[BEST FIX] – ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error in Windows 10

Jamie Read more January 16, 2020

Windows 10 is a great operating system, and one that improves on its predecessors in a number of ways. From optimizing performance and increasing security to making Windows more stable than ever, Windows 10 is truly the only version of Windows worth using in 2020.

[BEST FIX] - ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error in Windows 10

Of course, it’s far from a perfect operating system. Even something as well made as Windows 10 can run into error messages, and if you’re seeing ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error in Windows 10, you aren’t alone. Among the writers at TechJunkie, we’ve seen this error pop up a number of times. In fact, this isn’t even a Windows 10-exclusive error message—it’s appeared in Windows dating all the way back to the XP days, and continues to be an issue on the newest version of Windows 10.

As with many Windows error messages, the worst thing about this notification is its lack of information on what’s causing the error. Even checking Event Viewer, the easiest way to know the cause of problems on Windows, gives no clues on what 0xc000007b means. Thankfully, we have some ideas on how you can fix this error and get Windows back up and running on your computer.

Fixing ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error in Windows 10

As mentioned, there are a few reasons why you might be seeing this error, each requiring a different fix. The system is not actually going to be helpful enough to tell what the reason is at any given time, so here are just a few things you can try.

Perform a clean boot of Windows 10

First things first: we need to try a clean boot of Windows 10 to see if it’s just a simple loading error that’s causing the problem. More times than not, this is exactly what you need to get Windows 10 back up and running again without error messages, so give this a shot.

Type ‘msconfig’ into the Search Windows box (accessible by clicking the magnifying glass icon in your Windows taskbar).
Click the Services tab then check the ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ check box and then Disable all.
Navigate to the Startup tab, select ‘Open Task Manager’ and disable all services with Status Enabled.
Close Task Manager and select OK back in msconfig. This should reboot your device.

This process has been known to fix the issue in some cases. What a clean boot does is it boots a computer in a very minimalistic manner, so only the programs and files that are necessary to the operating system are running. So, there’s a high likelihood that whatever program caused the error won’t be running after a clean boot. From there, you can run diagnostics or perform further troubleshooting efforts.

If a clean boot doesn’t work for you, though, then try downloading the .NET Framework.

Fix ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error in Windows 10-2

Re-install .NET Framework

Those of you who upgraded to Windows 10 rather than bought a device with it are more likely to see this issue. Windows 7 and 8.1 used .NET Framework 3.5 and so did many applications. Windows 10 uses .NET Framework 4.5 but didn’t think to include version 3.5 to make it compatible with older apps. This can be the root of the ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error.

Navigate to the Microsoft Website and download .NET Framework 3.5.
Follow the installation wizard.
Reboot and retry.

Fixing Microsoft C++ Files

Finally, if that wasn’t the issue, there are also apparently files from Microsoft Visual C++ missing or that get corrupted in the upgrade to Windows 10. This affects games more than applications, though, so if you’re seeing the error when trying to load a game, try this.

Navigate to the Microsoft C++ Redistributable site.
Download the latest file, plus the 2010 files that include msvcp100.dll, msvcr100.dll, msvcr100_clr0400.dll and xinput1_3.dll. There are both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of these files so make sure you have the right ones.
Follow the installation wizard as directed.
Reboot and retry.

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In the vast majority of cases that I have seen, one of these three actions fixes the ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error. Windows 10 error messages can be frustratingly vague, but thankfully, with a few simple fixes, it can be easy to get up and running again. If you have any other fixes that work, let us know in the comments section.