Picture this: You are working on a video project that you have almost completed. With only a few touches, your masterpiece will be ready for export, but suddenly, the After Effect crashes! You were so invested in working that you did not press Ctrl+S after every edit to save the progress and lost most of your work. Isn’t that hurtful?
After Effects crashing on Windows is a common issue often frustrating for a user. If you have reached this post, you have faced a similar issue or were saved but do not want to go through it. Either way, you may be looking for ways to stop common After Effects crashes.
Understandably, Adobe After Effects is a heavy tool to run on a PC. However, computers with the resources to run the application also encounter these crashes. So, what causes these crashes? More importantly, how can you fix and avoid them on your PC?
Well, that is exactly what we are going to discuss! So, without further ado, let’s begin!
After Effects Crashes Suddenly on PC – Why Does it Happen
Before learning about the fixes, you must know the pain points that cause the error. The first and obvious issue that causes After Effects crashes on a PC is the application’s compatibility with the available resources. You can try upgrading your PC or using a compatible version of the application (older versions) if that is the issue.
But according to our research, that is not the only reason. There are other reasons as well. Some of these are –
- PC overheating while running the application.
- Outdated GPU & Display Drivers.
- Using Unknown Third-Party Plug-ins.
- Using multiple heavy applications in the background.
All these issues can easily appear on any PC, so After Effects crashing is common for users. The good news here is that there are no irreversible errors. This means all of these can be fixed, and you may get a better experience using After Effects.
Check out the next section to find the fixes that will help you eliminate After Effects crashing randomly on Windows.
Working Ways to Avoid After Effects Crashes When Opening a Project File
Fix 1 – Free Up Your PC Resources
The first thing you should do if you have encountered multiple crashes while using After Effects is to avoid using heavy apps in the background.
Step 1 – Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to launch the Task Manager.
Step 2 – In the Task Manager, sort your running applications per their memory usage by clicking on the memory tab.
Step 3 – Select the application and End the Task to remove the app you are not using. For instance, while editing, if you do not need a browser running in the background, then close it.
Relaunch the After Effects after you cleared your memory, and you may find a smoother experience with no crashes.
Fix 2 – Turn OFF GPU Acceleration in After Effects
The application often tries to yield the maximum performance from the available resources. That is usually fine; however, sometimes, it builds a lot of pressure on the PC, resulting in a sudden After Effects crash.
One such feature in the application is GPU acceleration. It is usually turned ON by default. You should toggle it off. Here’s how-
Step 1 – Launch After Effects on your PC.
Step 2 – Open the File option and spot Project Settings. Click on it to open.
Step 3 – From Project Settings, navigate to the Video Rendering & Effects tab.
Step 4 – There, you may find the GPU Acceleration setting. Disable it by choosing Mercury Software Only
After disabling it, save any changes you have made to the project and relaunch the application. This may result in some GPU performance degradation (depending on what type of GPU you are using).
Fix 3 – Use Media Encoder for Exporting the Files
If the crash usually appears when exporting a project, you can replace the export option with Media Encoder. This way, the task is delegated to another application, reducing the load on your After Effects.
Step 1 – Download Adobe Media Encoder on your computer.
Step 2 – Install and connect the Encoder with existing Adobe Apps. It works with Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and almost all the editing software related to Adobe.
Step 3 – While exporting a file on After Effects, use the option File > Export > Add to Media Encoder Queue to open the app.
This way, you are more secure with exporting your videos and projects without fearing After Effects crashing suddenly.
Fix 4 – Delete Local Files for After Effects (App Data)
If you have been using the application for a while and have recently started experiencing crashes or jittery performance, chances are that the app data that has accumulated over time has gone corrupt. Deleting that data might help you refresh the application, avoiding any sort of crash or dip in performance.
Here’s what you need to do –
Step 1 – If the App is running, close it. Exit the Adobe After Effects app
Step 2 – Open the File Explorer on your PC
Step 3 – In the Address bar, use the following address –
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe
(Replace username with the PC username that you use)
Step 4 – Enter the folder and clear all the files.
If this removal of files causes issues with the application, recover them from the recycle bin. Otherwise, start using the application and you may experience smoothly functioning After Effects on your PC.
Fix 5 – Check for GPU Driver Updates
After Effects often crashes because of outdated GPU drivers, as the GPU is unable to handle all the requests by the software. Checking and keeping track of the updates is essential for a user. It is slightly difficult to use the Windows inbuilt methods as you have to go through multiple steps. It can be difficult for you if you do not know how to update drivers on Windows.
The good thing here is that there are third-party alternatives available. Advanced Driver Updater is one such alternative that can help you check for updates and install them in just 3 steps –
Step 1 – Download and install the app.
Step 2 – Run a quick scan using the Start Scan Now option.
Step 3 – Click on Update All after the results are available
This is the easiest and quickest way to get rid of outdated drivers and update them accordingly; once you have done so, you can restart your PC and check if After Effects still shows signs of crashing.
Other than these fixes, you can also try to do the basic things such as –
- Remove any overclocking application if you are using it.
- Make sure you are not using the cracked version of the application
- If the crashing is appearing after you have installed a plug-in, remove it instantly
Try these fixes out, and you will see that the After Effects crashing out of nowhere is no longer a problem. All of these fixes will work if you are using the authentic release of the product. In case of any doubts, feel free to drop us a line. Thanks for reading. Good luck!
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