Microsoft rolls out repair for Windows 11 crashes, gaming points

Microsoft has began rolling out a everlasting repair for a identified subject that causes system crashes and gaming points on Windows 11 gadgets.

On affected PCs, customers have additionally reported video games failing to launch and freezing with “EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION” errors.

When it was first confirmed, Microsoft stated that this subject impacts video games like ARC Raiders, MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals on programs operating Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2.

While it was initially believed that the August 2026 updates could also be behind these issues, Microsoft later blamed them on peripherals with built-in RGB lighting.

“Ongoing investigation indicates that this issue is related to peripherals or internal device components which have RGB lighting features,” Microsoft noted. “Such devices may install drivers or code components with file names similar to inpoutx64. In systems where these drivers are found, the issue is then triggered by launching certain games.”

On Wednesday, the corporate confirmed that the inpoutx64.sys driver causes these points and stated that it has begun rolling out a repair that disables it on affected gadgets.

“This issue is resolved by a block that prevents the inpoutx64 driver from loading. The block targets devices with this specific driver enabled and the game ARC Raiders installed,” it added in a Windows release health update. “This resolution disables the inpoutx64 driver and displays a message window with information about the disablement. Following this message, the game will launch as normal.”

The repair is now propagating to Windows shopper and enterprise gadgets that are not managed by IT departments and requires a system restart to be utilized.

The rollout started on August 26, 2026, at 6 PM PT, and it would take as much as 24 hours to succeed in all affected gadgets. The driver block may also be included within the September 2026 Windows safety updates and future releases.

Temporary workaround for enterprise programs

Microsoft has additionally shared a brief repair for enterprise-managed gadgets the place the repair won’t propagate mechanically.

This requires IT directors to disable the inpoutx64 driver utilizing the Windows Registry by going by the next steps (nonetheless, they need to back up the registry first, as a result of they could must undo the adjustments if an issue happens):

1. Open the Windows Registry by opening the Start menu and typing “regedit”. Select the Registry Editor from the outcomes.
2. ​Navigate to the important thing HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesinpoutx64. You can do that utilizing the folders on the left facet of the window or by typing the trail into the tackle bar on the high.
3. ​On the proper facet of the window, discover the registry worth named Start. Double-click this key and enter the quantity “4″ below the sphere titled Value knowledge.
4. ​Close the window and restart your pc.

“Ongoing investigation does not indicate that disabling this registry key can result in unintended behavior. If you want to re-enable the driver, you may do so by restoring the registry key to its previous value,” Microsoft added.

Microsoft has addressed different gaming stability and efficiency points brought on by Windows updates in recent times.

For occasion, it eliminated a number of improve blocks set as much as forestall gamers of Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Asphalt 8: Airborne from upgrading their gadgets to the newest Windows model.

Most lately, Microsoft lifted one other compatibility maintain in January 2025 after fixing a bug within the Auto HDR Windows characteristic that was breaking some video games on Windows 11 24H2 gadgets.