Need help. UE 5.6.1 crashing at start

Development Platform & Builds
1

Hi. I recently installed ue 5.6.1 and every time i try to launch it it crashes. I have set the parameter to “-d3d11” in the target section but i want to run it with d3d12. I have gtx 4080 and 32gb of ddr5 and running ue from an ssd. Moreover, i have also tried the tdrdelay setting rom regedit but that didn’t help. I have attached the screenshot of the error report as well. Please can someone help me out. Thanks

Screenshot 2025-08-18 101808
Screenshot 2025-08-18 1018081414×1025 92.2 KB

2

Hello there @Ahmed_Ali_League!

Considering the error in your screenshot, the crash is happening during shader pre-processing, which usually points to a bad shader cache. We can try the following methods for resolution:

  • First and foremost, clear your cache, via closing UE, deleting folders DerivedDataCache and Intermediate from your active project, then re-launch, and allow the engine to rebuild

  • If the issue persists, try opening the engine with “-NoShaderCompile” rule on its shortcut

  • Since this is a fresh install, it would also help to “Verify" the installation from the Epic Games Launcher, you can find the option in the version’s dropdown menu

  • Finally, please do a clean install of your GPU drivers, and pick Developer drivers, if available

If the issue continues after these steps, we will need to investigate further. Please locate the extended crash log with the instructions below, and share it in the thread:

Where To Find Local Crash Reports

Crash reports from the editor are stored on your local machine in your project’s Saved/Crashes folder.

Alternatively, you can find crash reports on a user’s local machine in C:\Users[Your Windows Username]\AppData\Local[Project Name]\Saved\Crashes.

3

Hi there @brs-sebascova So I have followed the steps you have mentioned and here is what happened.

  • Cleared the cache by deleting the folders you mentioned in the project folder and attached is the screenshot of the error log I Received.

    Screenshot 2025-08-18 183043
    Screenshot 2025-08-18 1830431920×1026 94 KB

  • Tried to run the engine with the “-NoShaderCompile” and still the engine crashed.

  • Have done this before and nothing really happened.

  • I updated gpu drivers this morning

  • And finally here is the crash report as requested. Couldn’t attach screenshot as it won’t allow me for being a new user. Moreover, It created two folders within the “Crashes” folder so I am attaching the logs from both.
    [CrashReportClient]
    bHideLogFilesOption=false
    bHideAllowToBeContactedOption=false
    bIsAllowedToCloseWithoutSending=true
    bIsAllowedToSendWithoutDetailedInfo=true
    CrashConfigPurgeDays=2
    Stall.RecordDump=false
    Ensure.RecordDump=true

[CrashReportClient]
bHideLogFilesOption=false
bHideAllowToBeContactedOption=false
bIsAllowedToCloseWithoutSending=true
bIsAllowedToSendWithoutDetailedInfo=true
CrashConfigPurgeDays=2
Stall.RecordDump=false
Ensure.RecordDump=true

Looking forward to have this issue resolved. Thanks

Looking forward to hear back from you.

Thanks

4

Bump

5

Hello again!

Thank you for the follow up, since the crash persists even before the shaders load up, this rules out cache and drivers. It’s starting to sound more like a deep engine issue. There a few things left to test:

  • Please open a new, blank project, the simplest template will do, and check if the crash also occurs here
  • Switch between DX11 and DX12 in your system, then open UE again
  • Go back to the project directory, and this time, delete the Saved folder from there

If the problem remains after trying these, then the last remaining step is to go for a full uninstall/reinstall of all Epic software:

  • First, uninstall the engine, launcher, asset packs, etc
  • Next, open the registry directory HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Epic Games\Unreal Engine\Builds, and delete any build entries
  • Finally, delete the folders %userprofile%\AppData\Local\UnrealEngine and %userprofile%\AppData\Local\UnrealHeaderTool
  • After that, no elements related to UE should be left in your system
  • Now, reinstall UE launcher from scratch, and only add the latest version of the engine
  • After the process is complete, test opening a blank project again
6

Could this be a CPU + RAM issue ? Like maybe only affects Intel users or those that have too much ram ?

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@RedSigma6166 ram is 32gb ddr5 and processor is Intel i9 14900k

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I know someone with a Intel i9 - 14900KF which has same issue. Also 64gb ram. But maybe this is a pattern.

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@RedSigma6166 what specs you got

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I dont have this issue yet. I am on AMD Ryzen 5950X with 64gb ram ddr4

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But then 5.5 runs fine though :thinking:

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I checked a bit the commits between UE5.6.0 and UE5.6.1 and one of these seems to made some change to how shaders are compiled

https://github.com/EpicGames/UnrealEngine/commit/283cc195b7a96aab3d22318238651793da8a61da

https://github.com/EpicGames/UnrealEngine/commit/5243278b35853fa0a05711d2714ce530a7bbabdd

https://github.com/EpicGames/UnrealEngine/commit/93d21e0d3b8b00f14cebf88a3f7afe10358914b5

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I uploaded here Unreal Engine 5.6.0 from launcher (includes debug symbols)

Anyone is free to download it (around 75gb when extracted) . I think the download expires in 10 days if it has inactivity

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@RedSigma6166 Yeah thanksfor this. I’ll give this a go and see how it goes