FIX: Resident Evil 7 not launching on Windows 10/11 [Crash]

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Key notes

  • Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a very successful game, loved by many fans of PC games.
  • Although the game has a good story and excellent graphics, many users reported that they weren’t able to launch the game at all.
  • Take a look at our Troubleshooting Hub for more useful guides from our tech experts.
  • Don't forget to check out our Gaming section for a holistic game coverage.
How to fix Resident Evil 7 not launching on Windows 10 [Crash]

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is one of the most popular games of all time. The game itself, along with its DLCs and game modes has something for everyone, but one thing is for certain, you’ll get scared!

But unfortunately, not everything goes smooth for some players. Various problems have occurred, and one of the most commonly reported problems is the issue which prevents the game from launching.

This is perhaps one of the most serious game problems you can encounter, and we’ve prepared a couple of workarounds in order to help you to fix it.

How can I fix Resident Evil 7 launching issues?

Here are some similar problems reported by users:

  • RE7 won’t load, start – If Resident Evil 7 won’t start at all on your PC, you should be able to fix the problem by using one of our solutions.
  • RE7 stuck on loading screen – In some cases, Resident Evil 7 might get stuck while loading. This can be a problem, but you can fix the issue by installing the necessary components.

1. Check your drivers

If you’re running Windows 10, Resident Evil 7 requires all your drivers to be up to date. That especially applies to your graphics card driver.

So just in case, before you do anything else, make sure all your drivers are updated. Also, we advise you to download drivers from Windows Update, Device Manager, or from the manufacturer’s official website.

Don’t install drivers from DVDs or USB flash drives, because there’s a chance those drivers have become outdated in the meantime.

Keep in mind that updating your drivers is an advanced procedure. If you’re not careful you can cause serious damage to your system by downloading the wrong driver versions.

We strongly recommend Outbyte Driver Updater to automatically download all the outdated drivers on your PC. This great program looks for new drivers for your hardware and downloads updates automatically.

It scans your system and lists all existing and possibly missing drivers. The tool also detects if there is already a new version for current records. If necessary, these can be updated directly via Outbyte Driver Updater.

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2. Check your antivirus

Sometimes your antivirus can cause issues with Resident Evil 7 and prevent it from running. To fix this issue, it’s advised to completely disable your antivirus and check if that helps.

In the worst-case scenario, you might have to uninstall your antivirus in order to fix this problem. If by removing it the problem gets solved, you should consider using an antivirus that has a Gaming Mode feature.

Third-party antivirus software with gaming mode and gaming booster will remove any intrusive notifications or app overlays while you are playing.

On top of that, the booster modes will prioritize your resources for gaming, temporarily disabling apps/processes that are not necessary at that moment.

Keep in mind that a good antivirus software comes with multi-layered protection, a strong firewall, and a transparent and strong privacy policy.

3. Check Visual Studio and redistributables

  1. Open Steam.
  2. Go to SteamApps.
  3. Select common.
  4. Choose ResidentEvil7 and search for _CommonRedist.
  5. Look for vcredist.
  6. Run the vcredist_64.exe file.
  7. This file will automatically update all your redistributables.

Resident Evil 7, just like many other games need redistributables to function properly. That includes Visual Studio C, too. So, if these programs are corrupted, you’ll have problems launching the game.

Additionally, you can download the latest version of Visual Studio C.

4. Disable hardware monitoring software

Sometimes the hardware monitoring software may be interfering with Resident Evil 7.

In this case, the user who reported the issue had to deal with NZXT’s CAM hardware monitoring software, but it can really be any application of this kind.

If you think that a third-party application is causing this problem, we advise you to find and uninstall the problematic application.

This is relatively simple to do, but if you want to completely remove an application, we advise you to use uninstaller software.

In case you’re not familiar, this software is a special application that can remove any program from your PC, even those malicious apps that you will not be able to remove with Windows settings.

In addition to removing the selected application, it will also remove all files and registry entries associated with it. This will ensure a clean reinstallation and prevent you from experiencing errors in the future.

By using uninstaller software you’ll ensure that there are no leftover files on your PC. As a result, the issue with Resident Evil 7 should be completely resolved.

5. Missing .dll files

If your computer is missing a certain .dll file, Resident Evil 7 won’t launch. In this case, the game will show you an error window, that will tell you which .dll file are you exactly missing.

If a certain .dll file is missing, the best way to fix the problem is to copy it from another PC.

If you have a friend that has Resident Evil 7 installed, you can copy the missing file from his PC and paste it into your installation directory.

After copying the missing .dll file, the issue should be resolved. In some cases, you’ll need to copy several .dll files in order to permanently solve the problem.

6. Start the game as administrator

  1. Locate the application shortcut, right-click it and choose Properties.
    RE7 won't start
  2. Go to Compatibility tab and check Run this program as an administrator.
    RE7 stuck on loading screen
  3. Click Apply and OK to save changes.
  4. Run the game again.

7. Use Compatibility modes

RE7 won't start
  1. Locate Resident Evil 7 shortcut, right-click it and choose Properties.
  2. Go to Compatibility tab and check Run this program in compatibility mode for.
  3. Choose Windows 8 from the list.
  4. Now click Apply and OK to save changes.

8. Download and install Media Feature PackThe Hunter Call Of The Wild crash on launch

  1. Go to Microsoft’s website to download Media Feature Pack.
  2. Choose the version that matches your system architecture and download it.
  3. Run it to install Media Feature Pack.

If Resident Evil 7 won’t launch on your PC, the issue might be Media Feature Pack. Once you install this application, the issue should be resolved and the game will start working again.

European and Korean versions of Windows 10 are missing certain multimedia features, and sometimes those missing features can cause problems with certain games.

9. Restart Steam

If Resident Evil 7 won’t launch on your PC, the simplest fix is to restart Steam. Simply close Steam completely on your PC, wait for a couple of moments and then turn it back on again.

Once you restart Steam, the issue should be resolved and the game should start running again.

10. Install the game on the C drive

Several users reported that they fixed Resident Evil 7 issues on their PC simply by installing the game on the C drive.

For some reason, the game won’t start properly unless it’s not installed on the C drive. To fix the problem, simply reinstall the game and install it to the C drive and your problem should be resolved.

That’s about it, we hope at least one of these solutions helped you to solve the problem with Resident Evil 7 not launching. In case you have any comments, suggestions, or further questions, the comment section is just below.

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