User32.dll crash

[metal]

Faulting application name: HorizonZeroDawn.exe, version: 1.0.11.14, time stamp: 0x61e6871c
Faulting module name: USER32.dll, version: 10.0.19041.2130, time stamp: 0xf6669092
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00000000000086aa
Faulting process id: 0x1fac
Faulting application start time: 0x01d90b4eb8692cd6
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Horizon Zero Dawn\HorizonZeroDawn.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\USER32.dll
Report Id: 297c5e52-e71e-4383-a6a7-c1735a250e7f
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:

Getting this error when trying to play. Game crashes at random periods within 5 minutes of starting. I've tried different graphics drivers, disabled XMP, updated everything. Anything I could find on the web I've tried. Anyone have any tips?

[Eye of Newt]

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/0C48-FCBD-DA71-93EB

[metal]

First thing I tried, doesnt work.

[Eye of Newt]

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-correct-common-user32-dll-file-errors-3b34cc67-5741-ce2b-cc7d-86d5410f44f4

Would that help?

[metal]

Unfortunately it did not help

[BlastThyName]

Specs ?

[metal]

i5 12600KF
MSI Pro B660-A
XFX 6700 XT
32GB Tforce Vulcan Z DDR 3200
Win 10

I did an experiment and installed a fresh copy of windows on another SSD and installed the game, it ran without crashes for awhile, so I went back to my original SSD and restored the local steam backup. I just played for 35 minutes without crashes, but it crashed seemingly randomly again. Sometimes now it will crash sooner. I've disabled all additional programs (MSI Afterburner etc), disabled discord and steam overlays, have XMP disabled for my ram, set audio quality to 48k maximum.

[Bigshrimp]

Originally posted by metal:

i5 12600KF
MSI Pro B660-A
XFX 6700 XT
32GB Tforce Vulcan Z DDR 3200
Win 10

I did an experiment and installed a fresh copy of windows on another SSD and installed the game, it ran without crashes for awhile, so I went back to my original SSD and restored the local steam backup. I just played for 35 minutes without crashes, but it crashed seemingly randomly again. Sometimes now it will crash sooner. I've disabled all additional programs (MSI Afterburner etc), disabled discord and steam overlays, have XMP disabled for my ram, set audio quality to 48k maximum.

Try different memory or reinsert the memory. One time I fixed a crashing issue by reinstalling my memory and video card and the 6 pin power connectors. Check to make sure all the components in your system are getting enough cooling and all the cables are firmly connected. Could be a lot of things but over heating can be the main cause if everything else is fine.

You already reinstalled the OS, so it may be hardware, unless you have a software or driver issue, which generally is fixed after reinstalling the OS fresh. Of course you want to make sure you have all of the needed chipset and other hardware drivers installed with the most updated versions from the manufacturer's website or windows update.

[Eye of Newt]

It could actually be a bad SSD. This is fairly rare, granted, but it's worth checking SMART info with CrystalDiskInfo:

https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/

[Alexeychikk]

Windows 11 user here, rtx 4070 ti, core i9-13900kf, ram 32gb ddr5 4800mhz (no xmp).

In my case the game crashed every time on startup.
First thing I did is I ran it in Windows 7 compatibility mode and it fixed the problem.
To verify I disabled Windows 7 compatibility mode and it started crashing on startup again, every single time.

Then I reinstalled Steam from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam" folder to my other drive "F:\Steam". And surprisingly it has also fixed the problem, so I don't need to run the game in compatibility mode.

However, the game still crashes from time to time with the same error after about ~1-2 hours of playing.

P.S. No, it's not a bad SSD, I checked with chkdsk all of my drives, no errors. Nor it's a problem with my RAM - I've also checked with memtest86, with and without xmp - no errors. sfc /scannow also did not detect any errors. Did GPU stress tests and benchmarks - runs smooth without any issues.

[Adam]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.