Error: "The application was unable to start
correctly (0xc0000142)"
Aug 25, 2014
Issue:
When you start up an AutoCAD 2015-based program, the following error message
is displayed:
The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142). Click
OK to close the application.
or
In some cases AutoCAD will not show this error and will simply not start and
provides no error message. The startup errors may reference [Link], or the
event log may refer to a crash of [Link].
Causes:
Possible causes include incorrectly registered DLL files, incompatible DLLs, or
another program may be preventing AutoCAD from running.
Possible conflicting software includes:
Program called "Search Protect" or "SW booster"
Incorrectly switched reg key
NVIDIA drivers
Beyond Trust "Trusted Desktop" [Link]
Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended [Link] and [Link]
Corrupted C++ installation
Antivirus or Protection Packages
Solution:
Uninstall "Search Protect" or "SW Booster"
1.
2.
3.
4.
Open the Window Control Panel
Access the installed program list
Select and Uninstall "Search Protect"
Start AutoCAD
Incorrect Registry Key
A different program may incorrectly be switching a registry key from a 0 to a 1.
Changing the value of the following registry key to 0 may help:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion
\Windows\LoadAppInit_DLLs
Nvidia Drivers
Navigate to the NVIDIA website and update the drivers for your graphics card.
[Link]
Beyond Trust
The program "Beyond Trust" could be locking down the software. You may identify
a reference to [Link]
uninstall the program or rename the [Link] to test. Adjusting
the registry key (above) may also solve this particular conflict.
Adobe Acrobat
For Adobe Acrobat 9, rename the following DLL files:
C:\Windows\System32\[Link]
C:\Windows\SysWOW64\[Link]
Alternatively, you may uninstall the "Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended 64-bit Add-On."
On 32-bit systems, modify the Adobe Acrobat 9 program to not have the "Capture
CAD Modules" installed.
Corrupt C++ Installations
If this is a C++ installation error, uninstall the C++ modules on the
system and reinstall. Autodesk installers ship with prerequisites in the
extracted installation folders- not the installed program files folders. You
can manually access the installers here on most machines:
C:\Autodesk\PROGRAM FOLDER NAME\3rdParty\x64\VCRedist
C:\Autodesk\PROGRAM FOLDER NAME\3rdParty\x86\VCRedist
Uninstall the redistributables and reinstall them from this location.
Antivirus or Protection Packages
There are a variety of products in use that either lock down program
access outright, or try to prevent malicious software from running. The
parameters companies use to determine inappropriate system access
can vary greatly and could possibly affect specific programs on your
machine from running,
For situations where other solutions have not worked, it is worth
reviewing the apps of this variety that may be installed and checking to
see if there are allowable excpetions in coverage.
Further Troubleshooting with "Autoruns"
To help troubleshoot and determine what is conflicting with AutoCAD,
use can also use the Microsoft's Autoruns utility.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Download and install Autoruns.
Start Autoruns.
Start AutoCAD.
Check AppInit tab in Autoruns window.
Review the DLL files listed and locate them based on the listed
paths.
6.
Uninstall the related program or rename the files, one by one,
testing the program startup after each change to try to isolate the
problematic DLL.
AppInit_DLLs in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
See Also:
AutoCAD 2015 Application Error (0xc0000142) Autoruns for Windows
Error: "The Application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000005)" (AutoCAD Civil
3D 2015)