In this guide, we will show you various methods to fix the issue of Forza Horizon 5 crashing at launch/startup. When it comes to racing video games, then there are a plethora of offerings from numerous developers that could think of. However, none could come close to the graphics and in-game physics in comparison to the one that Xbox Game Studios has to offer. In this regard, it recently launched the fifth iteration and it has already become the most popular title in such a short span of time.
However, inspoite of all the goodies attached, it isn’t free from its fair share of issues either. As of now, various users have voiced their concern that Forza Horizon 5 is crashing at launch/startup. At the very most, users could access the Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios splash screen after which the game comes to a standstill, or in other words, closes and crashes to the home screen. If you are also in the same boat, then this guide shall make you aware of various nifty workarounds to resolve this bug.
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How to Fix: Forza Horizon 5 crashing at launch/startup
It is recommended that you try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then see which one spells out success for you. So with that in mind, let’s get started. [NOTE: If you are facing this issue in July 2022, then you should first try out FIX 6].
FIX 1: Run as Administrator
First and foremost, you should consider running the game with elevated privileges as it might be the case of the game not being able to function properly in a restrictive environment. So proceed with the below steps to give it the required permission set.
- To begin with, right-click on the game’s EXE file and select Properties.
- Then go to the Compatibility tab and checkmark Run this game as an administrator.
- Finally. hit OK to save the changes and then use this EXE file to launch the game.
- Check if it fixes the issue of Forza Horizon 5 crashing at launch/startup.
FIX 2: Update GPU Drivers
Using old or outdated graphics drivers could result in quite a few issues, including the one that we are currently dealing with. Therefore, you should consider updating these drivers to their latest version, using the instruction given below.
- Use the Windows+X shortcut key combinations and select Device Manager from the menu that appears.
- Then expand the Display Adapters section, right-click on your drivers, and select Update Drivers.
- Then select Search automatically for drivers.
- Windows will now search online for the latest versions of these drivers and would install them as well.
- Once done, restart your PC and check if it fixes the issue of Forza Horizon 5 crashing at launch/startup.
FIX 3: Add Forza to Firewall Whitelist
In some instances, the Windows Firewall might raise a false positive and flag a genuine data exchange process as a malicious one. This in turn will prevent the said app [Forza in this case] from accessing the internet on your PC. And this could well be the reason why the game is frequently facing crashes at startup. Since we are quite sure that the source of data exchange [Forza] is trustworthy, we could add it to the Firewall’s whitelist and then test out the results.
- To begin with, head over to the Start Menu, search Windows Defender Firewall, and open it.
- Then click on ‘Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall’ from the left menu bar.
- Now click on the Change Settings button situated at the top right.
- After that, click on the Allow Another App button situated at the bottom right.
- Now click on the Browse button, navigate to Forza’s EXE file and select it.
Reference Image - Then click on the Add button and Forza will now be added to the Firewall’s exclusion list.
Reference Image - Finally, click OK to save the changes and then check if it fixes the Forza Horizon 5 crashing issue at launch/startup.
FIX 4: Disable Nvidia Overlay
The third-party app overlays are continually running in the background or/and on top of the gameplay and tend to consume an exorbitant amount of system resources. Likewise, some of them might also cause compatibility issues, crashes, and unexpected performance issues. Therefore, you should consider turning off the following third-party overlays, if you have them running-
- Communication Overlay features from Discord
- Nvidia GeForce Overlay for Screen Capture and Sharing
- Xbox Game Bar
- Disable EVGA Precision.
- Hardware Monitoring and Capture with Fraps
FIX 5: Repair Game file
In some instances, the game file might get corrupted or missing. In this case, even if the affected file is of only a few KBs, it could still have an adverse impact on the overall game. Therefore, you should let Steam verify and hence fix the affected game files. Here’s how it could be done
- To begin with, launch Steam and go to your library.
- Then right-click on Forza and select Properties.
- Now go to Local Files and click on Verify Integrity of game files.
- Wait for the process to finish. Once done, launch the game.
- Check if it fixes the Forza Horizon 5 crashing issue at launch/startup.
FIX 6: Delete NVIDIA Game Filters
If a lot of DXCache associated with the NVIDIA Game Filters gets corrupted or if a lot of them is stored over the due course of time, then it could conflict with the proper functioning of the game. Therefore, you should consider deleting it at regular intervals of time. However, many doing so before launching the game calls for quite a lot of manual effort. So a much better approach will be to create a batch file and let it do the task on our behalf. Here’s how it could be done
- Create a new text document [Notepad] and copy-paste the below commands
del /q %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\DXCache\ for /d %%x in (%LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\DXCache\*) do @rd /s /q “%%x”
- Then go to File > Save as and change the Save as type to All Files.
- Name it FH.bat and hit the Save key. Now double click on this file to launch it.
- It will now delete all the DXCache and this in turn might rectify the underlying issue.
So these were the various methods that shall help you fix the issue of Forza Horizon 5 crashing at launch/startup. As far as the latest bug is concerned [July 2022], the developers are yet to acknowledge this issue, let alone give out any ETA for the rollout of a fix. As and when any of these two things happen, we will update this guide accordingly. In the meantime, the aforementioned workaround is your best bet.
