If you encounter the message that reads, “Error 0xc00007b Application Was Unable to Start Correctly” whenever you want to launch Black Squad, then the game won’t be able to communicate with certain files. This particular problem is caused by a number of factors, from corrupt Visual C++ Redistributable packages to damaged or incompatible DirectX components.

Since you’re here, rest assured you’ll be able to resolve the problem after applying the fixes in this article.

How to fix the 0xc000007b error in Black Squad

The solutions below helped many players get rid of the error. Make sure you follow them in the order that they arranged to boost your chances of finding the right fix early enough.

Use the Launcher in the Game’s Folder

Apparently, the issue started occurring for most users after the 64-bit patched. The game’s developers decided to force users to play Black Squad on 64-bit operating systems only.

If you started experiencing the error after the update, then you should go to the Binaries folder in Black Squad’s installation folder and run the Steamlauncher.exe file. If you don’t know how to locate the folder, follow these steps:

  1. Launch a File Explorer window by clicking on the folder icon in the taskbar or by right-clicking the Start button and selecting File Explorer. You can also use the Windows + E keyboard combo to open the File Explorer window.
  2. After the File Explorer shows up, go to the left side of the window and click on This PC.
  3. Next, return to the main page and double-click Local Disk C under Devices and Drives.
  4. After the drive appears, locate Program Files (x86) folder and double-click it.
  5. After the Program Files(x86) directory opens, go to the Steam folder.
  6. In the Steam folder, double-click the Steamapps folder.
  7. Open the Common folder, then locate the installation folder of Black Squad and open it.
  8. If you chose a different installation directory when you were installing the game, follow the steps below to locate it:
  • Double-click Steam’s desktop icon or click on the app’s Start menu entry.
  • After Steam opens, go to the top of the window and click on Library.
  • Next, locate Black Squad, right-click it, and then click on Properties from the context menu.
  • Once you see the Properties page on the right, click on the Local Files tab.
  • Now, click on Browse Local Files.

After the game’s installation folder opens, go to the Binaries folder, then open the Win32 folder after that. Now, double-click on the Steamlauncher.exe file. Once the launcher appears, run Black Squad from there.

Note that this is how you must launch the game whenever you want to play it.

Update Windows

First of all, start with updating Windows. Some of the software components that are related to the game’s startup might be obsolete. These components include the .NET Framework, which can be updated via Windows Update.

Normally, the Windows Update utility runs in the background and downloads updates once your system is connected to the Internet. In some cases, however, you’ll have to start the process yourself, especially when there’s been a failed attempt.

Follow these steps:

  1. Launch the Settings app by going to the Start menu and clicking on the cogwheel icon beside your username. You can also launch Settings by tapping the Windows and I keys simultaneously.
  2. After Settings appears, go to the bottom of the page and click on Update & Security.
  3. When the Update & Security interface opens, click on the Check for Updates button under the Windows Update tab.

If your PC has pending updates, the utility will begin to download them. You might have to click on the Download Now button to initiate the download process.

If your computer is already up to date, it means Windows Update has performed the update in the background. In this case, move on to the next solution.

  1. After the updates are downloaded, you’ll see the Restart Now button; click on it.
  2. Your computer will now restart and Windows will begin to install the updates.

Note that multiple reboots are often part of the installation process, so don’t panic when your PC reboots before the installation progress gets to 100%.

  1. Once the updates are installed, your system will boot up normally.
  2. Run Black Squad and check if the issue persists.

Reinstall DirectX

DirectX is a pool of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) responsible for handling multimedia tasks, such as video and audio processing. It is critical to any game on Windows 10 and has different versions. The APIs that make up DirectX include Direct3D, DirectSound, DirectPlay, and DirectDraw, among others.

It’s possible that you’re currently using a DirectX version that is incompatible with your game. However, running the Windows Update utility should help you download and install the latest version.

That said, it’s also possible that your current DirectX is corrupt. Try reinstalling it, then check if that will resolve the problem. In the case of Black Squad, you need the version 9 of DirectX. To check your current version, follow these steps:

  1. Press and hold the Windows logo key, then hit the R key to open Run. You can also right-click the Start button and click on Run in the Quick Access menu.
  2. After the Run dialog box opens, type “dxdiag” (no quotes) into the text box and hit the Enter key.
  3. The DirectX Diagnostic Tool will now show up.
  4. You’ll find your current version under the System Information section of the System tab.

To download DirectX 9, go to Microsoft’s website, search for the setup, and then click on the Download button. After the file is downloaded, run it.

Scan and Repair System Files

As mentioned above, the Error 0xc000007b in Black Squad is related to broken or missing system files. You can try scanning for and replacing these files to fix the problem. Many gamers resolved the issue by doing just that.

The process is not difficult. You’ll be using the System File Checker. It’s a built-in command-line tool that is designed to check protected system files for integrity violations and perform necessary repairs. On Windows 10 computers, the tool works with the inbox Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool. The job of the DISM is to provide the files needed for the repair process via Windows Update.

The steps below will show you how to run the SFC tool:

  1. Summon the search bar beside the Start button by clicking on the magnifying glass in the taskbar. Tapping the Windows and S keys simultaneously will also do the trick.
  2. After the search box appears, go to the text box and type “command prompt.”
  3. Once you see Command Prompt in the search results, right-click it and click on Run as Administrator.
  4. After the User Account Control dialog pops up, click on the Yes button.
  5. Now, type the following line into the Command Prompt once it shows up to run the DISM tool:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

DISM will now use Windows Update to download the files required for the repair.

If you don’t have a working Internet connection or if the Windows Update client is experiencing issues, the process will fail.

In that case, you’ll have to use installation media such as a bootable USB or a Windows 10 installation DVD as the repair source. You can also mount an ISO file as a virtual DVD.

Once you insert the installation media, enter the following command line:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:C:\RepairSource\Windows /LimitAccess

You must note that the C:\RepairSource\Windows part of the command line is a placeholder for the path to your repair source. Replace it accordingly before you hit the Enter key.

Allow the command to execute successfully before you move on to the next step.

  1. Now, type “sfc/ scannow” in the Command Prompt and hit the Enter key.
  2. If the completion message that reads, “Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them” shows up, restart your PC and check for the error.

Reinstall the .NET Framework

The .NET Framework is a collection of technologies used to build programs that run on Windows and other operating systems. The runtime framework for .NET is critical to gaming because it provides the environment needed for games to run. The Error 0xc000007b could be showing up and preventing Black Squad from starting because your .NET Framework is problematic.

The issue could be that your current version is obsolete, so updating it will be the right thing to do. But since you’ve updated your operating system, then that’s not the issue.

To resolve the problem, the ideal thing to do is reinstall the framework entirely. However, you can’t do that on a Windows 10 machine. The only course of action available to you is running the .NET Framework Repair Tool.

The tool is designed to troubleshoot issues that are known to plague the framework and fix them automatically. Head to the Microsoft website and download it, then run it.

Install the Visual C++ Redistributable

The Visual C++ Redistributable package is a library of software components that is required for certain Windows applications to run. Games are part of these applications. As it turns out, whenever you install a game, a version of VC Redist (Visual C++ Redistributable) is installed alongside it.

It’s possible that your Visual C++ Redistributable package is corrupt, which will explain the error. To resolve the problem, in this case, reinstall it. You can go to the game’s installation folder and run all the setup files under the _CommonRedist folder.

Follow these steps to go to the game’s installation folder:

  1. Launch a File Explorer window by clicking on the folder icon in the taskbar or by right-clicking the Start button and selecting File Explorer. You can also use the Windows + E keyboard combo to open the File Explorer window.
  2. After the File Explorer shows up, go to the left side of the window and click on This PC.
  3. Next, return to the main page and double-click Local Disk C under Devices and Drives.
  4. After the drive appears, locate Program Files (x86) and double-click it.
  5. After the Program Files(x86) directory opens, go to the Steam folder.
  6. In the Steam folder, double-click the Steamapps folder.
  7. Open the Common folder, then locate the installation folder of Black Squad and open it.
  8. If you chose a different installation directory when you were installing the game, follow the steps below to locate it:
  • Double-click Steam’s desktop icon or click on the app’s Start menu entry.
  • After Steam opens, go to the top of the window and click on Library.
  • Next, locate Black Squad, right-click it, and then click on Properties from the context menu.
  • Once you see the Properties page on the right, click on the Local Files tab.
  • Now, click on Browse Local Files.

After the game’s installation folder opens, go to the _CommonRedist folder, then open the Vcredist folder. Run the installation files in the folder and make sure you follow the prompts appropriately. If you’re prompted to uninstall the package, do that, then run the setup again to reinstall it.

Run CHKDSK

A faulty hard drive is another possible cause of the error. As it turns out, you might be dealing with bad hard disk sectors. If these sectors contain important files that the game requires to run, you’ll see the error code.

It’s also possible that there are logical file system glitches on your drive, such as corrupt entries in the master file table, bad security descriptors, and bad configurations (when it comes to time stamps and file size information). These can cause the startup process of the game to produce the ugly error.

Running the CHKDSK tool is the right course of action in this case. The tool will resolve the hard disk problems, and hopefully, get rid of the Error 0xc000007b. Many players found it to be the solution to their problem.

The CHKDSK tool works by running checks on all your hard disk sectors and fixing any problem that it finds.

If there are any bad sectors, it will fix them, and those it can’t fix, it’ll make sure that they’re never used again.

You can run the tool via the Properties dialog of the disk you wish to check or through an admin Command Prompt window. Below, we’ll be showing you the steps you need to take:

  1. Go to your taskbar and click on the folder icon or right-click on the Start button and select File Explorer. You can also launch a File Explorer window by double-clicking on any folder on your Desktop or by using the Windows + E keyboard combination.
  2. After the File Explorer window shows up, go to the left pane and click on This PC.
  3. Switch to the right pane, locate the Local Disk C, where Windows is installed, then right-click it and select Properties.
  4. Once the Properties dialog box appears, switch over to the Tools tab, then click on Check under Error Checking.
  5. A dialog box will likely appear with the message that reads:
    1. “You don’t need to scan this drive
    2. We haven’t found any errors on this drive. You can still scan the drive for errors if you want.”
  6. Click on Scan Drive.
  7. The CHKDSK tool will now kick in and begin to scan your drive.
  8. After the scan completes, you’ll see a dialog, showing you the results of the scan.

To run a more advanced and thorough scan, you have to use an elevated Command Prompt. The following steps will show you how:

  1. Launch the Run dialog box by right-clicking the Start button and selecting Run from the Quick Access menu. You can also press Windows + R to summon the dialog box.
  2. After Run appears, type “CMD” (without the quotes) into the text box, then press Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
  3. Click on Yes once the User Account Control dialog asks for permission to run Command Prompt as an administrator.
  4. After the elevated Command Prompt window shows up, type the following line into the black screen and hit Enter:

chkdsk C: /f /r /x

Make sure you replace the letter “C” in the command with the drive letter of your Windows volume.

The additional command switches do the following:

The “/f” switch prompts the tool to fix any error that it finds during the scan.

The “/r” switch prompts the tool to look for bad sectors and recover any readable information.

The “/x” switch prompts the tool to unmount the volume before it is scanned.

If the message below shows up, then the volume you are trying to scan is currently busy. Tap the Y key if the Command Prompt asks you to schedule the scan for your next reboot:

“Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)”

After pressing Y, reboot your PC to complete the check, then try carrying out your backup and check for the error.

Rid your System of Malware

Malware infection could also be the cause of the problem. Some malicious programs might have tampered with certain files in your Win32 folder.

In this case, make sure you get rid of malware or you could experience the problem after replacing the affected files. Run a full-scan in your antivirus program. Follow these steps if you use Windows Security:

  1. Launch the Settings app. You can click on the Start button and click the cog icon above the Power icon or press the Windows and I keys together.
  2. After the Settings app shows up, go to the last row of icons and click on Update & Security.
  3. Next, click on Windows Security in the left pane of the Update & Security interface.
  4. Navigate to the Windows Security tab and click on Virus & Threat Protection under Protection Areas.
  5. After the Virus & Threat Protection interface appears, click on Scan Options.
  6. Now, on the Scan Options screen, click on the Full Scan radio button, then click on the Scan Now button.
  7. Allow the process to run its course, as it can take a while.


If you want an extra layer of protection, we recommend that you use Auslogics Anti-Malware. The app is a competent malware-removal tool that is regularly updated with the latest virus definitions. It can work alongside Windows Security and any other major third-party antivirus program.

Reinstall Black Squad

If nothing works, try reinstalling the game. It’s possible that its installation folder contains badly damaged files, and the only way to resolve the problem here is completely removing the game and reinstalling it.

Follow these steps to uninstall the game:

  1. Double-click Steam’s desktop icon or click on the app’s Start menu entry.
  2. After Steam opens, go to the top of the window and click on Library.
  3. Next, locate Black Squad, right-click it, and then click on Uninstall.
  4. Click on Delete in the dialog box that pops up.
  5. Allow Steam to uninstall the game, then restart your system.

Now, make sure you delete the game’s installation folder as there could be remnants of corrupt files. The folder should be:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Black Squad.

You can now open the Steam client and install the game properly.

Conclusion

The Black Squad “Error 0xc00007b Application Was Unable to Start Correctly” issue should no longer come up again. If you want to keep your system firing as new, then you should install Auslogics BoostSpeed. Do not hesitate to use the comments section below if you want to share your thoughts about the error.