Frequent app crashes in specific programs (games, Office)

🔍Quick Fix: Update the Program and the Graphics Driver

Update the app first — Help menu → Check for Updates, or verify the title is current in Steam/Epic/Xbox. Then update the GPU driver: right-click Start → Device Manager → Display adapters → right-click your card → Update driver. For games, a clean driver reinstall (using the vendor's installer, not Windows Update) resolves a large share of crashes by itself.

🔍Read the Crash Before You Guess

Don't run six fixes blind — make Windows tell you what failed first:

1. Right-click Start → Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application
2. Find the red Error stamped at the time of a crash
3. Read the Faulting module name

That one field splits the problem decisively. If the faulting module is the program's own .exe or a game engine DLL → it's the app: repair or reinstall (Methods 1, 5). If it's nvwgf2um.dll, atig6pxx.dll, or similar → graphics driver: clean-reinstall the GPU driver. If it's an overlay or RGB DLL (Discord, GeForce, iCUE, Razer) → a third-party hook: disable that overlay (Method 3). If it's ntdll.dll or KERNELBASE.dll with no pattern across different apps → suspect RAM or storage, not the app. The module name turns guessing into a decision.

🔍Detailed Fix Steps

Method 1: Repair the Program

1. Settings → Apps → Installed Apps
2. Find the program → three dots → Modify or Advanced Options → Repair

For Office: File → Account → Update Options → Update Now; if it persists, Office → Modify → Quick Repair.

Method 2: Run in Compatibility Mode

1. Right-click the .exe → Properties → Compatibility
2. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for → Windows 8 or 7
3. Also check Run this program as an administrator → Apply

Method 3: Disable Conflicting Overlays and Background Software

Common offenders that inject into other apps: antivirus real-time scans, Discord overlay, RGB suites (Razer Synapse, iCUE), capture/streaming tools. Disable them one at a time and re-test. For Discord: User Settings → Game Overlay → turn off in-game overlay.

Method 4: Reset a Corrupt Office Profile

1. Close all Office apps
2. Win + R → regedit → go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0
3. Right-click the Office key → Export to back it up
4. Delete the key, restart — Office rebuilds clean settings

Method 5: Clean Reinstall

1. Settings → Apps → Installed Apps → Uninstall
2. Win + R → %appdata% and %localappdata% → delete leftover folders for that program
3. Restart, reinstall from the official source

Method 6: Verify Game Files

Steam: right-click the game → Properties → Local Files → Verify integrity of game files. Also update DirectX and the Visual C++ Redistributables from Microsoft.