What Causes the 0xc0000005 Error on Windows?
There are a number of known reasons causing this error to disrupt the operations of various software in Windows 10. One of those reasons, considered a major cause, is a third-party antivirus program causing conflicts with executable files and influencing their operations. On the other hand, registries can become corrupted due to malware and viruses, causing the programs to behave abnormally. Sometimes, faulty hardware drivers can also be the culprit causing this error.
Solutions to Fix Windows 10 Error 0xc0000005
Based on the reasons mentioned above, the solutions are straightforward. Therefore, go through the following methods to get rid of this frustrating error message.
1. Fixing the Antivirus Program.
Antivirus programs can influence the executable files of a number of programs. Therefore, in order to fix this problem, you are required to disable the third-party antivirus program to check whether it was the culprit or not. Please note that disabling antivirus programs can result in some serious threats to your computer when connected to the internet. You can also rely on Windows’ own security software, i.e., Windows Defender. It has the same functionality as any other antivirus. You can disable the antivirus by navigating to its settings and turning the shield off.
After it is disabled, check for the error again. If it still persists, move to the next method.
2. Fixing registries.
The registry is the central database of Windows that is constantly being used by your PC to help it read various files and settings needed to run. Registries can become corrupted due to damage to certain files required to keep everything in place. Therefore, most experts recommend that you make sure to back up your registry and store this backup on a conventional USB stick, so you can restore your registry to its previous state in case of corruption. However, if you didn’t back up your registry, follow these steps to fix the registry in order to resolve the error 0xc0000005.
- Download the registry cleaner software from this link.
- After it has been downloaded, install it using the recommended settings. Open the software once the installation process is complete.
- On the interface, click the Registry tab located on the left pane, and then click the button labeled Scan for Issues. This will initiate a search for errors in the registry. Once the search is complete, the Fix Selected Issue button will be activated. Click on this button to resolve all identified problems.
3. Fixing Faulty Drivers
Drivers are the software programs that help a computer communicate with the hardware attached to it. So, when they are damaged, the hardware tends to cause glitches. Fixing these faulty drivers can benefit you in a number of ways. Follow the steps below.
Open the Device Manager by pressing Win + X and selecting it from the list.
Inside the Device Manager, scroll down to see if there is any hardware with a yellow mark. If there is, right-click on it and select “Update Driver Software.” If you have installed drivers recently, reinstall those drivers as well.
In the window that appears afterwards, click on ‘Search automatically for updated driver software’ to allow it to search and install drivers automatically. If you have downloaded the drivers manually, click on the option below to browse and install them. Once the process is complete, check for any errors.
4. Fix the BCD.
This method is to be carried out by users at their own risk. It worked for some and did not for others. After performing the steps in this guide, you will also need to reactivate Windows.
5. Check for Windows Updates.
Windows Updates often contain fixes for various bugs and glitches, but they are also notorious for giving rise to new issues on people’s computers. However, in this step, we will be checking for any updates to your Operating System, as Microsoft frequently patches any problems resulting from their updates. To do so, please follow the guide below.
6. Restoring the Computer.
If you have just started experiencing this issue, it might be triggered by a faulty driver installation or even a rogue application that you may have recently installed on your computer. Therefore, in this step, we will revert the state of the computer to an earlier date, and hopefully, this should resolve the issue if it was caused by the aforementioned reasons. To do this:
7. Enable the firewall.
In some cases, it is possible that the error is being triggered because the application is suspicious, or at least marked as suspicious, and the Windows Firewall is not running on your computer to validate this suspicion. Therefore, in this step, we will ensure that the Windows Firewall is enabled in order to eliminate this error. To do this:
8. Run an SFC scan.
In some situations, you might have installed a bad driver on your computer, or at some point, due to a storage failure, some system files or drivers may have been corrupted. Therefore, in this step, we will run a complete system scan to identify any drivers that are missing signatures or to fix any abnormalities in the system files. To do so:
9. Disabling Data Execution Prevention.
Data Execution Prevention is a program that prevents certain programs or executables from running on your computer because it suspects they might be viruses. Due to this prevention, sometimes, as a false alarm, legitimate applications may also face issues while trying to run on your computer. Therefore, in this step, we will be disabling this setting from the system configuration panel. To do this: If the above process is unable to fix the issue, it might be because the executable is not the only one being affected by the DEP program. Sometimes, the DEP might actually be preventing a group of executables from running on the computer. To counter this, we will disable DEP completely. Disabling DEP completely cannot be done through any Windows setting; it needs to be done manually through the command prompt. Remember to take this step as a last resort, as it can, in some cases, make your computer more vulnerable to viruses and malware attacks. To disable DEP through the command prompt:
10. Disable the firewall and Windows Defender.
In some situations, the executable that you want to run on the computer might actually be blocked by the firewall, preventing it from making contact with its servers. Therefore, we will need to allow the executable through our firewall for both public and private networks, which should resolve the issue if the firewall is indeed the cause. In addition to that, sometimes Windows Defender may prevent the application from running on your computer because its local files may be suspicious and not properly signed. This could be due to a false alarm as well, so we will be disabling Windows Defender for the application by adding an exclusion. To do that, follow these steps:
11. Reinstall Firefox.
If you are receiving this error while trying to launch Firefox, it may be occurring because the application has not been installed properly on your computer. Therefore, in this step, we will launch the app management window, uninstall Firefox, and then reinstall it completely by downloading it from the Firefox website. To do this:
12. Scanning for malware.
In some cases, it is possible that the computer has acquired malware, which prevents the user from running all system functions on their computer. Therefore, in this step, we will use the default Windows Defender to thoroughly scan our computer for any viruses or malware that might have found their way onto our computer. To do this: Microsoft Security Scanner is an additional tool that you can use to test the system for viruses and malware, as sometimes the default tool is unable to perform the scan properly. Therefore, in this step, if the issue still hasn’t been resolved, we will use the Microsoft Security Scanner to further ensure there are no issues.
13. Install missing drivers.
It is possible that in some situations, your device may be missing certain drivers, which could trigger this particular issue on your computer. Therefore, we will check for any missing drivers and then verify whether the error is fixed. To do this, please follow the guide below.
14. Reconfigure the registry.
It is possible that in some cases, you have not properly configured all the registry settings, or you have unknowingly configured something incorrectly. Therefore, in this step, we will reconfigure our Registry to fix a certain key that sometimes, if misconfigured, causes this particular error on Windows. To do this, follow the guide below.
15. Update disk drivers.
In some cases, the disk drivers used to control your storage and other disks installed on the computer may be outdated, thus triggering the error. Therefore, in this step, we will first open the Device Management window and update these drivers. To do so, follow the steps mentioned below.
16. Disabling Automatic Updates and Uninstalling Updates.
In some cases, it is possible that this error stems from a faulty update installation. Microsoft is notorious for pushing out updates that are not properly customized to work with all hardware combinations, often breaking things instead of improving them. Therefore, we should ensure that the recent update is not installed on our computer. In order to do this, we must first disable automatic updates on our computer and then uninstall the recently installed updates. Make sure to back up any important data that you don’t want to lose, just in case this goes poorly. After stopping the computer from updating, we will now uninstall the recent updates that have been installed on your computer. To do that: Additional fixes:
In addition to some of the recommendations given above, you should try to check if there are any bad memory modules (RAM) installed on your computer, as they can be a cause of this issue.Also, make sure to check if you haven’t overclocked your RAM beyond its recommended limit. If you have done so, try returning it to factory defaults and see if that resolves your issue.
