Hogwarts Legacy launched for PC and current-gen consoles with great reception from critics and gamers alike. Hogwarts Legacy PC is not a perfect port. PC players are experiencing performance issues and errors like Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library error, game not starting, crash at startup, DirectX Runtime error, out of memory, in-game crashes, and more. The following are the errors that PC players report and their fixes and workarounds.
Last updated on March 8th, 2023 at 07:53 pm
Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library Error Fix
Hogwarts Legacy PC players report experiencing the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library error and cannot play the game. For some players, this happened when they switched the upscaling to Intel’s XESS instead of DLSS while using an Nvidia GPU. To fix the Visual C++ Runtime Library error in Hogwarts Legacy, players need to switch the upscale type back to DLSS.
Players can’t do it in-game, but there is a workaround. Open GeForce Experience and select Hogwarts Legacy. GeForce Experience will, by default, tell you to switch to DLSS, and if that is the case, click on optimize. Launch Hogwarts Legacy, and the C++ Runtime Library error will be fixed.
Game Not Launching, Crash At Startup Fix
Hogwarts Legacy PC players report that the game crashes at startup or doesn’t start when they launch it. Here is how to fix the Hogwarts Legacy crash at launch issue.
For some players, Hogwarts Legacy started crashing at launch after they switched to the upscaling tech not supported by their GPU. Meaning players with Intel GPU switched to DLSS upscale, and the game crashed at launch, or Nvidia GPU users switched to XESS, and the game started crashing. To fix this Hogwarts Legacy crash, players must switch back to the upscale type they used before. Navigate to C/Users/”Your Username”/AppData/Local/Hogwarts Legacy/Saved/ConfigWindowsNoEditor and delete the “GameUserSettings” file. Launch Hogwarts Legacy, which will launch with default settings and won’t crash at startup.
Right-click Hogwarts Legacy in Steam library > Manage > browse local files. A new window will open with game files. Launch the game directly through the HogwartsLegacy executable, shown in the image below.
You’ll likely get an error similar to ‘ vcruntime140_1.dll or MSVCP140.dll Was Not Found’ or a DirectX error like d3d12.dll is missing. The former error can be fixed by installing/repairing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables x64 and x86. For the DirectX error, install the latest DirectX End-User Runtime.
Some Hogwarts Legacy PC players report crashes at startup with the following error message.
Couldn’t start: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Hogwarts Legacy\Phoenix\Binaries\Win64\HogwartsLegacy.exe” Phoenix-SaveToUserDir -UserDir=”Hogwarts Legacy” CreateProcess() returned 2e4.
The fix for this issue is simple. Right-click Hogwarts Legacy in Steam library > Manage > browse local files. A new window will open with game files, and navigate to Phoenix > Binaries > Win64. Right-click the HogwartsLegacy executable in the image below and select troubleshoot compatibility. Let the troubleshooter work, and it’ll identify a problem if there is any. Click on the Test program and use the suggested settings. Launch Hogwarts LEgacy, and it won’t crash.
Out Of Memory Error, Out Of Video Memory Erro Fix
Hogwarts Legacy PC players report the ‘out of memory’ or ‘out of video memory error at launch, and here is how to fix it. For those experiencing the Out Of Video Memory error with a dedicated GPU, ensure the game runs on your dedicated Nvidia/AMD GPU. Sometimes games don’t switch from integrated to dedicated GPU, and this error occurs.
For Nvidia GPU, open Nvidia Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Program Settings > select the game > select “High-performance Nvidia processor” under the preferred graphics option. Apply the changes.
AMD GPU users must open Radeon Settings > Preferences > Additional Settings > Power > Switchable Graphics Application Settings. Select the game and select the “High-Performance profile” to the game under Graphics Settings.
If the error persists, then manually reinstall/update your GPU driver and ensure you do a clean installation to fix the error.
PC players facing the out-of-memory error, make sure every background program is disabled. Even though Hogwarts Legacy’s requirements state 16 GB RAM, 16 GB is the bare minimum, and even a single Edge browser tab in the background can result in game hitching. Chances are, the Hogwarts Lagacy’s settings are too high for your available RAM. Open GeForce Experience > select the game > click on the “Custom Settings icon” right next to Optimize button > drag The slider to performance, hit apply, and click optimize. Launch Hogwarts Legacy, and the out-of-memory error will be fixed.
Another fix for the out-of-video memory error is to delete the DirectX shader cache. Type disk cleanup in Windows search > select C drive and press Ok > select DirectX Shader Cache > press OK, and Windows will delete the DirectX Shader cache. Launch Hogwarts Legacy, and of video memory error will be fixed.
Crash Fix
Hogwarts Legacy PC players are experiencing random in-game crashes, and here is how to fix it. If you are running Hogwarts Legacy with 16 GB of RAM, it is causing the game to crash. In my experience playing Hogwarts Legacy, 16 GB RAM isn’t enough and sometimes causes the game to crash. While testing the game’s performance, I noticed the game was using 90% and more of the total RAM. If you have any background programs running, disable them and make sure not even a single browser tab is open. This will fix the Hogwarts Legacy crash.
PC users often use third-party tools and software to enhance their experience or monitor resources and performance metrics. These third-party tools often cause in-game crashes. Disable any third-party tool or software you use, and the Hogwarts Legacy will stop crashing.
VRAM usage is another reason why Hogwarts Legacy is crashing. Even on a 12 GB RTX 3060, the game uses 85% of the VRAM. This is unusual and probably why the game is crashing and has performance issues like stuttering low FPS. Drop the Texture setting, the Hogwarts Legacy won’t crash, and performance will improve.
GPU load is another reason for the game to crash. Either lower graphics settings and if that is not an option, try limiting the game’s max FPS through the game’s settings. Capping the FPS to a relatively low value reduces CPU and GPU load. This will make Hogwarts Legacy more stable, and it won’t crash.
LowLevelFatalError Fix
Hogwarts Legacy players are experiencing the LowLevelFatalError error as they launch the game with the following error message.
LowLevelFatalError[File:Unknown] [Line197]
ran out of memory allocating 4194304 bytes with alignment 0
This is due to Hogwarts Legacy using more VRAM than available. The game has issues with VRAM usage; even GPUs with 12 GB VRAM are struggling. Players need to lower the texture settings to fix LowLevelFatalError in Hogwarts Legacy. Since players can’t do it in-game, they can lower the graphics settings through GeForce Experience. Open GeForce Experience > select Hogwarts Legacy > click on the “Custom Settings icon” right next to Optimize button > drag the slider to performance. Click on Optimize, and it’ll lower the graphics settings. Launch Hogwarts Legacy, and LowLevelFatalError will be fixed.
Game Freezing Fix
Hogwarts Legacy PC players report that the game is freezing at the main menu. The fix for it is simple, wait a few minutes. Players report that sometimes the game takes 10 minutes to unfreeze. There could be a background loading causing the game to freeze.
DirectX Runtime Error Fix
Hogwarts Legacy players report experiencing the DirectX Runtime error when they launch the game. Some players report that moving the game to the C drive fixes the DirectX Runtime error. Some games don’t respond well when installed on any other drive. Move Hogwarts Legacy to the C driver, and the error will be fixed.
That is all for our Hogwarts Legacy fixes for errors and issues like out of memory error, in-game crash, Visual C++ Runtime Library error, crash at startup, and more. If you are facing errors and issues with other PC games or your PC, see our hub for commonly occurring PC errors and their fixes.