These fixes are for the original Kerbal Space Program (KSP 1) on Windows PC, not Kerbal Space Program 2. Work through them in order: restart Windows, update drivers, verify Steam files, reset settings.cfg, isolate mods, reduce memory and graphics load, disable overlays, and test whether the crash is limited to one save or craft.
Before removing mods, reinstalling files, or changing configuration, back up your saves, Ships, and—if the installation is modded—GameData folders.
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Kerbal Space Program Crashing on PC? Try These 8 Fixes
KSP can crash to the desktop, freeze during loading, black-screen when changing scenes, or fail when entering the Vehicle Assembly Building, Spaceplane Hangar, or flight mode. The timing of the crash matters: a vanilla installation that fails at startup points to a different problem than a heavily modded save that crashes while loading a vessel.
Start with the symptom
| What happens | Start here |
|---|---|
| Crashes immediately after pressing Play | Drivers, overlays, settings.cfg, and Steam file verification |
| Crashes during the loading screen | Mods, memory pressure, folder structure, and logs |
| Crashes when entering flight | Visual mods, graphics settings, and stock-craft testing |
| Only the modded installation crashes | Back up and isolate GameData |
| Only one save or craft crashes | Use a copy, an earlier save, or a stock test |
| The whole PC reboots or blue-screens | Investigate Windows, drivers, temperatures, power, and hardware |
1. Restart Windows and close demanding software
Exit KSP and Steam completely, restart Windows, and launch KSP before opening browsers, video editors, other launchers, monitoring tools, RGB utilities, or other memory-heavy applications.
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Note what kind of failure occurs:
- A normal crash to the desktop usually points toward the game, files, mods, settings, or memory.
- A black screen followed by a display-driver reset suggests a driver or graphics problem.
- A system freeze, blue screen, or complete reboot points more strongly toward unstable hardware, overheating, an overclock or undervolt, power delivery, or Windows.
Restarting is a diagnostic first step, not a permanent repair. Reinstalling KSP is unlikely to fix a computer that reboots during other games as well.
2. Update Windows and the graphics driver
Install pending Windows updates, then download the appropriate graphics driver from the manufacturer rather than from a third-party driver site:
Restart after installing the driver. Laptop owners should also check that KSP is using the dedicated GPU instead of integrated graphics.
The newest driver is not automatically the best driver for every system. If the crashes began immediately after a driver update, use the manufacturer’s rollback or clean-install options to test the previous stable driver.
Steam’s general troubleshooting guidance also recommends updating Windows and computer drivers when games fail to launch or crash. See Steam’s crash and launch troubleshooting guide.
3. Verify KSP’s Steam files
Steam can reacquire missing or damaged files included in the standard KSP installation.
- Open Steam.
- Go to Library.
- Right-click Kerbal Space Program and choose Properties.
- Open Installed Files.
- Select Verify integrity of game files.
- When the process finishes, restart Steam and launch KSP.
The label may vary slightly with Steam’s interface language or a future Steam update. This process repairs Steam-managed game files. It generally does not repair third-party mods, malformed mod folders, corrupted saves, bad graphics settings, or crashes caused by memory pressure or background software.
Back up your data before more aggressive troubleshooting. The relevant folders are usually inside the KSP installation directory:
KSP installation foldersaves
KSP installation folderShips
KSP installation folderGameDataThe exact path depends on your Steam library location. Do not delete the entire KSP directory as an initial fix.
4. Reset KSP’s graphics and settings file
A damaged or incompatible configuration can cause KSP to crash before the main menu, especially after changing resolution, display mode, rendering options, or graphics hardware.
- Close KSP.
- Open the KSP installation directory.
- Find
settings.cfg. - Rename it to
settings.cfg.backup. - Launch KSP and let the game create a new settings file.
- Reconfigure resolution and graphics options gradually.
Renaming is safer than deleting because it preserves the original file. This reset may restore defaults for resolution, fullscreen or windowed mode, graphics quality, key bindings, and other local settings depending on the installation. It is not a save-repair procedure and should not delete your saves.
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The KSP technical-support forums discuss resetting settings.cfg as a troubleshooting step for graphics-related and scene-change crashes; it is a reversible diagnostic, not a guaranteed fix. See the KSP technical-support discussion.
5. Launch KSP without third-party mods
For a modded installation, this is one of the most useful tests. Crashes can result from mods made for another KSP version, missing dependencies, duplicate libraries, incorrectly nested folders, outdated DLL files, incompatible visual or planetary-system mods, or large texture and part packs.
Safely isolate the mods
- Close KSP.
- Make a backup of the entire
GameDatafolder. - Move only third-party mod folders to a temporary location outside the KSP folder.
- Leave the stock folders supplied by Squad and any legitimately installed expansion content in place.
- Launch KSP.
- Test the main menu, a new sandbox save, the VAB, a simple stock craft, and flight mode.
Do not load your only copy of a heavily modded save after removing its dependencies. A save may contain parts, modules, or planetary data supplied by those mods. Use a new sandbox for the first test and keep the original save untouched.
Restore mods in batches
If the stock installation works, restore approximately half of the mods and test again. If the crash returns, the problem is in that half; if it does not, test the other half. Continue dividing the suspect group until you identify the incompatible mod or combination. Then check its supported KSP version, dependencies, installation path, and whether another copy of the same library remains in GameData.
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KSP’s technical-support guidance recommends checking Mod DLLs found, Folders and files in GameData, and errors or exceptions in the log. See Understanding KSP log files.
6. Reduce memory and graphics pressure
KSP can become unstable when a heavily modded installation approaches available system memory or graphics memory. Steam’s listing gives old, store-listed requirements of 4 GB RAM minimum and 8 GB recommended on Windows, but those figures are not a modern guarantee for high-resolution visual mods, large part packs, planetary overhauls, large career saves, or multiple background applications.
Steam currently lists these requirements for the product:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems| Component | Minimum listed | Recommended listed |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 7 SP1 or newer | Windows 10 64-bit |
| CPU | Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz | Core i5 |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | DirectX 10 / Shader Model 4.0, 512 MB VRAM | DirectX 10 / Shader Model 4.0, 1 GB VRAM |
| Storage | 3 GB | 4 GB |
These are the requirements displayed on the KSP Steam listing, not a current recommendation for a large mod pack.
Reduce load in this order
- Disable high-resolution texture packs.
- Disable visual-enhancement mods temporarily.
- Lower texture quality.
- Reduce terrain, scatter, reflection, shadow, and anti-aliasing settings.
- Lower resolution or test windowed mode.
- Remove unused part packs.
- Close other applications.
- Confirm that the Windows page file is enabled and that the system drive has free space.
Memory pressure often appears as a crash during loading or scene changes, progressively slower loading, Windows low-memory warnings, or a failure that occurs only with a large mod list. More RAM may help when memory pressure is demonstrated, but it will not fix an incompatible mod, corrupted save, or faulty driver.
7. Disable overlays and conflicting background software
Temporarily disable nonessential software that injects an overlay or monitors the game:
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- OC Mode : 1500 MHz (Boost Clock)/Default Mode : 1470 MHz (Boost Clock)
- Steam Overlay
- Discord overlay
- NVIDIA App or GeForce Experience overlay
- AMD Adrenalin overlay
- Xbox Game Bar
- MSI Afterburner and RivaTuner Statistics Server
- ReShade and other injection tools
- Screen recorders
- RGB and hardware-monitoring utilities
Test methodically rather than disabling everything permanently: turn off one category, launch KSP, reproduce the crash, then restore it if there is no change.
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Security software can occasionally interfere with executables, but broad permanent antivirus exclusions are not a routine fix. If you test an exception, limit it to the KSP installation folder, make it temporary, and remove it immediately if it does not help.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.8. Test a new save, craft, and scene—and inspect the logs
Once KSP starts, create a new sandbox save with no third-party mods. Launch a simple stock craft and test the scene where the crash normally occurs.
- Everything crashes: suspect the installation, settings, drivers, hardware, or global memory pressure.
- Only the modded installation crashes: suspect mods or dependencies.
- Only one save crashes: suspect save data, a vessel, or a removed mod.
- Only one craft crashes: inspect its parts, modules, and mod dependencies.
- Only one scene transition crashes: inspect logs and test lower graphics settings.
Use an earlier save or quicksave when possible. Test on a duplicate and do not overwrite the only working copy. If a craft depends on unavailable mod parts, restore the relevant mod or use an earlier version of the save rather than repeatedly opening the original.
Where to find the logs
Common Windows locations include:
KSP installation folderKSP.log
%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalLowSquadKerbal Space ProgramPlayer.log
%USERPROFILE%AppDataLocalTempSquadKerbal Space ProgramCrashesLocations can vary by build, operating system, store version, and crash type. KSP.log is usually in the installation folder. If it contains little useful information, Player.log may contain more detail about a process-level crash.
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Search for:
ExceptionErrorCrashOutOfMemoryNullReferenceExceptionMissingMethodExceptionFileNotFoundExceptionAssemblyGameData- The name of a recently installed or updated mod
Pay particular attention to repeated error spam immediately before the crash, a named mod or assembly, a missing dependency, a memory-related message, or the final asset and scene loaded. Do not assume every warning or error is the cause: KSP logs can contain harmless warnings and errors unrelated to the eventual failure.
If KSP still crashes
Perform one clean diagnostic test: use verified stock files, a fresh settings.cfg, no third-party mods, a new sandbox save, and disabled overlays. If that works, reintroduce your settings, mods, saves, and background software one category at a time.
If even the clean test crashes, check Windows Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer, inspect CPU and GPU temperatures, remove overclocks and undervolts, and test RAM if the whole system is unstable. Try another demanding game or application. A reboot, blue screen, or system-wide freeze is a hardware-, driver-, power-, or Windows-level problem until proven otherwise; reinstalling KSP alone is unlikely to solve it.
When requesting support, include your KSP version, Windows version, hardware, whether the installation is modded, the exact crash point, the mod list, and relevant portions of KSP.log or Player.log. Avoid uploading personal information or an entire save unless the support forum specifically requires it.
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Important scope note
This guide covers KSP 1. Kerbal Space Program 2 is a separate product with separate files, requirements, and support information; its Steam support page is available here.
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