> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.harshkohli.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Steam Crashing on Launch With AMD Radeon? Fix It - URL: https://blog.harshkohli.com/steam-crashing-on-launch-amd-radeon-fix/ - Published: 2026-10-31T03:39:47.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-11T09:32:35.000Z - Description: Steam closing seconds after you open it on an AMD Radeon PC? AMD's Adrenalin 26.10.2 fixes it. Here's how to update, and the workaround if you can't yet. - Author: Harsh Kohli - Tags: Fixes, How-To, Gaming, PC & Hardware *Updated 31 October 2026\. Checked against AMD's Adrenalin 26.10.2 release notes (published 30 October), the Steam Community reports and the AMD compatibility list today.* Short answer: if Steam closes on its own a second or two after you open it, you have an AMD Radeon graphics card, and it started around mid-October, update to **AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.2**. AMD's release notes list "Intermittent application crash may be observed while launching the Steam launcher on AMD Radeon graphics products" as fixed in that driver. If you can't install it yet, stop the **AMD External Events Utility** service, open Steam, then start the service again. That gets Steam open for the rest of the session. Reinstalling Steam won't help, and that's the bit that's been wasting everyone's evening. Below is how to check it's the same crash, the fix, the workaround, and what to do if you're on an older Radeon card that 26.10.2 doesn't support. **Jump to:** - [What's going on](#whats-going-on) - [Is it the same crash?](#is-it-the-same-crash) - [Step 1: Install Adrenalin 26.10.2](#step-1-install-adrenalin-26102) - [Step 2: Stop AMD External Events Utility, then open Steam](#step-2-stop-amd-external-events-utility-then-open-steam) - [Step 3: Open Steam before Razer, iCUE and other launchers](#step-3-open-steam-before-razer-icue-and-other-launchers) - [Step 4: Do a clean driver reinstall if it still crashes](#step-4-do-a-clean-driver-reinstall-if-it-still-crashes) - [Which fix should you use? (table)](#which-fix-should-you-use) - [What won't help](#what-wont-help) - [FAQ](#faq) ## What's going on Valve pushed a Steam client update on 13 October 2026\. Within days, people with Radeon cards started posting that Steam wouldn't stay open. It would log in, maybe show the store for a moment, then vanish. For some it only happened on the first launch after boot, when Steam auto-starts with Windows. For others it happened every time. The thread that collected most of the reports is ["Steam crashes frequently on auto-start after recent client update"](https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/571552638979831453/?ref=blog.harshkohli.com) on the Steam forums. The original poster had already sent crash dumps to Steam Support, who couldn't find a cause. Another user pointed at AMD's `GameManager64.dll`, a driver component that watches for games starting so features like FreeSync can kick in. The theory is that it hooks into Steam as it launches and the two trip over each other. A Taiwanese forum thread on Bahamut reached the same conclusion by switching off non-Microsoft services one at a time until Steam opened. ![Steam Community thread titled Steam crashes frequently on auto-start after recent client update, with a reply blaming AMD GameManager64.dll and suggesting stopping AMD External Events Utility](https://blog.harshkohli.com/content/images/2026/10/steam-amd-crash-community-thread.webp) The Steam forum thread where the AMD link first came up. Screenshot: Steam Community (Valve). AMD never posted a separate statement, but on 30 October it shipped Adrenalin 26.10.2, an optional driver that's mostly bug fixes, and the Steam launcher crash is in the fixed list. [Neowin](https://www.neowin.net/news/amds-new-26102-driver-fixes-fsr-frame-gen-and-overlay-crashes/?ref=blog.harshkohli.com) covered the release the same day. ![AMD Adrenalin 26.10.2 release notes Fixed Issues list with the line about an application crash while launching the Steam launcher on AMD Radeon graphics products highlighted](https://blog.harshkohli.com/content/images/2026/10/amd-26-10-2-steam-fix-notes.webp) The Steam launch crash in AMD's 26.10.2 fixed list (my highlight). Screenshot: AMD. To be upfront: I don't have a Radeon desktop on hand right now, so I haven't reproduced the crash myself. Everything here comes from AMD's notes and from people who've had it. The driver is also barely a day old, so there aren't many "it worked" replies yet. If it doesn't fix yours, the workaround in Step 2 is what people have been using for the past two weeks. ## Is it the same crash? Steam can crash for plenty of reasons, so take thirty seconds to check before you start changing drivers. 1. Press **Win + R**, type `eventvwr.msc` and press Enter. 2. Go to **Windows Logs > Application**. 3. Find an **Error** from **Application Error** at the time Steam closed and click it. 4. According to the reports [collected by WindowsDigitals](https://www.windowsdigitals.com/steam-crashes-on-launch-amd-radeon/?ref=blog.harshkohli.com), the matching crash names `steam.exe` as the faulting app, `ntdll.dll` as the module and `c0000005` as the exception code. If you see that and your PC has a Radeon card (or a Ryzen chip with Radeon graphics), carry on. If you have an Nvidia card, this isn't your bug. A few Nvidia owners in the same thread say Steam crashes for them too, but nobody has tied that to a single cause yet. ## Step 1: Install Adrenalin 26.10.2 This is the real fix. 26.10.2 is an *optional* driver, which matters: if your AMD Software is set to recommended drivers only, it won't offer it to you. **Through AMD Software:** 1. Open **AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition** (right-click the desktop, or search for it in Start). 2. Go to the driver and software section and check for updates. 3. If only a recommended driver shows up, change the update preference to **Recommended + Optional** and check again. 4. Download and install 26.10.2, then restart. One catch: the 26.10.2 notes also fix a bug where AMD Install Manager failed to find optional drivers when Recommended + Optional was selected. So if you're on an older version and the app shows nothing new, that's probably the reason. Go the manual route instead. **Manually:** open [AMD's drivers page](https://www.amd.com/en/support/download/drivers.html?ref=blog.harshkohli.com), pick your card, and download Adrenalin 26.10.2\. The [release notes page](https://www.amd.com/en/resources/support-articles/release-notes/RN-RAD-WIN-26-10-2.html?ref=blog.harshkohli.com) links to the same package. It supports Windows 11 21H2 and later, and 64-bit Windows 10 21H2 and later. After the restart, open Steam the way you normally would. If it stays open past the store page, you're done. **Check your card is on the list.** 26.10.2 covers the Radeon RX 5000, 6000, 7000 and 9000 series, the Radeon PRO W5000 to W7000 cards, and Ryzen processors with Radeon graphics. Older cards such as the RX 400 and RX 500 series (RX 590 owners were among the first to report this) and Vega aren't on the compatibility list, so this driver won't install on them. For those PCs, Steps 2 and 3 are the fix for now. **Laptops:** AMD says its own driver has limited support for laptop-specific features and recommends the laptop maker's driver. If your laptop maker hasn't published a newer one yet, use the workaround below. Handhelds like the ROG Ally and Legion Go aren't supported by Adrenalin at all; check with the maker. Steam Deck runs SteamOS, so this Windows bug doesn't apply (if your Deck has a different problem, see my [Steam Deck black screen fix](https://blog.harshkohli.com/steam-deck-black-screen-after-update/)). ## Step 2: Stop AMD External Events Utility, then open Steam Use this if you can't update the driver yet, or if 26.10.2 didn't fix it. It's the workaround most people in the Steam thread settled on. 1. Press **Win + R**, type `services.msc` and press Enter. 2. Find **AMD External Events Utility**. The list is alphabetical, so it's near the top. 3. Right-click it and choose **Stop**. Don't touch the startup type. 4. Open Steam and wait until it's fully loaded. 5. Go back to Services, right-click **AMD External Events Utility** and choose **Start**. You can do the same thing from Task Manager's **Services** page if that's quicker. Starting the service again is the important part. It's what lets the driver notice when a game goes fullscreen, and FreeSync and a few other Radeon features rely on it. Some games work fine without it, and a few even behave better, but I'd leave it on rather than end up chasing a new problem. This only lasts until you restart, because the service starts again with Windows. Annoying, but it takes ten seconds. Also try simply opening Steam a second time after it crashes. Several people say only the first launch after boot fails. ## Step 3: Open Steam before Razer, iCUE and other launchers The crash seems to hit most often when other apps that AMD's driver watches are already running as Steam starts: Razer Synapse, Corsair iCUE, other game launchers, and sometimes AMD Software itself. So change the order. 1. Fully quit those apps from the system tray (not just close the window). 2. Open Steam and let it load. 3. Open the other apps again. To stop doing this after every boot, press **Ctrl + Shift + Esc**, go to **Startup apps**, and disable the ones that load before Steam. Then open them yourself after Steam. If Steam's own auto-start is the launch that keeps failing, you can turn that off too in Steam under **Settings > Interface** ("Run Steam when my computer starts") and open it by hand once Windows has settled. Once 26.10.2 is working for you, switch everything back. ## Step 4: Do a clean driver reinstall if it still crashes If you installed 26.10.2 over the top of an older driver and Steam still dies, try a clean install before giving up on it. 1. Download the 26.10.2 package first so you're not left without a driver. 2. Run the [AMD Cleanup Utility](https://www.amd.com/en/resources/support-articles/faqs/GPU-601.html?ref=blog.harshkohli.com). It removes the old driver files and asks to restart. 3. Install 26.10.2 and restart again. Two notes. Windows 10 users with an RX 9000 card: 26.10.2 also fixes game crashes that happened after using the Cleanup Utility, so make sure the driver you install afterwards is 26.10.2, not an older one. And if it still crashes after a clean install, send a report through AMD's Bug Report Tool (it installs with AMD Software). The more reports AMD gets with crash details, the faster a regression gets attention. If your graphics driver is behaving but Windows itself feels sluggish while Steam updates, my [100% disk usage on Windows 11 fix](https://blog.harshkohli.com/windows-11-100-disk-usage-fix/) covers the usual culprits. ## Which fix should you use? | Fix | Use it when | How long it lasts | | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | | Adrenalin 26.10.2 | You have an RX 5000, 6000, 7000 or 9000 card, or a Ryzen with Radeon graphics | Permanent (AMD lists it as fixed) | | Stop and restart AMD External Events Utility | You can't update yet, or your card isn't supported | Until the next restart | | Open Steam first, other apps after | Razer, iCUE or launchers start with Windows | Permanent if you change startup apps | | Open Steam a second time | Only the first launch after boot fails | Each boot | | Clean reinstall with AMD Cleanup Utility | 26.10.2 is installed but Steam still crashes | Permanent if the old install was the problem | ## What won't help - **Reinstalling Steam, verifying files or clearing the download cache.** People in the thread tried all of it. The bug isn't in Steam's files. (Verifying files is still the right move when a *game* crashes, like in my [Crimson Desert DLC fix](https://blog.harshkohli.com/crimson-desert-dlc-crash-not-showing-fix/).) - **Rolling back to an older AMD driver.** Reports came in from several driver versions, including 26.10.1, so going backwards is unlikely to help. Going forward to 26.10.2 is the point. - **Renaming steam.exe.** It's going around as a trick, and it can get Steam open once, but the Bahamut thread found it stops working after a restart. Steam also expects its own file names for updates, so I wouldn't. - **Deleting or renaming GameManager64.dll.** It sits in protected driver folders and you'd have to take ownership of System32 files to touch it. Don't. The service workaround does the same job without breaking your driver. - **Disabling AMD External Events Utility permanently.** Steam will open, but you may lose FreeSync in some games. Stop it briefly, as in Step 2. If you're on Radeon and also playing Phantom Blade Zero, note that 26.10.2 lists sky and hair corruption on RX 9000 cards as a known issue in that game. My [Phantom Blade Zero crash guide](https://blog.harshkohli.com/phantom-blade-zero-crashing-pc-fix/) has the other fixes for that one. If Steam opens fine but Enshrouded is the one crashing, Keen's Patch 1.0.1.0 fixes a random GPU crash and adds new AMD graphics settings. My [Enshrouded crash and save migration guide](https://blog.harshkohli.com/enshrouded-crash-save-migration-fix/) walks through it. **Related guides:** next stop is my guide to [fixing high ping and lag in online games](https://blog.harshkohli.com/fix-high-ping-lag-online-games/). After that, see [Steam Deck vs ROG Xbox Ally X vs Legion Go S](https://blog.harshkohli.com/steam-deck-vs-rog-xbox-ally-x-vs-legion-go-s/) and [a PS5 that overheats or shuts off](https://blog.harshkohli.com/ps5-overheating-shutting-off-fix/) if either matches what you're seeing. ## FAQ ### Why does Steam crash on launch with an AMD graphics card? Since Steam's 13 October 2026 client update, AMD's driver and Steam have been clashing at launch. Users traced it to `GameManager64.dll`, loaded by the AMD External Events Utility service. AMD lists the Steam launcher crash as fixed in Adrenalin 26.10.2. ### Which AMD driver fixes the Steam crash? AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.2, released 30 October 2026 as an optional driver. It's driver version 26.20.15.12 for RDNA cards. ### Is it safe to stop AMD External Events Utility? Yes, for a few seconds. Stopping it doesn't change any settings, and it starts again on reboot. Just start it again once Steam is open so FreeSync and fullscreen detection keep working. ### My card is an RX 580 or RX 590\. What do I do? 26.10.2 doesn't list RX 400/500 or Vega cards as supported. Use the Step 2 workaround or the start-order trick in Step 3 until AMD ships a fix for those cards. ### Do I need to reinstall Steam? No. Your games and library files aren't the problem. Update the driver, or use the workaround. ### Does this affect Steam on Linux or Steam Deck? No. This is a Windows driver issue. SteamOS and Linux use a different AMD graphics driver stack. If 26.10.2 sorted it for you, or didn't, tell me your card and Windows version in the comments. It'll help the next person figure out whether they need the workaround.