Known Participant

P: (Windows) Photoshop v27.9.1 Crashes at launch: OpenCLOn12.dll exception 0xc0000409 (possible Windows/NVIDIA driver conflict)

Forum|Forum|29 days ago
August 18, 2026
125 replies
1211 views

Simply went to open Photoshop. Intro screen came up and little blue wheel was spinning but then it just stopped, no messages, etc. Went through various potential solutions on Adobe and on the internet. Nothing worked. Finally uninstalled and reinstalled through Creative Cloud. Had put it in “Run as Administrator” in trying to solve the problem. Changed that and Photoshop ran once. When attempting to reopen it again, it would not run. Lightroom works. The Beta version of PS works.

Pinned Reply By Sameer K

Hi everyone! This thread is now designated as the main thread for tracking and consolidating similar and related reports. I have shared this with the team for their review.

Based on detailed investigations and feedback from affected contributors, we understand that the issue may be stemming from external sources (non-Adobe).

Here are two of the user-reported workarounds you can try:

Uninstall the Microsoft OpenCL/OpenGL Compatibility Pack: Go to Windows Settings > Apps > Installed Apps > search for "OpenCL, OpenGL and Vulkan Compatibility Pack" > Uninstall. This removes the broken OpenCLOn12.dll translation layer entirely, forcing Photoshop to use NVIDIA's native OpenCL driver instead.
Uninstall Windows Update KB5121003: Go to Windows Settings > Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall updates > remove KB5121003. This rolls back the Aug 12 update that introduced the NVIDIA driver conflict and triggered the D3DMappingLayers auto-update.

Will circle back to update, or post new notes from the team soon.

Thanks!
Sameer K

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Sirandar

Participating Frequently

I had this issue.

From the OP (in another thread)

I finally got to the root of the issue, and I am partly to blame from this perfect wave of mayhem.

I know when every single piece of software on my system updates becasue I choose to update it but not Adobe CC products.

Without me being aware my 2025 version of PS got updated to PS 2026.

I launch PS from a taskbar shortcut so guess which version I was actually running, PS 2025, and this was the cause of the crash. PS2026 works just fine.

So thats my bad …..

But what about Adobe? …. couldn’t they have a message saying PS2025 is obsolete instead of just crashing mysteriously?

Why did the PS2025/26 uninstaller NOT remove PS2025, and instead removed my precious version of PS CS6.

So take home message …. run subscription apps from the taskbar at the peril of your precious time.

PS … obviously I still prefer PS CS6 because I have been using it so long … but occasionally I need the extra that PS2026 offers …. today was such a day.

S

Superkraut51

Participant

Having the same problem here. It starts to initializing tools, and then it stops.

De- Installed and and re-installed a new version, but still the same. I worked without problem two days ago

H

HarsAchary

Participant

Same here , I’m experiencing the exact same crash on launch with OpenCLOn12.dll and 0xc0000409. Both Photoshop and Photoshop Beta are affected, so I currently can’t use Photoshop at all.

I hope Adobe/Microsoft can identify the issue soon, as this is blocking active work for multiple users.

Sirandar

Participating Frequently

Same … crashes 15 sec after opening, and shift and shift crtl alt did nothing. Can’t use PS when I need to … will I get this months subscription refunded

Sameer K

Community Manager

Hi everyone! This thread is now designated as the main thread for tracking and consolidating similar and related reports. I have shared this with the team for their review.

Based on detailed investigations and feedback from affected contributors, we understand that the issue may be stemming from external sources (non-Adobe).

Here are two of the user-reported workarounds you can try:

Uninstall the Microsoft OpenCL/OpenGL Compatibility Pack: Go to Windows Settings > Apps > Installed Apps > search for "OpenCL, OpenGL and Vulkan Compatibility Pack" > Uninstall. This removes the broken OpenCLOn12.dll translation layer entirely, forcing Photoshop to use NVIDIA's native OpenCL driver instead.
Uninstall Windows Update KB5121003: Go to Windows Settings > Windows Update > Update History > Uninstall updates > remove KB5121003. This rolls back the Aug 12 update that introduced the NVIDIA driver conflict and triggered the D3DMappingLayers auto-update.

Will circle back to update, or post new notes from the team soon.

Thanks!
Sameer K

B

buficial

Participating Frequently

You moved my post into this thread, but my issue is completely irrelevant to OpenCL, OpenGL, or compatibility packs. Can you move it back to being it’s own post?

Sirandar

Participating Frequently

Exact same issues Shift and ctrl alt shift didn’t work.

Sirandar

Participating Frequently

Exact same issue …. $$$ monthly subscriptions was supposed to prevent this

C

Clark S.

Participant

I finally got it resolved after spending 2 hours chatting with an Adobe tech. He had to take control of my computer to get it done, after multiple reinstalls of PS. I'm not at all sure what the issue was but it was at Adobe’s end for sure. Best of luck!

D Fosse

Community Expert

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Anshul_Saini

Community Manager

Hi @Clark S.,

Thanks for reaching out. Being completely unable to launch Photoshop is frustrating. Since the crash reporter is appearing consistently right after launch, here are some targeted steps to narrow down the cause:

1. Hold Shift immediately after clicking the Photoshop icon. When prompted, click Yes to "Skip loading optional and third-party plug-ins?" If Photoshop stays open and a plug-in is the culprit, you can then re-enable them one by one to isolate which one it is.

2. Corrupt preferences are a common cause of immediate-on-launch crashes. Hold Ctrl + Alt + Shift while launching Photoshop and confirm that you want to delete the settings file. This resets Photoshop to defaults (your documents are untouched).

3. Update your graphics driver directly from the manufacturer. We've seen recent reports of crashes on Windows 11 tied to outdated Intel (and sometimes NVIDIA) display drivers. Go directly to Intel's or NVIDIA's website (not Windows Update) and install the latest available driver for your GPU.

4. If the crash started after a recent Photoshop update, roll back one version. In the Creative Cloud desktop app, go to Photoshop > ⋯ (three dots) > Other versions, and install the previous version to see if the issue is specific to the latest build.

A couple of quick questions that would help us narrow this further:

Do you know what GPU (graphics card) your system has, Intel integrated, NVIDIA, AMD, or a combination?

Did this start happening after a specific Photoshop or Windows update, or did it begin seemingly out of nowhere?

How long does Photoshop stay open before crashing? Does it get past the splash/loading screen, or does it crash during the splash?

Let us know how it goes with the steps above, and we can dig deeper from there.

Best,

Anshul Saini

C

Clark S.

Participant

Hi Anshul,

thank you for your suggestions- I tried all of these things, then finally reached out to Adobe support (see my comment to another poster above).

M

MrFreeze33

Participant

Same issue here.

RG631971Author

Known Participant

First, I want to say thanks for all the people who attempted to suggest a solution. I think I have eventually found the culprit in my case and it looks to be as if the same or something similar impacts a number of people. It does relate to the video driver. As noted elsewhere, my event viewer error related to OpenCL…dll. My video card and drivers are NVidea. RTX 4060 Ti and latest studio version. In continuing to try and solve the problem, I stumbled across the fact my computer had an additional video driver from Intel. Thinking it was redundant/not used I deleted it. Windows reinstalled on boot and PS began working again. I am assuming the driver was being used and somehow got corrupted. I have no idea as to why or how since I did not have any specifically related error messages. I hope this might be something else to check that will resolve this issue for others as well.

From all the comments it seems it takes a relatively ill defined trial and error approach to identify this type of problem. I maintain that Adobe could facilitate identifying potential solutions for PS users by better error checking and reporting. A general overview of the process and/or how PS differs from PS beta as an application would also help. Obviously, there is a significant difference since PS beta continued to run throughout. And even though some users have developed a troubleshooting process and shared it (again thanks), starting with more definitive input would be monumental. Especially if people are facing professional work deadlines dependent upon viable software.

I have had various problems with Adobe software over the last couple of years or so. I have been critical but do not think it has been unwarranted. Considering much of the feedback on these forums and many others, seems a decent portion of the customer base is frustrated with the Adobe approach of late. Many of the software’s capabilities are impressive and have been for years. However, out of the blue failures that take hours to figure out for those without a highly detailed understanding of the intricacies of computer hardware and similar “developer” expertise has come to potentially outweigh the benefits. The indifference Adobe shows to how so many of their users work is also disconcerting.

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