Media Encoder freezing or crashing when trying to change output format or read XMP

Hello Community,

I am struggling to solve an issue related to the Media Encoder for several days now. The Internet seems to have no answers related to the versions I am using.

I have created and edited a compostion in After Effects and tried to export it via Media Encoder. If I now try to change the output format to 1080p Youtube for example, the program starts loading infinitely and crashing after a while. If I just try to start the render process it is the same.

My versions:

After Effects V 18.0

Media Encoder V 15.0

What I have done so far:
- Cleared Disk Media Cache

- Reinstalled both AE and AME

- Changed back to an older version in AME

- Changed the Cache Folders etc. in both AE and AME

It just looks like nothing seems to help at all. A few weeks ago, I didn't have any trouble at all.

Maybe someone of you knows how to solve this.