Error ‘The application could not start correctly (0xc000007b)’ in Windows 10

Windows 10 is a great operating system and one that improves on its predecessors in a number of ways. From optimizing performance and increasing security to making Windows more stable than ever, Windows 10 is truly the only version of Windows worth using in 2020.

Of course, it is far from a perfect operating system. Even something as well done as Windows 10 can run into error messages, and if you see the error ‘ The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b) ‘ in Windows 10, you are not alone. Among the writers of TechJunkie, we have seen this error appear several times. In fact, this isn’t even a Windows 10-only error message – it appeared in Windows since the XP days, and it’s still a problem in the latest version of Windows 10.

As with many Windows error messages, the worst thing about this notification is the lack of information about the cause of the error. Even checking Event Viewer, the easiest way to find out the cause of problems in Windows, gives no clue as to what 0xc000007b means. Fortunately, we have some ideas on how you can fix this error and get Windows working on your computer again.

Fixing ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’ error in Windows 10

As mentioned, there are a few reasons why you may see this error, each requiring a different solution. The system won’t really be useful enough to know what the reason is at any given time, so here are some things you can try.

Perform a clean boot of Windows 10

First things first – we need to test a clean boot of Windows 10 to see if it’s just a simple loading error that’s causing the problem. More often than not, this is exactly what you need to get Windows 10 working again with no error messages, so give this a try.

1. Type ‘msconfig’ in the Windows Search box (accessible by clicking the magnifying glass icon on the Windows taskbar).
2. Click on the Services tab, then check the ‘Hide all Microsoft services box and then Disable all.
3. Go to the Startup tab, select ‘Open Task Manager and disable all Status enabled services.
4. Close Task Manager and select OK again in msconfig. This should restart your device.

This process is known to fix the problem in some cases. What a clean boot does is boot a computer in a very minimalist way, so only the programs and files necessary for the operating system are run. Therefore, there is a high probability that any program that caused the error will not run after a clean boot. From there, you can run diagnostics or do more troubleshooting efforts.

However, if a clean boot doesn’t work for you, try downloading the .NET Framework.

Reinstall .NET Framework

Those of you who upgraded to Windows 10 instead of buying a device with it are more likely to see this problem. Windows 7 and 8.1 used the .NET Framework 3.5 and many applications as well. Windows 10 uses the .NET Framework 4.5 but did not consider including version 3.5 to be compatible with older applications. This may be the root of the error ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’.

1. Go to the Microsoft website and download the .NET Framework 3.5.
2. Follow the installation wizard.
3. Reboot and try again.

Fixing Microsoft C ++ files

Finally, if that wasn’t the problem, apparently Microsoft Visual C ++ files are also missing or corrupted on upgrade to Windows 10. However, this affects games more than applications, so if you see an error when trying to load a game, try this.

1. Navigate to the Microsoft C ++ redistributable site.
2. Download the latest file, plus the 2010 files including msvcp100.dll, msvcr100.dll, msvcr100_clr0400.dll, and xinput1_3.dll. There are 32-bit and 64-bit versions of these files, so make sure you have the correct ones.
3. Follow the installation wizard according to the instructions.
4. Reboot and try again.

Conclusion

In the vast majority of cases that I have seen, one of these three actions fixes the error ‘The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)’. Windows 10 error messages can be frustratingly vague, but luckily, with a few simple solutions, it can be easy to get back to work. If you have any other solutions that work, let us know in the comment section.