC - Steam ### [PC] Crash Report (Optional): ## GUID: e16c1ed2-5d34-4008-9717-dec8cae66b28 Log File: Info Type: * * * ### Upload Supporting Evidence (Optional): ![2026-06-30 14_46_24-Task Manager.png](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/4/1/41f89e034c8d8131fac88acfddfda88a26c1930e.png) ![2026-06-30 14_48_31-Task Manager.png](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/7/7/7760b094ddfcbc431bb707a902caadc3bab9766a.png) ### [PC] Upload Console Log & darktide\_launcher.log (Optional): [crash\_dump-2026-06-30-19.48.21.dmp](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/uploads/short-url/6Vb7GbDH0HTPWDJ2TSSkAdVF4kX.dmp) (118 KB)[crash\_dump-2026-06-30-19.40.12.dmp](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/uploads/short-url/vyE1fXodZbJrz38FZbbAh2XuAK1.dmp) (118 KB)[darktide\_launcher.log](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/uploads/short-url/uZ3FvcnrOXYvcTCoQgTMZCAJnRz.log) (36.5 KB) ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/2 "2026-06-30T21:24:19Z")
Seeing that in other threads that its being recommended to DDU, I have preemptively tried this and after a full AMD driver reinstall nothing has changed. ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/3 "2026-07-01T11:07:12Z")
@Liverslices just to check, which AMD driver version are you using? As recent driver versions 26.6.2 and 26.6.4 are unstable and resulting in crashes. The last known stable driver version is 26.6.1 which we recommend rolling back to. > [@KNOWN ISSUE: "DXGI\_ERROR\_DRIVER\_INTERNAL\_ERROR" on AMD Driver Version 26.6.2 & 26.6.4](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/known-issue-dxgi-error-driver-internal-error-on-amd-driver-version-26-6-2-26-6-4/122653): > > It has been observed that the AMD driver versions 26.6.2 and 26.6.4 are resulting in players experiencing a DXGI\_ERROR\_DRIVER\_INTERNAL\_ERROR error on launch. In the meantime, we recommend rolling back to the last known stable version 26.6.1. This should immediately resolve the issue. Thank you for your patience as we look in to this. ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/4 "2026-07-01T15:50:27Z")
@FatsharkLev Was running 26.6.4 when I first posted, but after rolling back to 26.6.1 I still have the same issue. During this roll back I did also run the AMD cleanup utility. ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/0/b/0bb92eca96334e0af6ab45d165f71afea7ddcc9f.jpeg) ## GUID: 0c8c16f2-314d-49e5-90ce-207c9df6531e Log File: Info Type: * * * ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2026, 4:34pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/5 "2026-07-01T16:34:06Z")
Thanks for the update @Liverslices Hmm, it’s tricky as no console log is being generated still. It’s a shot in the dark, but can you try changing your adapter\_index, to do so: 1. Press the Windows key + R 2. Enter %appdata% within the search input and select ‘OK’ 3. Navigate to `AppData\Roaming\Fatshark\Darktide` 4. Open your **user\_settings.config** file 5. Find the setting named adapter\_index 6. Change this setting value to **adapter\_index = 1** (If the adapter\_index value is already set to 1, please try changing this to 0 instead) 7. Save your user\_settings.config file 8. Launch Darktide as usual Please let me know how this goes! ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 4:23am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/6 "2026-07-03T04:23:15Z")
@FatsharkLev No change, unfortunately. Was set to 0 so I changed it to 1 and got the same result. ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/b/e/be299e710ac6d21d2b2049f0e1a81d793ba20514.png) ## GUID: 7f124471-4a33-4282-b527-29f532907eca Log File: Info Type: * * * ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 10:48am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/7 "2026-07-03T10:48:44Z")
@Liverslices hm okay ☹ perhaps the drivers are not the culprit here then. Unfortunately, without a console log generated we have little to go on. Shot in the dark, but could any Anti-Virus software perhaps be quarantining files or blocking Darktide in some way? Adding appropriate exceptions for Darktide may help. Otherwise, performing a ‘Selective Startup’ to rule out any external program conflicts could be good to check too: 1. Press the Windows key 2. Type ‘msconfig’ and select ‘System Configuration’ 3. On the ‘General’ tab, select ‘Selective Startup’ 4. Deselect ‘Load startup Items’ 5. Reboot your PC ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/8 "2026-07-03T19:50:44Z")
@FatsharkLev I use windows defender, no 3rd party antivirus. Adding an exclusion to the entire local folder did not change anything: ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/3/9/393011fbb9e69ee9bf336bc68d8738b2cfad2007.jpeg) Disabling startup items also made no difference. ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2026, 12:11pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/9 "2026-07-06T12:11:33Z")
@Liverslices just curious if you could try using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller), opposed to the AMD cleanup tool, and then try installing 26.6.1 driver version again? Just so we can fully rule out this being the culprit. ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/10 "2026-07-08T23:32:52Z")
@FatsharkLev That was post #2 of this thread, I have already tried DDU: [100% crash rate on launch with fresh install - #2 by Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/2) ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2026, 10:06am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/11 "2026-07-09T10:06:04Z")
Ah, righto. I’m admittedly pretty stumped by this 🤔 Shots in the dark, next can you try: - **Repairing your .NET Framework** - **Reinstalling 2019 C++ Redistributables:** ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/12 "2026-07-11T13:27:46Z")
@FatsharkLev Are there any other logs I can collect? .NET 4.7.2 was already installed, so I used the repair tool. The mid-run diagonstic step didn’t catch anything when I reproduced the issue, and completing the repair and restarting didn’t either. VS 2015 14.51.36247 was installed, and a repair of it didn’t change anything. A full uninstall and reinstall of VS 15 and then a restart also didn’t fix. ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2026, 10:07am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/13 "2026-07-13T10:07:24Z")
Hi @Liverslices You could provide your most recent console log and launcher, and we can check these for comparison. The only other thing I can think of right now, returning to potential AMD driver conflicts, is that some players have had success with the latest driver version 26.6.4 after disabling FSR. Could you try this and see if there’s any change? ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/14 "2026-07-14T00:20:09Z")
@FatsharkLev No change, FSR settings in the launcher and AMD settings have been disabled this whole time and after upgrading back to 26.6.4 I still get the same issue. ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/8/0/80050f4e5e4954136e9e77f711a89370c8eb9e49.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2026, 8:31am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/15 "2026-07-14T08:31:40Z")
Just a sanity check, one screenshot shows AMD FSR 3.1 \> Balanced, if you set all FSR as ‘Off’ does the crash still occur? Failing this, I am admittedly stumped. Is anything flagged up if you run the Windows System File Checker? [https://support.fatshark.se/hc/en-us/articles/360039450413--PC-How-to-Run-the-Windows-System-File-Checker](https://support.fatshark.se/hc/en-us/articles/360039450413--PC-How-to-Run-the-Windows-System-File-Checker) ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/16 "2026-07-16T23:52:26Z")
@FatsharkLev Sorry, was flipping those settings on and off to try several combos, uploaded the wrong screenshot. The same crash behavior still occurs with all settings off (and also at various worker thread numbers) ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/c/7/c7e80ae20831ef461f3fdc7e673f331ced0f25cb.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2026, 9:40am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/17 "2026-07-21T09:40:23Z")
Np! Unfortunately, we’ve exhausted available solutions, and I’m at a bit of a loss. At this stage, I can only really offer to contact Steam on your behalf and request a refund. I appreciate this isn’t an ideal outcome, but please let me know if it’s something you’d wish to do. ---
**Author:** ![DornIvanotic](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/dornivanotic/32/84585_2.png) [@DornIvanotic](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/DornIvanotic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/18 "2026-07-28T01:53:50Z")
If you right click the darktide exe not the launcher does it boot ---
**Author:** ![Liverslices](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/liverslices/32/72634_2.png) [@Liverslices](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/Liverslices)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/19 "2026-07-29T23:57:36Z")
Suggestion on discord for scanning system files didn’t help: [Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files | Microsoft Support](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/experience/backup-recovery/use-the-system-file-checker-tool-to-repair-missing-or-corrupted-system-files) @DornIvanotic 's suggestion does something new, launching ..\binaries\Darktide.exe does successfully launch the game, but since it wasn’t through the launcher (?) there is no account signed in. No difference in behavior if launched as admin. @FatsharkLev Is this helpful information? ![image](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/uploads/fatshark/original/3X/7/a/7ad8d6292231f7380b005ec6169c759a8c9bb40a.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![FatsharkLev](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/forums.fatsharkgames.com/fatsharklev/32/119491_2.png) [@FatsharkLev](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/u/FatsharkLev)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2026, 8:26am UTC](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412/20 "2026-07-30T08:26:04Z")
Afaik, booting the .exe directly will always result in a sign-in error, as your Steam account won’t be verified. AMD have since released driver version 26.7.1. We’re still waiting to confirm stability of this version, but it may be worth trying uninstalling your GPU drivers again using a dedicated driver removal tool (e.g. DDU) and to then install the latest driver version. [Next page](https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/100-crash-rate-on-launch-with-fresh-install/123412.md?page=2)