PowerToys.PowerLauncher.exe encountered an error related to ntdll.dll.

[Razaghallu786]

Microsoft PowerToys version

0.87.1

Installation method

GitHub

Running as admin

Yes

Area(s) with issue?

PowerToys Run

Steps to reproduce

1. Attempted to launch PowerToys Run using Alt+Space, but it failed to open.

2. Verified that the issue is not caused by a shortcut conflict or administrative privileges.

3. Tried changing the shortcut keys and disabling administrative privileges, but the problem persisted.

4. Checked the Windows event log, which provided the following error details:

Error Application Name: PowerToys.PowerLauncher.exe, Version: 0.87.1.0, Timestamp: 0x67200000 Error Module Name: ntdll.dll, Version: 10.0.22621.4541, Timestamp: 0xe7035eba Exception Code: 0xc0000409 Error Offset: 0x00000000000a4a96 Error Process ID: 0x6028 Error Application Start Time: 0x1DB539F6E807119 Error Application Path: C:\Program Files\PowerToys\PowerToys.PowerLauncher.exe Error Module Path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll Report ID: 244f1ed7-2870-4206-808a-aa7a6e404927

✔️ Expected Behavior

PowerToys Run should open when using Alt+Space.

❌ Actual Behavior

The application does not start, and the .exe fails to run.

Other Software

No response

[similar-issues-ai[bot]]

We've found some similar issues:

• #36498 , similarity score: 90%

If any of the above are duplicates, please consider closing this issue out and adding additional context in the original issue.

Note: You can give me feedback by 👍 or 👎 this comment.

[jaimecbernardo]

/dup https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/issues/36498#issuecomment-2558462100

Can you please check this issue and comment in there. Please see if the workaround suggested works for you? Thank you!

[microsoft-github-policy-service[bot]]

Hi! We've identified this issue as a duplicate of another one that already exists on this Issue Tracker. This specific instance is being closed in favor of tracking the concern over on the referenced thread. Thanks for your report!

[Gh0stWalk3r]

I had the same issue of PowerLauncher/PowerToys Run crashing. It happened to me after updating Windows 11 from 24H1 to 24H2 and PowerToys from 0.86.0 to 0.87.1

Removing the image cache of PowerLauncher resolved my issue, see https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/issues/36498#issuecomment-2558462100

You can try to delete the image cache:

• Close PowerToys
• Delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\PowerToys Run\Settings\ImageCache.json
• Delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\PowerToys\PowerToys Run\Settings\ImageCache_version.txt
• Start PowerToys