Fix* DS4Windows Not Working/Opening/Crashing/Not Starting

DS4Windows Not Working/Not Opening | Crashing/Not Starting [Errors & Fixes]

There is no doubt that DS4Windows is a fantastic application. However, like every other great app that does not make it immune from common errors/issues that the users might face.

In this post, we are going to talk about a few of those common issues and their possible fixes.

DS4Windows Not Opening / Crashing / Fails to Start

Sometimes, it might happen that DS4Windows does not start when you try to open it, or it crashes immediately upon launch.

Let us have a look below at the fixes that you can attempt.

1. Make sure you are all set on the prerequisites

DS4Windows tool comes with a good deal of prerequisites. Make sure you are thorough on the same.

Make sure you have the desktop version of Microsoft .NET 6.0 Runtime installed.
Visual C++ 2015-2019 redistributable is necessary.
ViGEmBus Driver is a requirement as well. If you do not have it installed, you might see the message “ViGEmBus Not Installed.” However, in some cases, even though you have installed the driver, you still might get the above error message. Here, you require uninstalling the driver first, re-booting your PC, and then re-installing the driver.
Microsoft 360 Driver for DualShock 3/4, and even for DualSense.
Make sure the OS running on your PC is Windows 10/11 or Windows 8.1.

2. Is the DS4Windows Folder Write-Protected?

We recommend extracting the contents of the DS4Windows ZIP file in Documents or Downloads or any other location other than C Drive.
Sometimes contents in C Drive are write-protected and if you are not an admin on the PC, you will run into issues running DS4Windows.

Don’t forget to check out this –

DS4Windows – Supported Controllers & Gamepads (New 2024)

3. Check User Data

Sometimes user data can undergo corruption and that might cause DS4Windows crashing or failure to start.

Close the software if it is running.
Take a backup of the user data.
Delete the user data files and start the software.
Restore the user data files, from the backup, one by one to see which data file gives issues.
If you do happen to locate a specific user data file that gives issues, delete it.
This fixes the issue in case corrupt user data is the cause.

4. Check DS4Windows Logs and Windows Event Viewer

Usually the log section of DS4Windows gives all the error messages whenever the tool is not working properly.
Hence, we do recommend inspecting the log files in an attempt to locate the cause.
You will have logs in the main folder as well as in App Data folder on your PC.
You can launch App Data by hitting Windows Key + R and typing %appdata% in the command window.
In case you see the issues viz “Attempting to start the service winmgmt failed” or “Windows Management Interface not found” in the log file or the event view, you have to repair windows installations using MS Windows installation tools/media.
As an alternative, you can do the following.
- Launch command prompt on your PC.
- Key in net stop winmgmt in the command prompt.
- Key in Y.
- Now type winmgmt / resetrepository and hit Enter.
Make sure you do reboot your PC after the above.

You should check out this –

Fix* DS4Windows Not Detecting Controller (Solved, 2024)

5. Have a look at incompatible apps, if any

Some of the apps that are running on your PC might interfere with DS4Windows. Two of the best examples are MSI Afterburner and MSI RTSS Riva Tuner. If you have any of these tools installed, we recommend uninstalling them same. As an alternative, you can even do the following for the RTSS app.

Launch the RTSS app and go to Riva Tuner Statistics Server Settings.
Choose None under Application Detection Level and save.

6. Do you have a legacy ScpVBus Driver installed?

With ViGEmBus Driver, the need for a ScpVBus driver finished. Hence, if you still have it installed, it might interfere with the working of the ViGEmBus driver. Please uninstall the same to see if that resolves your issue.

7. Latest Windows Update is to Blame

If none of the above is working for you, however, you know that the issue sparked after latest automatic updates happened on your PC; then the updates are to blame. Check below how you can uninstall the latest Windows update.

On your Windows PC, go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs & Features > Installed Updates.
Latest update on the top of the list can be uninstalled by right-clicking and selecting Uninstall.
Simple on-screen instructions will come up assisting you in uninstalling the update.

8. Update your Windows

If by chance you are using the old version of Windows OS not compatible with DS4Windows, we recommend updating it to the latest available version. Please attempt this fix only after you have exhausted the above possible causes and fixes.