‘A problem caused the program to stop working correctly’ [6 Fixes]

A problem caused the program to stop working correctly.  Windows will close the program and notify you if solution is available happens when Windows detects that a loop, such as a while (true) {} fails to exit. The application in question should at this point send a message to Windows, telling it that it’s still working, but it fails, resulting in this error message.

This error appears in almost all versions of the Windows operating system, and it can happen with any app, program or game you’re trying to run. The problem lies within Windows itself, and not the app, even though the error message might lead you to believe so. Some people have connected it to the fact that certain applications are made for older versions of Windows, and aren’t fully compatible with newer releases.

No matter what the cause of your specific situation, there is a solution for this problem, and you will be able to run your apps by following the methods below.

Method 1: Using Windows Compatibility mode

Try to open the program or your application in Windows Compatibility mode. It basically makes the application think that you’re actually running another version of Windows. Reason is, your application may not be compatiable with the latest update or upgrade to your Windows OS. To do so follow the steps below:

1. Right-click the program icon, doesn’t matter whether it is a game or a file you are having issues with, and then click on Properties.
2. Click on the Compatibility tab from the Properties window.
3. Under the Compatibility mode header, choose the dropdown menu which says Run the program in compatibility mode for and in the menu that pops up, select Windows Vista / 7 or XP to open the program as it would open in an older version of the operating system.
4. If it doesn’t work with XP, try Vista, if it won’t work with Vista try 7 and so on until you find the correct compatibility for the program.
5. Click on Apply and then OK. Try running the application or game now – it should work without any problems.

Method 2:  Update your graphic card drivers

Newer drivers are constantly coming out for almost all graphics cards, and they include fixes for numerous bugs you might experience – such as this one. The steps to updating them are fairly easy.

1. Press simultaneously Windows and R, and type in devmgmt.msc in the Run window. Press Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
2. Expand Display Adapters from the list of devices, and right-click your graphics card.
3. From the context menu, select Update Driver Software.
4. Follow the instructions of the wizard to update your drivers, and reboot your device in the end.

If it cannot find a new driver go to the manufacturer’s site and manually detect, identify, download and install the latest Graphic Driver.

Method 3: Remove conflicting software

According to some reports, a lot of people have noticed that Norton Antivirus can oftentimes be the root of this problem. Therefore, it will be appropriate to try and uninstall whichever Antivirus / Firewall software you’re running, and if the program starts to work after the uninstall then switch your AV/FW software with another one such as AVG, BitDefender etc.

Method 4: Update DirectX

If it’s a game that is causing you this error than make sure you update DirectX to the newest version. Most of the companies creating games are using DirectX as a setup tool to run their games, and it should have the latest updates in order for everything to work properly.

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard and type Check for updates.
2. When Windows Updates opens, click Check for updates.
3. Since DirectX is a part of the operating system, Windows Update will update it automatically if there’s a newer version available online. Let it download everything it finds, and reboot in the end if asked to do so.

For Windows 8/10 see the GIF below:

Method 5: Cleanboot your PC

Clean boot your system, see steps (here)

Method 6: Disable Data Execution Prevention

Data Execution Protection (DEP) is a security feature that comes with all versions of Windows starting from Windows 7. DEP is a security feature designed to help protect Windows computers from damage that can be inflicted by viruses and other security threats. While DEP is a pretty handy and useful feature, some Windows users often want to disable it. Well, it is certainly possible for you to enable and disable Data Execution Protection on any version of Windows (including Windows 10) at will.

Click the Start Menu and type cmd, right click cmd and choose Run As Administrator. In the Command Prompt window, type

bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff 

Then test, to see if the app/program or the game start to work if not, then re-enable DEP by typing the following command followed by the ENTER key:

bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOn