Real-world examples of resolving application crashes on Windows

Quick, real examples of resolving application crashes on Windows

Before we unpack the details, let’s start with a few real-world stories. These are the kinds of examples of resolving application crashes on Windows that actually match what users see day to day:

• A gamer’s new RTX GPU caused constant crashes in a popular title until they updated the graphics driver and turned off an aggressive overlay.
• A finance analyst’s Excel crashed only when opening large macro-heavy workbooks; disabling a faulty add-in and switching to 64‑bit Office fixed it.
• A developer’s Visual Studio kept vanishing during builds; the root cause turned out to be an overzealous antivirus engine quarantining temporary build files.
• A designer’s Photoshop crashed on startup after a Windows update; rolling back a buggy display driver and resetting Photoshop preferences stabilized it.

Those are the kinds of patterns we’ll use: symptom → investigation → fix. Let’s walk through more structured examples of resolving application crashes on Windows so you can match them to your own situation.

Example of fixing random game crashes on Windows 11

One of the most common examples of resolving application crashes on Windows involves modern PC games suddenly closing to desktop with no clear error.

Scenario: After installing a new graphics card and updating to Windows 11 23H2, a user notices that several DirectX 12 games crash after 5–10 minutes. Sometimes there’s a brief black screen; sometimes the game just disappears.

How it was diagnosed

The user opened Reliability Monitor (type reliability in the Start menu) and saw repeated entries for Game.exe Stopped working with LiveKernelEvent 141 hardware errors. Event Viewer also logged Display driver nvlddmkm stopped responding and has successfully recovered.

Fix steps that worked

Instead of reinstalling Windows (tempting but overkill), the user:

• Downloaded the latest GPU driver directly from the manufacturer’s site rather than relying on Windows Update.
• Performed a clean driver install, removing old profiles and leftover components.
• Disabled third‑party overlays (Discord, GeForce Experience, RGB control software) that were injecting into games.
• Turned off experimental features like Hardware‑accelerated GPU scheduling in Settings → System → Display → Graphics.

Once done, the crashes stopped across all games. This is one of the best examples of how a driver conflict, not the game itself, can trigger instability.

Examples of resolving application crashes on Windows caused by add-ins

Office apps, browsers, and IDEs love extensions and add-ins. They’re powerful, but also frequent crash suspects.

Excel and Outlook: classic add-in crash example

Scenario: A corporate user’s Excel 365 crashes every time they open a specific financial model. Outlook also feels sluggish and sometimes hangs on exit.

Investigation: Starting Excel in safe mode (excel /safe) makes the workbook open fine. That’s a textbook example of an add-in issue. Under File → Options → Add-ins, disabling COM add-ins one by one reveals that a legacy PDF exporter is the culprit.

Resolution:

• The IT team removes the outdated add-in from all affected machines.
• They install the vendor’s updated add-in version that supports current Office builds.
• Users clear out old .xlb toolbar files and reset Excel’s startup folders.

This is one of the cleaner examples of resolving application crashes on Windows: isolate via safe mode, then selectively disable extensions until the crash disappears.

Browser extensions causing tab crashes

In another real example, a security-focused user loads multiple privacy extensions in their browser. After a Windows update, certain sites cause instant tab crashes.

By running the browser in its own safe or incognito mode with extensions disabled, the user finds that a content-filtering extension is incompatible with the latest browser build. Removing it stops the crashes. The pattern mirrors the Office example: safe mode works → extension is guilty.

Examples include driver, firmware, and hardware-related crashes

Some of the most stubborn examples of resolving application crashes on Windows come from hardware or driver issues that only show up under load.

GPU driver and firmware mismatch

Scenario: A video editor using DaVinci Resolve sees crashes only when rendering 4K timelines with GPU acceleration turned on. Lower resolutions work fine.

Key findings:

• Reliability Monitor shows Resolve.exe Stopped working with BEX64 (buffer overflow) errors.
• GPU-Z and vendor tools reveal outdated GPU firmware paired with a newer driver.

Fix path:

• Update GPU firmware using the vendor’s official utility.
• Match the driver version recommended by the editing software’s 2024 support docs.
• Increase Windows virtual memory (page file) to handle large project loads.

After the changes, renders complete reliably. This is a good example of resolving application crashes on Windows where software was blamed initially, but the real fix lived in firmware and driver alignment.

RAM instability and memory-intensive apps

In another case, a data scientist runs Python notebooks in VS Code and sees random crashes of the IDE and Jupyter kernel when training large models.

Windows Memory Diagnostic flags intermittent errors. Swapping out a faulty RAM stick eliminates the problem. Here, no amount of reinstalling apps would have helped; the example shows why checking hardware health is part of resolving application crashes on Windows, especially for workloads that push memory to the limit.

For more background on memory and system stability, Microsoft’s official guidance on troubleshooting blue screens and hardware errors is a helpful reference:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/troubleshoot-blue-screen-errors

Examples of resolving application crashes on Windows after major updates

Windows 10 and 11 feature updates are notorious for triggering new, unexpected app behavior. Let’s look at two concrete examples.

Creative tools crashing after a Windows 11 feature update

Scenario: A photographer’s Adobe Lightroom Classic and Photoshop start crashing on launch right after installing a major Windows 11 update. Before the update, both apps were stable.

Investigation steps:

• Running each app as administrator doesn’t help.
• Creating a new Windows user profile makes both apps run perfectly.

That’s a strong hint that user profile data or permissions are corrupted.

Fix that worked:

• Back up presets, brushes, and catalogs from the old profile.
• Create a new local user account, then link it to the Microsoft account.
• Reinstall Adobe apps under the new profile.

Once moved, the crashes vanish. This is a real example of resolving application crashes on Windows where the operating system update didn’t directly break the app, but exposed existing profile corruption.

Legacy line-of-business app failing after security hardening

Another 2024‑style example: a small business runs a legacy accounting app built for Windows 7. After IT tightens security policies and enables stricter Controlled Folder Access in Windows Security, the app begins crashing whenever it tries to write to C:\Program Files.

Resolution path:

• IT reviews the Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Ransomware protection settings.
• They add the app as an allowed application and redirect its data writes to %ProgramData% or a user profile folder.

Microsoft’s documentation on ransomware protection and Controlled Folder Access explains why this happens and how to configure it safely:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/controlled-folders

This is one of the best examples of how modern security features can look like “random crashes” until you line up app behavior with new protection policies.

Real examples of resolving application crashes on Windows with built-in tools

You don’t always need third‑party utilities. Some of the most effective examples of resolving application crashes on Windows come from using tools already in the OS.

Reliability Monitor + Event Viewer combo

A developer notices that their .NET app crashes only on one client machine. On their own PC, it runs fine.

Using Reliability Monitor, they see that each crash corresponds to a .NET runtime error. Event Viewer logs show System.IO.FileNotFoundException pointing to a missing dependency DLL.

Action:

• Install the correct .NET Desktop Runtime version from Microsoft’s site.
• Bundle the missing DLL with the app installer.

The crashes stop immediately. This is a straightforward example of resolving application crashes on Windows by reading the exact error from system logs instead of guessing.

System File Checker and DISM fixing corrupt system files

In another case, multiple apps (Notepad, Calculator, and a third‑party editor) crash when opening file dialogs. That cross‑app pattern suggests a shared Windows component is damaged.

Running these commands from an elevated Command Prompt:

sfc /scannow
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

repairs corrupted system files. After a reboot, the file dialogs work again and the crashes disappear. Microsoft documents these tools in its repair guidance:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/troubleshoot-windows-11

This example reinforces that sometimes you’re fixing Windows itself, not the individual app.

2024–2025 trends: modern examples of app crashes and fixes

Recent years have introduced new patterns in examples of resolving application crashes on Windows, especially around:

• GPU-accelerated everything: Browsers, office apps, and dev tools now use the GPU. Disabling hardware acceleration in app settings often stops crashes on older or buggy drivers.
• Cloud-synced profiles: OneDrive and roaming profiles can lock or delay file access. Apps that expect instant local reads may crash when files are still syncing.
• Security hardening: Controlled Folder Access, Smart App Control, and stricter driver signing can block older apps and drivers, causing failures that look like app bugs.

A real example from 2025: a remote worker’s Teams and Zoom clients crash when screen sharing. The underlying cause turns out to be an outdated virtual display driver from an old remote-desktop tool. Removing that driver and installing the vendor’s updated, Windows 11‑certified version stabilizes all conferencing apps.

FAQ: common questions and examples of resolving application crashes on Windows

What are some quick examples of resolving application crashes on Windows without reinstalling everything?

Some fast wins include updating graphics and audio drivers from the vendor site, disabling problematic add-ins, running apps in safe mode, and using System File Checker (sfc /scannow). These examples of resolving application crashes on Windows often fix the majority of everyday issues without a full reinstall.

Can you give an example of a crash caused by antivirus software?

Yes. A common example of this is Visual Studio or another IDE crashing during builds because antivirus software scans and locks temporary build directories. Excluding the project and build folders in your antivirus settings usually resolves the crashes.

How do I know if my crash is hardware-related or software-related?

Look for patterns. If multiple, unrelated apps crash during heavy load (gaming, video encoding, large data processing), that points toward hardware, drivers, or overheating. Running Windows Memory Diagnostic and checking temperatures with vendor tools can surface hardware issues. When only one app crashes and safe mode or add-in removal helps, it’s usually software.

Are there examples of resolving application crashes on Windows by creating a new user profile?

Absolutely. One of the clearest examples of resolving application crashes on Windows via a new profile is when apps like Photoshop, Outlook, or Teams crash only under one account but work fine under a fresh account. Migrating data and using the new profile often eliminates profile-level corruption.

When should I give up and reinstall the application or Windows itself?

Reinstall the application when:

• It’s the only app crashing.
• You’ve updated drivers and run SFC/DISM.
• Safe mode or a different user profile doesn’t change the behavior.

Consider a Windows reset only after you’ve ruled out hardware faults, tried a clean boot (disabling third‑party startup items), and confirmed that multiple core apps are unstable. Even then, back up thoroughly before you start.

The examples above are not theoretical; they mirror how real users and admins in 2024–2025 are actually resolving application crashes on Windows. Match your symptoms to the closest example, follow the same investigation pattern, and you’ll usually get from “this app keeps dying” to “it finally works” much faster than trial and error.