TD crashing on launch (Loading NewProject.toe)

General TouchDesigner Discussion
1

I’m having a recurring issue where TouchDesigner crashes immediately on launch. It displays the splash screen, starts loading “NewProject.toe,” and then the app crashes and I end up restarting the computer.

I have tried both the latest version (2025.32280) and a 2023 build (2023.11290), but the behavior is the same. Notably, TouchDesigner was working perfectly on this same machine last year (February 2025, I don’t remember de version I downloaded), so I’m not sure what changed.

My System Specs:

  • Model: ASUS VivoBook 15 (X542)

  • OS: Windows 11

  • CPU: Intel Core i5-8250U @ 1.60GHz

  • RAM: 16.0 GB

  • GPUs: * Intel UHD Graphics 620

    • NVIDIA GeForce MX130

What I’ve already tried:

  • Clean installation of both TD versions.

  • Ensuring the NVIDIA MX130 is set as the preferred GPU in Windows Graphics Settings.

  • Updating drivers for both Intel and NVIDIA cards.

I’ve heard that certain pre-installed software can cause conflicts. Which specific bloatware or background services should I look for and disable? I want to make sure nothing ASUS-specific overlays are interfering with the startup.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

2

Hi @MatiasTTTT

You can use some software to help identify bloatware. With Asus, it could be Armory Crate or some other preinstalled OEM software.

As a first step, make sure that all your drivers, including integrated graphic drivers, are up to date and that your machine is free of bloatware.

Make sure that TouchDesigner is fully up to date to the latest stable build available.

The Bulk Crap Uninstaller helps in identifying unwanted or unneeded software: https://www.bcuninstaller.com/

Find the latest driver for your GPU at Official Drivers | NVIDIA
or use Nvidia Geforce Experience Update Drivers & Optimal Playable Settings

You can also make sure that your integrated GPU is running on the latest version available via Intel Driver Assistant.

You can use the AMD Adrenalin if you have an AMD Integrated GPU, in minimal install mode, via Drivers and Support for Processors and Graphics

:high_voltage::high_voltage::high_voltage: If your machine comes with a proprietary power management software (From Asus, Dell / Alienware.. etc), make sure that it’s setup properly to run TouchDesigner on the Nvidia / AMD DEDICATED GPU when plugged to power. Otherwise, it’s likely that TouchDesigner would run on the integrated graphics, hence it is important to also make sure your integrated graphics are up to date.

If the issue persists, try to generate a dump using Using WinDbg to Debug Crashes - Derivative

3

Thanks for the help. I’ve already followed all those steps: both Intel and NVIDIA drivers are fully updated, I cleared the bloatware using BCU, and I’ve forced the dedicated GPU in my power settings, yet the crash persists.

I ran WinDbg as suggested and the debugging stopped at these lines:

ModLoad: 00007ff8`082f0000 00007ff8`08312000   C:\Program Files\Derivative\TouchDesigner\bin\Lib\site-packages\charset_normalizer\md__mypyc.cp311-win_amd64.pyd
ModLoad: 00007ff8`081d0000 00007ff8`082e8000   C:\Program Files\Derivative\TouchDesigner\bin\Lib\unicodedata.pyd
ModLoad: 00007ff8`08180000 00007ff8`081c9000   C:\Program Files\Derivative\TouchDesigner\bin\Lib\site-packages\yaml\_yaml.cp311-win_amd64.pyd
ModLoad: 00007ff8`080d0000 00007ff8`08175000   C:\Program Files\Derivative\TouchDesigner\bin\libNVIDIARTXVideoTOP.dll
ModLoad: 00007ff8`d4170000 00007ff8`d417f000   C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\HID.DLL
(1918.2224): C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
(1918.2224): C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
(1918.2224): C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
(1918.2224): C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
(1918.2224): C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)

Is there a launch argument or a way to bypass these specific checks during startup?

5

Can you please generate a dump when it freeze and zip it + share with us? Thanks.

6

Every time I try to save the dump file my computer crashes. WinDbg shows BUSY after writing the command and then it crashes. Is there any other way?

7

Hi @MatiasTTTT

Going over the specs of your machine, it doesn’t meet the minimum requirements of our latest TouchDesigner versions.

Best,
Michel

9

I’ll also mention the issue writing the .dmp file indicates a more fundamental issue with your machine, that is outside of anything we can help with. Possibly it needs a refresh or has a failing bit of hardware.