Every time I launch the application, I get the error code 0xc0000142 (Windows 11)

[Alkali_]

I've searched the internet for solutions and nothing as worked so far. I've restarted my computer (4 or 5 times) reisntalled it 3 times, tried to launch with administrator and nothing has helped. This was installed legittimentally through creative cloud, and honestly a little annoyed I spent money on something that refuses to work. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this? I can provide screenshots if needed. I have a fully updated Windows 11, if that helps. 

[jenkmeister]

A recent update to Windows 11 has caused a version of the Visual C++ Runtime that AE requires to be removed. It is something we aren't really able to control. You can try downloading https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe and run that to reinstall the VC Runtime that is needed. 

More details and links on what that is here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170

[Alkali_]

Trying this right now! I appreciate the speedy responce 🙂 

[Alkali_]

Alright so I have installed the file, followed the prompts and restarted my computer (as requested by the program) and while it may have helped the issue seems to still be happening... is there something else I need to do with the files or other methods to try? 

[jenkmeister]

Hmm, we might need to go a bit deeper then. The error code indicates some required component or DLL is missing. One that AE needs to even start up. This might get a little tricky, but it should help us pinpoint the issue:

Download https://www.dependencywalker.com/depends22_x64.zip

Unzip it and then run the depends.exe

Once that opens up, you'll need to point it to the AfterFx.exe that you have installed, likely in C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects 2025\Support Files. You should be able to do that through the File Menu.

That'll process through the dependencies AE has. If you scroll through the resulting list in the middle panel, it should indicate any files it could not find. If you can capture that list and share it back here, I can try to help locate those files for you. 

[Alkali_]

Not sure if this was the screenshot you were looking for, but I did download the files you sent 🙂 

[jenkmeister]

Run the depends.exe application (after unzipping the depends22_x64.zip file) and then from that application, drag the AfterFx.exe file into the depends.exe app. It should then result in something that looks like (this is just a sample from the dependency walker website). That middle section lists all the dependent dlls and it should show which ones are missing. 

[Alkali_]

Sorry for the late reply, I had headed to bed for the night. It was very strange when I tried to open it, and this popped up, along with an error message. Thanks again for the help, I've never been the best with tecnology so this has been increadby helpful. 

[jenkmeister]

Great, that's heading in the right direction. The API- filenames are expected to show like that. Scroll the middle panel down towards the bottom and see what else is showing as missing. 

[Alkali_]

Alright this should be the bottom of the panel!

[jenkmeister]

Thanks. Ok, looks like we'll need to do a bit more looking around that middle panel. I would have you export a log file from depends.exe but it will likely be 100's of MBs so let's just see if we can find the issue manually. Look through the middle panel for any line that says "error opening file. the system cannot ffind the file specified". 

Now, ignore any that start with API-MS or EXT-MS. It's the rest of the missing files we need to get a list of. I'm hoping it's just a couple. If you can find those missing ones and list them back here, that'll be what we need. 

[Alkali_]

Pretty sure these are all the files with that lable withough API or EXT

[jenkmeister]

Very helpful. It appears you have an NVIDIA GPU installed? The missing files indicate some required NVIDIA components are not installed that AE needs. Can you download and update your NVIDIA GPU drivers and then try to start AE again?

[Alkali_]

Thanks! I'm still mildly confused about this, I haven't changed my computers graphic card since I bought it, or messed with it, so is it not high enough quality to run this program and I nead to buy a NVDIA card? Or is there something I should check to make sure it's all up to date? 

[jenkmeister]

Something has changed on the computer regarding the drivers required for the GPU to work. Head here: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/

If you know what GPU is installed on your computer, use the manual driver search. If you don't, click the Best for Games/Creators and have the NVIDIA tools install the correct driver for you.

I don't know why these files would have dissapeared off your system, but based on the dependency walker, AE needs those to work and it can't find them. 

[Alkali_]

ah ok, so after doing some digging, I found that my CPU (Intel(R) Celeron(R) N4500 @ 1.10GHz, 1114 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)) doesn't support AVX and that's why it's not working. Because my GPU is Intel(R) UHD, and it's connected to my opperating system. I'm not sure if there's a way to fix this, unless you have any idea

[jenkmeister]

Oh wow, that is not what I expected. Unfortunately, After Effects requires AVX and AVX2 to work these days. With 2 CPUs at that CPU speed, I don't think it would be a great experience either. Sorry!

[Alkali_]

Yeah I can't believe I didn't look more into it before deciding to get Adobe. A little dissapointed but thank you so much for being helpful and patient. You've made this much less frustrating so I didn't get angry and get stuck endlessly Googling. At least I know what's wrong now if I want to get some new hardware. Thank you for the really awesome customer service! 

[Vato Vegas]

Hello Jenkmeister,

I am having a similiar issue - can you please assist?

here is a screen grab of the files I am missing.

[jenkmeister]

@Vato Vegas Those files are likely ok to be missing. The other user in this forum realized there machine does not meet the system requirements, specifically the CPU functionality needed. Do you know what CPU you have installed? 

[Vato Vegas]

Yessir Cori9 12900KS & a Nvdia 4090 GPU

[Vato Vegas]

Also I have uninsalled & then reinstalled all MS Visual C++ ... still no joy.

[Vato Vegas]

*** Update ***

I Fully uninstalled AE with the Adobe Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool. Reboot, reinstall AE 25.4. Installed latest GPU drivers cleanly. I'm Back baby!!