Forza Horizon 6 Crashing Fix: FHC, FHE and FH Error Codes

Forza Horizon 6 crashing on PC is usually fixed by reading the error code in the crash dialog: FHC codes are GPU crashes, FHE codes are game crashes, FHD means out of video memory, FHF means out of system memory, and FH101–FH601 are startup checks for hardware, drivers and Windows components. For most codes, Forza Support’s first fix is the same — update your GPU driver — followed by updating Gaming Services and closing the background apps it lists as incompatible. Everything below comes from Forza Support’s own Forza Horizon 6 articles.

Match your Forza Horizon 6 error code to the fix

Forza Horizon 6 shows a dialog with an error code when it crashes to desktop. Find yours here:

Code	What Forza Support says it means	Fix
FHC01	Graphics card crash, supported drivers and OS	Update GPU driver, then close conflicting apps
FHC11	Graphics card crash, unsupported driver or hardware (e.g. GTX 10-series)	Check GPU support
FHC21	Graphics card crash, unsupported OS (e.g. Linux)	Windows 10/11 or Steam Deck only
FHE01	Game crash, supported drivers and OS	Update GPU driver, then Fixes 2–4
FHE11	Game crash, unsupported driver or hardware	Check GPU support
FHE21	Game crash, unsupported OS	Windows 10/11 or Steam Deck only
FHD	GPU out of video memory	Lower VRAM use
FHF	PC out of system memory	Free RAM, check memory
FH101	Fewer than 6 CPU logical processors / threads	Below minimum spec
FH113	Processor needs the latest BIOS update	Update your motherboard BIOS
FH201, FH203–FH206	GPU lacks the required DirectX 12 features	Check minimum GPU + latest driver
FH202	GPU has less than 4 GB of VRAM	Below minimum spec
FH301	GPU driver needs updating	Update GPU driver
FH302	GPU or driver below minimum	Check minimum GPU + latest driver
FH401	Insufficient system memory	Check your PC meets minimum spec
FH601	Microsoft Media Foundation can’t load	Install Media Foundation
No code, game just closes	Windows-level crash	Read the exception code

If your code ends in 01, your setup is supported and the crash is worth reporting in the Forza Feedback Portal if it survives the fixes below. Codes ending in 11 or 21 mean the hardware, driver or OS is outside what Playground supports.

Check your GPU is supported

Forza Horizon 6 needs an NVIDIA Turing-or-newer GPU or an AMD GPU newer than Polaris/Vega. Per Forza Support:

• NVIDIA: the minimum supported architecture is Turing (GTX 16-series, RTX 20-series and newer). Pascal cards such as the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 are not guaranteed to work, no longer get driver support, and may be unstable — this is what FHC11/FHE11 point at.
• AMD: GPUs based on Polaris or Vega and older (for example the Radeon 400 and 500 series) will not work.
• OS: Windows 10/11 and Steam Deck (SteamOS) are supported. Linux is not, which is what FHC21/FHE21 mean.
• CPU and memory: at least 6 logical processors (FH101), at least 4 GB of VRAM (FH202).

If your hardware is below this line, no tweak will make the crashes go away reliably.

Fix 1 — Update your GPU driver and Windows

A GPU driver update is Forza Support’s first fix for every FHC and FHE code. Install the latest driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel, then run Windows Update (Start → type Updates), install everything, and do a full shutdown and restart. If the crashes started right after a driver update, a clean reinstall of the previous driver is the opposite test — our DDU clean install guide covers both.

Fix 2 — Update Gaming Services

Forza Horizon 6 needs Gaming Services 37.114.10001.0 or later, on both the Xbox app and Steam versions. If it’s older you get “Invalid Gaming Services Detected”. To update:

1. Open the Microsoft Store and click Downloads (bottom left).
2. Click Check for updates, find Gaming Services and click Update.
3. Confirm the version: Settings → Apps → Installed apps → search Gaming Services → … → Advanced options.

If Gaming Services is missing or won’t update, Forza Support’s repair is Settings → Apps → Gaming Services → Advanced options → Repair, or a full reinstall from an admin PowerShell — the exact commands are in our Gaming Services repair guide.

Fix 3 — Close the apps Forza lists as incompatible

Forza Support names specific background apps that can stop Forza from launching or crash it mid-game. Close or uninstall these before you play:

Category	Apps Forza Support names
Overlays / monitoring	MSI Afterburner / RivaTuner Statistics Server, EVGA Precision, Discord overlay, NVIDIA GeForce overlay, Fraps
Peripherals / audio	Logitech G Hub, A-Volute Sound Studio, Sonic Audio, Nahimic
Recording / desktop	OBS, XSplit, Wallpaper Engine, MacType, SeeThroughWindows, Windhawk
Input / cheats	WeMod, Interception driver
Power tools	MSI Dragon Center, Ryzen Master, Killer Control Center (GameFast)
Antivirus (may block launch)	Trend Micro, Comodo, Sophos, Emsisoft, Avira, Avast, Bitdefender Firewall, AVG

Forza also lists the Warsaw banking app and Samsung Magician’s RAPID mode (turn it off). If you stream, set OBS/XSplit to Display Capture. The fastest way to test all of this at once is a clean boot (Microsoft’s msconfig method): if the game is stable clean-booted, re-enable apps one at a time.

Overlays are the overlap with performance tools: if you use an FPS counter, see how to show FPS in any game for options, but test Forza with every overlay off first.

Fix 4 — Verify files, run as admin, reset the app

1. Verify game files. Steam: right-click Forza Horizon 6 → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files. Xbox app: Manage → Files → Verify and repair.
2. Run as administrator. Forza Support recommends a local administrator account and launching the game as admin.
3. Reset the app (Xbox app / Store version): Settings → Apps → Forza Horizon 6 → Advanced options → Reset.
4. Fix the clock. Toggle Set time zone automatically off and on, then reboot.
5. Clear Xbox Live credentials. Open Credential Manager → Windows Credentials and remove every Generic Credential starting with Xbl.
6. Reinstall Visual C++. Install the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable.
7. Unsigned drivers. Forza doesn’t support systems set to allow unsigned drivers — turn that mode off.

FHD and FHF: out of memory

FHD means the GPU ran out of video memory; FHF means the PC ran out of system memory. For FHD, lower texture quality and resolution until you have VRAM headroom and close browsers or video apps using the GPU — the general method is in our out of video memory error fix. For FHF, close background apps, make sure the Windows page file is enabled, and confirm you meet the minimum RAM. Forza Support also recommends running a memory test (MemTest) to rule out faulty RAM, which matters if FHF or random crashes happen with plenty of free memory.

FH601: Media Foundation missing

FH601 means Windows can’t load Microsoft Media Foundation, which Forza Horizon 6 needs for video playback. It’s typically missing on Windows N and KN editions. Install the Media Feature Pack from Microsoft (the link is in Forza’s error-code article), or add Media Feature Pack from Optional features in Windows Settings, then reboot.

No error code: read the crash in Event Viewer

If Forza Horizon 6 closes with no dialog, the exception code in Event Viewer tells you what failed. Open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application, sort by date, and open the Application Error at the time of the crash. Forza Support lists these as Windows-level codes to report to Microsoft: 0xc0000005, 0xc000001d, 0xc0000409, 0xe06d7363, 0xc0000374, 0xc00000fd, 0x80000003, 0xc0000096, 0xc0000094, 0xc0000006. The most common one, 0xc0000005, has its own walkthrough in our 0xc0000005 access violation fix — unstable overclocks and RAM (XMP/EXPO) are the usual causes worth testing before you file a report.

If Forza Horizon 6 still crashes

• Stuttering rather than crashing? That’s a different problem — see the Forza Horizon 6 stuttering fix (shader compile, CPU headroom, VRAM sizing).
• Crashing at high settings only? Drop to the preset in our best Forza Horizon 6 settings for FPS and work back up.
• Try Windows Game Mode both ways. Forza Support says some players are more stable with it on and some with it off — background on the setting is in Windows Game Mode: on or off.
• Report it. If you’re on a supported setup (codes ending in 01), submit a ticket to Forza Support with a screenshot of the error dialog, your DxDiag and the saved Event Viewer entries.

Related guides

• Forza Horizon 6 Stuttering Fix
• Best Forza Horizon 6 Settings for FPS
• Forza Horizon 5 Crashing Fix
• Gaming Services Repair Tool
• Out of Video Memory Error Fix
• 0xc0000005 Access Violation Crash Fix

Forza Horizon 6 crashes are easiest to fix by code: update the GPU driver for any FHC or FHE error, update Gaming Services to 37.114.10001.0 or later, and close the overlays and tools Forza Support names. If the code ends in 11 or 21, the hardware or OS is below what Playground supports — no tweak fixes that.