How to Fix Discord Crashing on Windows

Can’t figure out why Discord keeps crashing on your Windows PC?

Discord is an all-around communication platform that offers text, video, and voice chats. It has over 300 million registered users, and one of the key reasons for its popularity is its outstanding reliability. 

If you’re looking for a communication app that simply works, Discord is one to consider. 

However, this doesn’t mean that Discord doesn’t run into unexpected issues. Even the best applications out there encounter errors at some point. 

One of the most common issues on Discord is that the app crashes randomly on Windows computers. 

Based on what we know, this problem is caused by corrupted installation files. However, it can also be due to improper system configurations, server-related issues, or third-party applications that consume your system resources. 

To help you out, we’ve decided to make a guide for fixing Discord if it keeps crashing on your Windows PC. 

Let’s get started!

1. Check Discord Servers. 

When Discord is not working correctly on your computer, the first thing you should do is check the platform’s status. Since Discord is an online service, it relies on its servers to function correctly. 

You can visit Discord’s status page to check the current situation of its servers. 

Discord Status

Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do but wait if the problem is coming from Discord’s end. On the other hand, you can proceed to the following solutions below if the servers are up and running. 

2. Restart Your System. 

A temporary bug or glitch may have occurred on your operating system, causing applications to crash randomly. To resolve this, try restarting your computer to reload its resources and eliminate errors. 

Here’s how you can reboot your PC: 

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key to open the Start Menu
  2. After that, click on the Power Options tab. 
  3. Finally, choose Restart
Restart Windows

Once done, use Discord for a couple of minutes to check if it will crash. 

3. Run Discord As Administrator. 

If Discord still crashes on your Windows PC, your system may be blocking the app from accessing crucial files needed for it to run correctly. To fix this, run Discord as an administrator to bypass restrictions from your system. 

See the steps below to launch Discord as an administrator: 

  1. First, locate Discord from your desktop. 
  2. Next, right-click on the app and choose Properties
  3. Go to the Compatibility tab afterward and enable the ‘Run this Program as an Administrator’ option. 
  4. Lastly, click OK to save the changes. 
Discord crashing on Windows

Go back to Discord afterward and see if the problem is solved. 

4. Close Background Applications. 

Applications can also crash on your computer if they run out of system resources to use. If you are using a PC with entry-level specifications, we suggest closing down unnecessary applications in the background to give more resources to Discord. 

If you use a lot of applications simultaneously, you might want to consider upgrading your RAM in the future. 

5. Turn Off Your Antivirus. 

Antivirus programs are great for protecting your system from viruses and malware. However, some antivirus can get overprotective and flag down legitimate applications. When this happens, your applications may not work correctly or crash. 

To avoid this, we suggest disabling your antivirus in the meantime while using Discord or adding the app to the safelist if your antivirus supports that feature. 

6. Clear Discord Cache. 

Like any application, Discord uses cache to improve its overall performance. However, these caches accumulate or get corrupted over time and could cause unexpected problems on the app and your system. 

If Discord keeps crashing on your Windows computer, see the steps below to clear its application cache: 

  1. First, open the Run Command on your PC by pressing the Windows + R keys
  2. After that, type ‘%appdata%’ and hit Enter
  3. Now, go to the Discord folder and select all the files inside. 
  4. Lastly, delete them from your storage drive. 
Discord crashing on Windows

Once done, restart your computer and go back to Discord to check if it will still crash. 

7. Toggle Hardware Acceleration. 

Hardware acceleration is a feature on Discord that allows you to utilize your GPU for better performance. However, if you don’t have a dedicated graphics card on your system, this feature could just degrade the app’s performance. 

Depending on your system specifications, try toggling hardware acceleration on/off and see which setting works for you. 

Here’s how you can access this feature on Discord: 

  1. On the Discord app, click on the Gear icon near your Profile and the Headset icon. 
  2. Next, scroll down and go to the Advanced tab. 
  3. Finally, toggle the Hardware Acceleration feature On/Off
Discord crashing on Windows

Restart the Discord app afterward to check if the problem is solved. 

8. Reinstall Discord. 

If Discord is still crashing on your Windows computer, we suggest reinstalling the app. This will ensure that you have the latest working version of the app and there are no corrupted or broken files on your system. 

You can reinstall Discord by doing the following: 

  1. Open the Control Panel on your computer. 
  2. After that, click on Uninstall a Program and right-click on Discord
  3. Finally, choose Uninstall to delete the app. 
Discord crashing on Windows

Go to Discord’s website afterward and download the latest installer to reinstall the app. 

9. Use Discord Web App. 

Discord has a dedicated web app for users who don’t want to download the app on their systems. If the Discord app is crashing on your Windows computer, we suggest switching to the web app in the meantime. 

Simply visit Discord’s official site and log in to your account to start chatting with your friends. 

Keep in mind that some features are not available for the web version of Discord, like the system-wide push to talk.

10. Contact Discord. 

If you don’t want to use the web app, we suggest that you call the attention of Discord’s team regarding the issue. 

Visit Discord’s Support page and report the problem you’ve been experiencing with the dedicated app. Provide all the necessary details on your report to help Discord’s team provide the best possible solution for your concern. 

Discord crashing on Windows

That ends our guide for fixing Discord if it keeps crashing on Windows. If you have questions or any other concerns, please leave a comment below, and we’ll be here to help. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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