Unreal 5.6 freezes when I try to load, save or import anything.

Development Getting Started & Setup
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1

I’m assuming I’ve done something wrong, being a complete noob.

I’ve installed UE 5.6 and it seems to launch fine. But when I try to import anything, or save my file, the interface hangs - specifically, I can’t scroll or move about the dialog box. Oddly, I did manage to save a file by typing the file path into the text input line.

Have I omitted to do something, or do I need to a setting to get this to work?

I’m on a Win 10 PC with an AMD Threadripper CPU, 64 GB RAM and an nVidia 3090 GPU. All the drivers and Windows were updated today before I installed UE.

Thank you for your help.

2

HI @JulianBT1 ,
I did some research on the issue you mentioned and found a few possible solutions that might help:

First of all, I recommend trying to run Unreal Engine as an “Administrator”. In some cases, this solves the issue.

Also, I found this official documentation from Epic:

It explains that some recent versions of NVIDIA drivers can cause unstable behavior in Unreal Engine, even in version 5.6 .

Although the documentation specifically mentions the RTX 50 Series, but i think these issues can also affect ,other high-end GPUs , since they use the same driver version 576.xx.

The solution I recommend ,and the one Epic suggests , is to roll back to a previous driver, such as version 572.83 or older. If you updated your driver through the NVIDIA app, you can use the “Reinstall” option to revert to a previous one. Otherwise, uninstall the current driver and do a clean install of an older version.

If your GPU isn’t compatible with older drivers, another option is to launch Unreal (or Twinmotion) in DirectX 11 mode. Keep in mind that this disables features like raytracing and HDRIs. To use DirectX 11, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Epic Games Launcher
  2. Go to the Library tab
  3. Find your Twinmotion or Unreal installation
  4. Click the three dots (More Options)
  5. Select Manage
  6. Enable the Launch Options toggle and type -d3d11 in the text field

Hope it helps!

3

Hi,

Thank you so much for taking the time. I found that replacing the nVidia driver and running Unreal as an administrator at the same time was the only way to get it to work. But, unfortunately, it only worked for a little while and then froze again. The same dialog box that worked initially then froze during the same session, working on the same scene.

To be honest, I’m getting close to giving up and going back to Maya and RenderMan! I wanted to see whether Unreal could turn renders round more quickly, given that it’s nominally real time.

I do appreciate your taking the time to look into this for me. Do you have any suggestions where else I could look for a solution?

4

I think I may have solved it! I normally use a graphics tablet when I work. It’s an old one, but still works with everything else. It appears that Unreal doesn’t like it. It works fine with a mouse.

Does anyone know if there’s a setting that would allow Unreal to work with a graphics tablet?

Thank you again.

5

:white_check_mark: 1. Check System Requirements

Make sure your PC meets or exceeds the requirements for UE 5.6, especially RAM and GPU.

:white_check_mark: 2. Run as Administrator

Right-click the Unreal Engine shortcut and select “Run as administrator” — sometimes this resolves file access or permission issues.

:white_check_mark: 3. Clear Derived Data Cache

Corrupted cache can cause freezes:

  • Go to:
    C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\UnrealEngine\Common\DerivedDataCache
  • Delete the contents of the folder.
  • Restart Unreal.

:white_check_mark: 4. Disable Antivirus or Firewall Temporarily

Some antivirus programs can block file operations. Try disabling them temporarily and test again.

:white_check_mark: 5. Check Plugins

Disable any third-party or experimental plugins. Some may cause freezing during file operations.

:white_check_mark: 6. Check Disk Permissions

Ensure Unreal has permission to access:

  • Your project folder
  • The engine installation folder
  • Any external drives or network locations involved

:white_check_mark: 7. Update Graphics Drivers

Outdated GPU drivers can cause UI or I/O freezes. Update them from the official NVIDIA/AMD/Intel site.

:white_check_mark: 8. Use a Different Project

Test with a new blank project:

  • If it works, the issue may be related to your current project.
  • Try migrating your content gradually to the new project.

:white_check_mark: 9. Look at Logs

Go to:
<ProjectFolder>\Saved\Logs\YourProject.log
Check for warnings or errors around the time of freezing.

:white_check_mark: 10. Reinstall UE 5.6

If nothing works, uninstall and reinstall Unreal Engine 5.6.