[Solved] Minecraft Crashing on PC? 7 Fixes to Try

Minecraft may crash on PC after an update because of a game-side bug, incompatible mods or add-ons, corrupted settings, graphics driver issues, or memory problems. In this guide, we’ll walk through 7 proven fixes for Minecraft crashing on PC, covering both the Java Edition and Bedrock Edition.

Why does Minecraft crash on my computer?

When Minecraft crashes, it typically closes the game and may report an error to show you the location of the exception that causes the crash. There are several causes for Minecraft crashing on startup: the mods, bugs in the game, the corruption of the game files, and the missing or outdated graphics card driver.

Fortunately, you can fix the crashing quickly and easily. Try the fixes below.

How to fix Minecraft crashing?

You don’t need to try them all; just work your way down until you find the one that works.

1. Check for a new game update or hotfix
2. Repair Minecraft or reset its settings
3. Temporarily disable mods, shaders, and add-ons
4. Update your graphics card driver
5. Lower the graphics settings
6. Close unnecessary background apps
7. Adjust Java’s memory allocation (for Java Edition)

Fix 1: Check for a new game update or hotfix

If Minecraft worked normally before the latest update and started crashing immediately afterward, the update itself may be responsible.

Mojang sometimes releases hotfixes shortly after a major update to address crashes and other stability problems. For example, Bedrock 26.51 included a fix for a crash that could occur while loading worlds containing certain densely connected blocks.

• For Bedrock Edition, open the Microsoft Store, select Library, and choose Get updates.
• For Java Edition, open the Minecraft Launcher and make sure you’re using the intended release rather than a snapshot or release candidate. For Java Edition, you can also create an installation for an older release if you need to test whether the newest version introduced the crash. Back up your worlds first, and avoid opening a world in an older version without a backup.

Launch Minecraft and test. If the issue remains, try the next fix below.

Fix 2: Repair Minecraft or reset its settings

Corrupted app data or configuration files can cause Minecraft to crash during startup or while loading a world. Try to repair it and see if the problem is fixed.

For Bedrock Edition

Windows provides a Repair option that can fix some app problems without removing the app’s data.

1. Press the Windows key + I to open Settings. Go to Apps > Installed apps.
2. Find Minecraft for Windows. Click the three dots next to it and select Advanced options.
   
3. Scroll down and click Repair.
   
4. Launch Minecraft and test it again.

If Repair doesn’t help, you can try Reset, but back up or make sure your important worlds are safely synced first. Resetting an app can remove its local app data.

For Java Edition

1. Press the Windows key + R to open Run Command. Then type %appdata%, and press Enter.
   
2. Open the .minecraft folder. Find options.txt and rename it to options.txt.old.
3. Launch Minecraft again.

Minecraft will create a new settings file with default options.

Fix 3: Temporarily disable mods, shaders, and add-ons

A Minecraft update can make an existing mod, shader, resource pack, or add-on incompatible with the new game version. You can temporarily disable add-ons and create a new world to determine whether an add-on is causing the problem.

For Java Edition:

1. Temporarily remove or disable your mods.
2. Disable shaders and custom resource packs.
3. Launch a vanilla installation using the latest release.
4. Create or load a test world.
5. If the game works, re-enable your mods and other custom content one at a time.

For Bedrock Edition:

1. Open Minecraft and go to Settings.
2. Disable active resource packs and behavior packs.
3. Create a new world with no add-ons enabled.
4. Test whether the new world loads normally.

If vanilla Minecraft works but the crash returns after enabling a particular mod, shader, resource pack, or add-on, update or remove that item.

Fix 4: Update your graphics card driver

A missing or outdated graphics driver can cause Minecraft to crash on Windows, so you can update your graphics card driver to fix the crash.

There are two ways to update your graphics card driver: manually and automatically.

Manually update your graphics card driver – You can go to your graphics card manufacturer’s website, find the correct graphics card driver, and install it on your computer. This requires time and computer skills.

Automatically update your graphics card driver – If you are not familiar with playing around with drivers, you can do that automatically with Driver Easy.

Driver Easy will detect the driver’s condition in your computer, and install the correct drivers for your PC. More importantly, with Driver Easy, you don’t need to struggle to figure out the Operating System, and you don’t need to worry about making mistakes while processing. That will tremendously save you time and patience. It takes just 2 clicks to update all your device drivers:

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click the Activate & Update button next to the flagged device to automatically download and install the correct version of this driver. Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system.
   

You’ll be prompted to start a 7-day free trial or upgrade to Driver Easy Pro. Either option will automatically download and install the latest drivers for you. It also includes easy driver backup and rollback, advanced tools like Game Boost and System Clean, plus full technical support. If you go Pro now, you’ll get a 50% OFF discount!

Fix 5: Lower the graphics settings

If Minecraft crashes while loading a large world, using high render distances, shaders, or heavy mods can increase memory usage. You can adjust the graphics settings to reduce the game’s memory pressure.

1. Launch Minecraft and open Options > Video Settings.
2. Reduce Render Distance to around 8 chunks.
3. If you’re using shaders, disable them temporarily.
4. Lower other demanding graphics settings, such as Simulation Distance, if available.
5. Test the game again.

You don’t need to permanently use low settings. If Minecraft becomes stable, raise the settings gradually to identify which option is contributing to the problem.

Fix 6: Close unnecessary background apps

Background applications can compete with Minecraft for system RAM, CPU, and GPU resources. This can matter more when you’re running a large modded world, shaders, or Minecraft alongside a browser and other demanding applications.

So before launching Minecraft:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc at the same time on your keyboard to open Task Manager.
2. On the Processes tab, check which apps are using a large amount of Memory, CPU, or GPU.
   Close applications you don’t need, especially browsers with many tabs, screen-recording, overlay, or monitoring software, game launchers, and other demanding programs. Leave essential Windows processes and applications alone if you’re not sure what they do.
3. Right-click the apps or background processes and click End Task.
   

Fix 7: Adjust Java’s memory allocation (for Java Edition)

This fix applies to Minecraft Java Edition, especially if the crash log contains messages such as Out of Memory or Native memory allocation (malloc) failed.

Giving Minecraft more RAM isn’t always better. Mojang currently recommends allocating no more than about half of the system’s RAM, and recent Java Edition releases increased the default allocation to 4 GB on compatible systems.

1. Open the Minecraft Launcher.
2. Select Minecraft: Java Edition.
3. Open Installations.
4. Find the installation you use and click the three dots next to it.
5. Select Edit.
6. Open More Options.
7. Find the JVM Arguments field and look for -Xmx.
8. If you’ve manually assigned too much memory, reduce it to a reasonable value.

For example, on a system with 16 GB of RAM, an allocation around 6–8 GB may be appropriate depending on your mods and other applications. Avoid assigning nearly all available RAM to Minecraft.

If you have modified the JVM arguments, save a copy of the original arguments before making changes so you can restore them if necessary.

If Minecraft started crashing after an update, first check whether you’re running the latest hotfix and whether the crash affects Java Edition, Bedrock Edition, a specific world, or the game as a whole.

Follow the fixes above in order, and you’ll likely troubleshoot the issue effectively. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop a comment below.

• Game Crash
• Minecraft
• Windows