NVIDIA DLSS Plugin 4.5 for UE 5.8 cannot load NGXVulkanRHIPreInit.dll (0xc0000092)

The DLL exists in:
Engine/Plugins/Marketplace/Nvidia/DLSS/Binaries/Win64/

Moving the DLSS plugin from the Engine Plugins folder to the project’s Plugins folder doesn’t help either.

I already tried:

  • adding Unreal Engine folder to Windows Defender exclusions;
  • running Unblock-File in PowerShell;
  • verifying UE installation.

The issue only happens when the DLSS plugin is enabled. My own projects work if DLSS is disabled.

My PC:
Windows 11
RTX 3060 12GB
Ryzen 5 5600G
32GB RAM
Gigabyte B450M S2H

The main issue seems to be that Windows security features detect UnrealEditor-NGXVulkanRHIPreInit.dll as an unsigned DLL (NotSigned) and prevent it from loading.

Hello there @Agabeyli!

Checking around the community, that error log you are getting, 0xc0000092, is indeed pointing at a DLL conflict, most likely due missing a signature, or having invalid parameters. There are a few things to test for this scenario, let’s go one by one:

  • First of all, sounds trivial, but make sure that your system clock and timezone are correct, as .dll/signature issues can be triggered by such a difference

  • Second, try re-downloading the DLSS plugin files directly from nVidia, then overwrite the contens in your Binaries folder

  • Double-check the DLL you are using, by right clicking it, picking Properties, and checking the Digital Signatures tab, there should be a validation entry present

  • If all files are valid, yet the issue remains, I would test by temporary disabling Win11’s app control, which has quite a few cases about blocking valid files. To do so, search for “Smart App Control” in Windows Home menu, open it, and set it to Off

I figured out reason: Smart App Control (in Windows Defender). I turned if off.