How to Fix inZOI Crash at Startup on PC?

inZOI is a life simulation game released exclusively for PC. The game is currently in Early Access on Steam, which means that developers are still working on it, and PC users may experience crashes and errors, such as crashes on startup or the Out of Video Memory error. PC users report that inZOI keeps crashing at startup when they launch the game, and I have compiled a list of fixes that will resolve this issue on your Windows PC.

Working Fixes for inZOI Not Launching on PC

PC users report that inZOI keeps crashing at startup or does not launch on their PC. There are multiple factors behind these startup crashes, including inZOI not having admin rights, the game not utilizing the discrete graphics hardware, issues with the shader cache, and more. The following fixes will resolve the inZOI not launching issue on your PC.

Fix #1 – Run inZOI as an Administrator

Lack of administrative rights is often the reason for games failing to launch, and is the reason inZOI keeps crashing at startup on your PC. You can fix these startup crashes by running InZOI as an administrator. Here is how you can apply this fix:

• Right-click InZOI in your Steam library, hover the cursor over Manager, and click the “Browse local files” option.
• A new Explorer window will open containing InZOI’s game files.
• Right-click inZOI.exe and select properties.
• Go to the “Compatibility” tab in the small window that opens up.
• Check the “Run this program as an administrator” option, and apply the changes.
• Launch inZOI and the startup crash is now fixed.

Fix #2 – Ensure inZOI is running on Dedicated Graphics Hardware

Gaming laptops utilize both the integrated GPU (iGPU) and dedicated GPU to save power. Windows switches between the two GPUs depending on load. The OS should be switching to the dedicated NVIDIA or AMD graphics card when you launch inZOI, but that is not the case. This is why the game is crashing at startup on your PC. You can fix these InZOI startup crashes by forcing the game to run on the dedicated graphics hardware.

Here is how you can force InZOI to use the discrete graphics hardware to fix the crash at startup issue:

• Go to Windows 10/11 settings, go to System, click Display, and go to Graphics.
• Select “inZOI” from the apps and programs list. Click on Options.
• Select the “High Performance” option and save the changes.
• Play inZOI, and the startup crash issue is now fixed.

Fix #3 – Clear NVIDIA Shader Cache and Increase Its Size

inZOI runs on Unreal Engine 5, which is quite popular among the PC gaming community, and it’s not for good reasons. The engine relies on shaders for its rendering and performance. However, a lot of players are experiencing crashes in inZOI when it is compiling shaders, and some PC users experience the infamous Out of Video Memory error.

While not exactly a startup crash, without compiling shaders, players are unable to launch the game. You can fix the InZOI not launching or crashing at startup issue by clearing the NVIDIA shader cache and increasing the cache size. Doing this will allow inZOI to compile shaders, and the game will launch without crashing. Here is how you can clear the cache and increase its size:

• Open the NVIDIA Control Panel.
• Click the “Manage 3D Settings” option from the left menu.
• Go to the “Global settings” tab.
• Scroll down to the “Shader Cache Size” setting.
• Select “Disable” from the list of options, and apply the changes.
• Restart your PC, open the NVIDIA Control Panel again, and go to the “Shader Cache Size” setting.
• Select 10 GB or higher value for it, and apply the changes.
• Launch inZOI, and the startup crash issue is now fixed.

Fix #4 – Repair or Install System Files and Visual C++ Components

inZOI is not launching on your PC due to damaged or missing system files and Visual C++ components. You can fix this issue by repairing system files and installing Visual C++ components.

Repair System Files

Microsoft frequently rolls out updates for Windows 11. System files often get damaged during these updates or due to other circumstances. You can run the SFC and DISM scans to repair system files and fix the inZOI not launching issue on your PC. Here is how you can run these scans:

• Press the Windows key on your keyboard, type “cmd”, and run Command Prompt as an administrator.
• Type sfc /scannow and hit Enter.
• Windows will run a scan. Let it complete fully.
• After the first scan is complete, type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press Enter again.
• Let Windows complete this scan as well.
• Launch inZOI, and the game failing to launch issue is now fixed.

Install or Repair Visual C++ Components

Visual C++ Redistributables are a dependency for video games on PC This is why Steam downloads a Steamworks Common Redistributables package that contains all Visual C++ and DirectX installers. Missing or corrupt Visual C++ components are the reason inZoi fails to launch on your PC, and you can fix it by repairing or installing them. Here is how you can run installers for Visual C++ Redistributables:

• Go to the Steam Library and type “Steamworks” in the search bar.
• Right-click “Steamworks Common Redistributables” > Manage > click “Browse local files”.
• Open _CommonRedist\vcredist in the explorer window that opens on your screen.
• You will get a list of folders with names in years starting from 2010.
• Open each folder one by one and run the VC_redis for both x64 and x86 versions.
• Repair or install Visual C++ Redistributables.
• Launch inZOI, and the startup crash issue is now fixed.

Fix #5 – Revert Graphics Card Overclock or Force Reference Clocks

Unreal Engine 5 is quite sensitive to clock speeds, and it is a common issue with games running on this engine that if you have overclocked your graphics card, they crash on startup or during gameplay. Revert your graphics card to its stock GPU and Memory clocks, if you have overclocked it, to fix the inZOI startup crash on your PC.

If you haven’t overclocked your graphics card, it is still using higher GPU and Memory clocks than its reference model. Most graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD AIB partners use higher clocks or even come with factory overclocks. These higher clocks are the reason inZOI keeps crashing at startup on your PC, and you can fix these crashes by forcing your graphics card to use its reference clocks.

You can force a reference clock for NVIDIA GPUs by enabling the Debug Mode in the NVIDIA Control Panel. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel, click the “Help” button from the top menu, and click the “Debug Mode” option. Play inZOI and it’ll launch without crashing.

For AMD graphics cards, there is no one-click option like the Debug Mode that forces them to use reference GPU and Memory clocks. You’ll have to manually underclock your AMD graphics card to fix the inZOI startup crashes on your PC.

That is all for our inZOI fixes for the game not launching issue on PC. Also, see our hub for commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes if you are experiencing errors with other PC video games or PCs.