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Participating Frequently
October 3, 2025
Answered

Substance 3D Sampler 5.x – Application Fails to Launch After Clean Install (Vulkan Error)

Hello Adobe Support,

I have been experiencing a persistent issue with Substance 3D Sampler 5.x on my system, and after extensive troubleshooting with NVIDIA support, the issue still remains unresolved.

Problem Summary:

  • Sampler 5.x works correctly right after a clean Windows installation.

  • After 1–2 weeks of use, the application suddenly fails to launch.

  • Version 4.5.2 works without any issues.

  • Event Viewer consistently shows errors related to vulkan-1.dll during the crash.

  • The issue only affects Adobe applications (Sampler and Designer). All other games and applications using Vulkan run without any problems.

Steps Already Taken:

  1. Multiple clean driver installations (both Studio and Game Ready drivers, using DDU and NVIDIA Cleanup Tool).

  2. Tested on both Windows 10 and Windows 11 – same issue occurs.

  3. Performed multiple full OS reinstalls (4+ times) and confirmed the same pattern:

    • Works after a fresh install → fails to launch after some time.

  4. Tried with offline local Microsoft account (not cloud-linked).

  5. Disabled/removed third-party software (antivirus, VPN, AdGuard, etc.).

  6. Performed SFC /scannow, DISM, clean boot – no effect.

  7. Confirmed this is not hardware-related, as the problem only affects Adobe Sampler 5.x.

Additional Notes:

  • NVIDIA engineers analyzed the case and suggested that this is most likely an application-level issue in Adobe Substance 3D Sampler’s Vulkan implementation.

  • Other users have reported similar crashes in Adobe forums, but there is no confirmed fix yet.

  • I have attached the Event Viewer logs (.evtx) that consistently show the Vulkan runtime failure.

Request:
Could you please investigate whether there is a known compatibility issue between Adobe Substance 3D Sampler 5.x and NVIDIA Vulkan drivers? If so, is there a fix or workaround available?

At the moment, the only solution is to revert back to version 4.5.2, which is not affected.

Thank you for your support,
Utku Göğüş

    Guillaume_Substance3D
    Guillaume_Substance3DCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    October 7, 2025

    Nice.

    So I guessed right, it was an overlay app.

    Glad to see you solved your issue.

     

    Have a nice day.

    22 replies

    Guillaume_Substance3D
    Community Manager
    Community Manager
    October 6, 2025

    Hello,

    Sorry to read you have this issue.

    It seems you have a lot of third parties running in background.

     

    First, I need the log from Substance Sampler Help/Export Log

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    Utku92Author
    Participating Frequently
    October 6, 2025

    Isn't there anyone who can help? 

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