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Crash or freeze during startup



Some external software or specific computer configurations can conflict with Substance Painter and may prevent it from starting up properly.

Software Conflicts

Take a look at the following page for a list of all the known software that may create conflicts with Substance Painter : Software conflicts

Running on Wrong GPU

If Substance Painter doesn't start on the right GPU this might lead to stability issue. See this page for more : Substance Painter doesn't start on the right GPU

Outdated GPU Drivers

Using old GPU drivers can lead to freezes and/or crashes. We recommend to use the latest GPU drivers when available. See : GPU has outdated drivers

White screen and unresponsive

If Substance Painter freeze right when starting up on Windows, a workaround may be to remove the registry preferences. See: Application preferences location.

Crash because of incorrect system Path/Python Path

Substance Painter check the system Path to load Python modules and environment settings. If the system has an incorrect setup it can lead to a crash during the startup.

On Windows:

  1. Open the Start menu
  2. Search for and select the System (Control Panel)
  3. Click on Advanced system settings
  4. Click on Environment Variables
  5. Under System Variables find the PATH variable

You can then edit the variable to verify its content. For example if the variable contains strange characters such as "ï–›éŒ à €è¸€ì‡ì‡ç¿¹" it will lead to a crash.

Windows 10 Updates

Some update of Windows 10 may sometimes create instabilities. Use the diagnostic tools provided with Windows to detect any potential errors in the system.

We recommend running the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) and the System File Checker (SFC) tool. DISM is useful to recover the replacement files needed by SFC in order to fix corrupted or missing system files.

Running DISM :

  1. Open the Start menu
  2. Search for Command Prompt
  3. Right click on the result and choose "Run as Administrator"
  4. Type the following command : DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
  5. Press Enter

Running SFC :

  1. Open the Start menu
  2. Search for Command Prompt
  3. Right click on the result and choose "Run as Administrator"
  4. Type the following command : sfc /scannow
  5. Press Enter

Restart your computer after both commands to apply updates.

For more information on this subject see : Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files