Fortnite “The application could not start correctly” (0xc000009a)
The 0xc000009a error (otherwise known as the “Entry Point” error) appears because an application cannot load a required DLL.
Typically, DLLs from DirectX-like or graphics packages are not available for games like Frotnite. These systems require them, which means if they can’t find them, they’ll stop working – usually citing the error you see.
To fix this, the simple solution is to get the DLL file on your system and make sure it is accessible.
reasons
To find out why the error is displayed, you need to evaluate the DLL (Dynamic Link Library) file roll in Windows.
As operating system development heated up in the 1990s, all countries introduced a number of methods to access “libraries” – third-party software packages that allowed developers to use standardized code/functionality within their own applications.
Such libraries as Visual C++, DirectX, .NET and various others have become standard for Windows – with most applications – even today – relying on them.
The secret of these files was the location of certain DLL files on your computer. These files can be reused by different applications as long as they call the correct functions, etc.
Unfortunately, if the files are missing, out of date, or corrupted, errors like the one you’re encountering will appear…
- The application failed to start correctly (0xc000009a)
- BattlEye service is starting…
- [INFO] File loading blocked…
The main problem here is that your application doesn’t have access to the DLL it requires, although there are other problems:
- DLL files are not accessible
- Antivirus may block your application
- Windows may be corrupted or a damaged DLL
- Other programs may have overwritten the DLL
- Your system may have a virus
The way to resolve this is to make sure that the DLLs exist on the system and then that they are fully accessible.
The steps below will guide you through this process…
Solutions
Like many Windows problems, you need to go through a number of potential causes of problems and fix them one by one.
In case of error 0xc000009a, the following is recommended:
1. Uninstall BattlEye + Fortnite Checker
The first – and most effective – step is to remove the “BattlEye” app from your system.
BattlEye is an anti-cheat system that ships with Fortnite – it’s important for Fortnite to work, but it can sometimes cause errors:
- Press the “Windows” + “E” keys on the keyboard
- Browse to “C:/Program Files/Epic Games/Fortnite/FortniteGame/Binaries/BattlEye”
- Click on “Uninstall_BattlEye.bat”
- Let the CMD file run
- Exit and load the Epic Games Launcher
- In the “Fortnite” tab, click the “cog” icon next to the “Start” button.
- Select “Check”
- Let the process flow
Once that’s done, it’s worth rebooting your system.
If this does not solve the problem, it means that there is a problem with one of the third-party libraries on your system.
2. Reinstall VC++
The next step is to reinstall VC++.
As mentioned, Visual C++ was Microsoft’s way of standardizing a number of core features for the software and became a staple of the Windows ecosystem.
To make sure that this is not the problem (which is very likely), you should reinstall all Visual C++ packages on your system:
- In Windows 7, click Start, then Control Panel, then Programs and Features
- In Windows, right-click the Start button, select “Apps and Features”
- From the list, scroll down to “Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable”
- There will likely be a large list of many different packages
- Make a list of each year + architecture (x64/x86) on a piece of paper
- Uninstall any
- Now browse your favorite search engine
- Search for “visual c++ redistribution download”
- Click on the first link (should be Microsoft)
- For each of the packages you had before, download new ones from this site
- Once you’ve done that, install each of them
- Restart your computer
- Try your game again
While this is actually quite likely to work, it may not be the solution for some…
3. Update DirectX/graphics drivers
Next, you should see updating DirectX and (maybe) your graphics driver.
DirectX is the graphics library that Windows uses to process 3D images. Almost every game on the platform uses it.
While you can’t “reinstall” the DirectX engine, you *can* repair it and make sure your graphics driver is working properly…
- Search online for “DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer”
- Click the first Microsoft link that appears
- Click the orange “Download” button.
- Follow the steps and save the file to your computer
- Open the file and let it run
- Let it repair the current DirectX installation
- Restart your computer
After doing this, you may want to reinstall the graphics driver:
- Go online and search for “DDU” (Display Driver Uninstaller)
- Download the file which you can find from Guru3D
- Restart your computer in “safe mode” (instructions below)
- Once in safe mode, launch DDU and let it remove your GFX driver
- Restart your computer in “normal” mode
- Let Windows download the latest driver for your graphics card
To access safe mode depends on which version of Windows you are using (Windows 10 made access difficult for some reason):
- In Windows 7, restart your computer as usual
- Press F8 continuously before Windows starts to load
- Select “Safe Mode” with the corresponding number on the keyboard
- In Windows 10, click the Start button.
- Select the “Power” button (left menu with links)
- Holding SHIFT, press the “restart” button.
- This will bring up the Windows Recovery Environment blue screen.
- Click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart
4. Download the file manually
This will only work if you have a direct idea of which file is missing/inaccessible.
If you don’t have that, you’d be best looking at something called “Dependency Walker” – a free app that lets you determine which files are required by different pieces of software…
- Click on the search engine of your choice
- Search for “DependencyWalker”
- Click on the first link and download the app
- Run it
- From the top menu, select the “open” (folder) icon.
- Browse to the executable that is causing problems and select it
- The system should highlight which files are needed in the left menu
- If any of these files appear “red”, you’ll need to make sure they’re accessible
- Some applications will package the DLL files
- If you look up the name of the DLL file online, you will quickly find out which package it belongs to
- If you can find the package, see if you can install it (you may just need to get the new version)
- If you cannot see a package, you will need to download a new copy of the DLL file itself
After you download a new version of the DLL file, you basically need to place it in the C:/Windows/System32 folder.
After doing this, you should try the app to see if it will work now.
If not, it usually suggests a deeper problem in the operating system.
5. Update Windows
This probably won’t do much – but it might give the system some way to fix itself:
- Windows 7
- Click Start > Control Panel > System and Security > Windows Update
- Click “Check for Updates”
- Windows 10
- Press the “Windows” + “I” keys on the keyboard
- Select “Update and Security”
- Click “Check for Updates”
Once the update process is complete, restart your computer and see if the error is resolved.
If you’re still experiencing the error after doing the above, it suggests that you have a more serious problem with Windows.
Unfortunately, one of the limitations of internet articles is that I can’t see exactly what your system is doing and therefore can’t give any specific advice. If you’re still at a loss, I highly recommend going to one of the big Q/A communities (Reddit/Super User/Microsoft Answers) to get a more specific set of answers.
If you need additional help, you’ll want to talk to someone with hands-on access to your system—which usually means getting a local repair shop to take a look at it, or maybe someone on Fiverr.
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