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Some gamers reported seeing the Exception Violation error when trying to launch Panzer Corps 2, and other players complained about the VCRUNTIME140.dll error. If you’re in the same boat with these players and are experiencing any of these errors, try out the fixes in this article.

Install the Visual C++ Redistributable package

Visual C++ is a programming environment developed by Microsoft. It is used to develop certain software applications. Most games are developed using this programming infrastructure and require the Visual C++ runtime redistributable package to run properly. There are different versions of the Visual Studio, and running the corresponding Visual C++ redistributable package is critical to making the application run on a Windows PC. So, try installing recent versions of the C++ redistributable and check if that will resolve the problem.

In the case of Grim Dawn, many users were able to resolve the issue by installing the Visual C++ 2015, 2017, and 2019 versions. These versions support the same Visual C++ runtime packages. So, go to the Microsoft website and download the required setup file, then run it on your system. Make sure you install the x86 and x64 variants.

Update your graphics card driver

The errors may be showing up because your graphics card driver is faulty. If the driver is missing, outdated, or broken, it will trigger a communication breakdown between the game and the visual C ++ package, causing such errors to occur.

When you are dealing with bad device drivers, it doesn’t matter if you have a state-of-the-art GPU; the game will always crash. To resolve the problem in this case, you’ll have to get rid of your current display driver and install its updated version.

If you don’t know how to remove the current driver, follow the steps below:

  1.   Navigate to the magnifying glass icon beside the Start button and click on it to summon the search utility. Pressing the Windows and S keys together will also summon the utility.
  2.   Once the search box opens, type “device manager” (no quotes) into the text field.
  3.   Click on Device Manager once it shows up in the results list.
  4.   After you see the Device Manager window, go to the Display Adapters drop-down and click on the arrow beside it to expand it.
  5.   Once the Display Adapters drop-down expands, go to your graphics card, right-click it, and then click on Uninstall Device in the context menu.
  6.   The Uninstall Device dialog box will now appear.
  7.   Make sure the checkbox for “Delete the driver software for this device” in the confirmation box is checked before you click on the Uninstall button.
  8.   Allow Windows to remove the driver.
  9.   Reboot your computer once your OS removes the driver.

You can also use the AMD Clean-up tool to get rid of the driver and its leftover files if you use an AMD Display card. Another great utility that can help you purge the driver is Display Driver Uninstaller.

Once you’ve got rid of the problematic driver, make sure you follow the right steps to install the updated version. There are different ways to get it right, including using the Windows Update utility, the Device Manager, and third-party software. We will be showing you how to employ these methods.

Update your PC via Windows Update

The Windows Update utility is, perhaps, the most important tool on your Windows 10 PC. It is responsible for updating a wide range of software components, including your device drivers.

Whenever you use Windows Update, you are getting drivers that have passed through Microsoft’s verification processes. This means that they are compatible with your device and operating system.

The following steps will show you how to manually prompt the utility to check for updates:

  1. Open the Settings application. You can do this by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting Settings in the Quick Access menu. You can also press and hold the Windows logo key, then tap the I key to open the app.
  2. After the home screen of Windows Settings appears, navigate to the bottom of the screen and click on the Update & Security icon.
  3. After the Update & Security interface appears, click on the “Check for Updates” button under Windows Update.
  4. If Windows Update has been downloading and installing updates automatically (as it normally should), you will see the “You’re up to date” message beside a green check mark after clicking on the “Check for Updates” button.
  5. If your PC isn’t up to date, the utility will notify you and begin to download updates automatically. However, you might have to permit it to initiate the download process in certain cases.
  6. Once the download process completes, the utility will begin to install the updates. For installing some updates, though, your system needs to restart. Normally, Windows Update will wait till you’re out of your Active Hours (when you’re no longer using your PC) to reboot your system and install the updates, but you can override this policy by clicking on the Restart Now button.
  7. Your computer will restart, and the installation process will begin. Note that your PC will restart several times during this process.

Once the utility completes the installation, your computer will start up normally. You can now launch Panzer Corps 2 to check for the startup issue.

Use the Device Manager

The Device Manager, just like Windows Update, can help you search for the updated version of your graphics card driver and automatically install it. Many players have reported success after using this built-in program. If you don’t know how to use it to update your video card driver, follow the steps below:

  1. Go to your keyboard, tap the Windows and S keys together or click on the magnifying glass icon in the taskbar to launch the search utility next to the Start button.
  2. After the search box shows up, type “device manager” (no quotes), then click on Device Manager once the results list appears.
  3. Once the Device Manager window comes up, navigate to the Display Adapters drop-down and click on the arrow beside it.
  4. Right-click on your graphics card under Display Adapters and click on Update Driver from the context menu.
  5. Click on the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option under “How do you want to search for drivers” once you see the Update Driver window.
  6. Your OS will now begin to search for your latest video card driver on the Internet and will then automatically download and install it.
  7. After Windows successfully updates the driver, restart your PC and check if the issue in Panzer Corps 2 has been resolved.

Use dedicated software

Windows Update and the Device Manager are not particularly reliable. If you want to get rid of the uncertainty and stress of using these programs, go for a third-party application that automates the driver-updating process. The program you’re looking for is Auslogics Driver Updater.

The tool is designed to keep every device driver on your computer up to date. It carries out routine checks to figure out which drivers are missing, damaged, or out of date. Once it detects such drivers, it will automatically install their updated versions. The tool only fetches driver updates from a server that contains manufacturer-approved software.

Follow these steps to use Auslogics Driver Updater:

  1. Open this link to access the webpage of the program.
  2. Once the webpage appears, click on the Download button and prompt your browser to save the installer.
  3. After your browser successfully downloads the file, click on the Run (or Open) button or go to the folder where you saved it and double-click it.
  4. Click on the Yes button once the User Account Control dialog pops up and asks for permission.
  5. When you see the Setup wizard, go to the language drop-down menu and choose a language for the tool.
  6. Navigate to the Installation Directory box and indicate where you’d like to install the program. We recommend that you use the default folder.
  7. Next, use the appropriate checkboxes to prompt the tool to create a desktop icon – or not; decide whether you want the app to launch after every Windows startup; and permit it to send anonymous reports to the developers.
  8. Once you’ve entered your preferences, scroll down to the bottom of the setup window and click on the “Click to install” button to start the installation process.
  9. After the program’s installation completes, it will open automatically and start to check your PC for missing, outdated, and corrupted drivers. If it doesn’t start on its own, you can launch it manually, either by double-clicking on its shortcut (if you created one) or going through the start menu. Once you launch the tool, click on the Start Scan button to initiate the scanning process.
  10. After the scan is complete, the tool will show you a list of problematic device drivers. If your graphics card happens to have any issue, it will appear on that list.
  11. Click the Update button to install the latest driver for your card, and you can carry out the same procedure for other drivers as well.
  12. After the update process completes, restart your PC, then relaunch Panzer Corps 2 and check if any of the errors appear.

Disable Controlled Folder Access

Controlled Folder Access is a security function in the Virus & Threat Protection tool of Windows Security. It blocks untrusted applications from modifying certain files and documents. This feature may be blocking Panzer Corps 2 from accessing some folders. This could be the reason you’re seeing the Exception Violation error. Follow the steps below to turn off the feature:

  1. Launch the Settings application. You can do this via the Start menu or by pressing Windows + I.
  2. After the home screen of the app shows up, go to the bottom and click on the Update & Security icon.
  3. Once the Update & Security interface opens, switch to the left pane and click on Windows Security.
  4. Under the Windows Security tab, you’ll see different options under Protection Areas; locate Virus & Threat Protection and click on it.
  5. The Virus & Threat Protection page of the Windows Security app will now appear.
  6. Now, scroll down to the Ransomware Protection section and click on the “Manage ransomware protection” link.
  7. Toggle off the switch under “Controlled folder access.”
  8. You can now run the game and check if the error appears.

Make sure you run Panzer Corps 2 on your dedicated GPU

If your computer has integrated and dedicated graphics cards, Windows may be forcing the game to run on the integrated card. The operating system usually does this to conserve power. You have to run the game on the dedicated card to resolve the problem. We will show you how to pin the game to the discrete GPU, using AMD Radeon Settings, the NVIDIA Control Panel, or the Settings application.

Using the NVIDIA Control Panel

  1. Navigate to the far right of your taskbar (where your time display is located), click on the “Show hidden icons” arrow to expand the System Tray, then click on the NVIDIA icon and choose NVIDIA Control Panel. You can also right-click on the empty surface of your Desktop and click on NVIDIA Control Panel in the context menu.
  2. After the application shows up, switch to the left pane, click on the plus (+) sign beside the 3D Settings drop-down, and then click on Manage 3D Settings.
  3. Move over to the right pane of the window.
  4. Stay under the Global Settings tab and click on the “High performance NVIDIA processor” option under Preferred Graphics Processor.
  5. Head over to the Program Settings tab.
  6. Click on the Add button beside the Select a Program to Customize drop-down.
  7. Find your way to the game’s folder in the dialog that comes up, then double-click the EXE file.
  8. Next, navigate to the “Select the preferred graphics processor for this program” drop-down menu and click on “High-performance NVIDIA processor.”
  9. Click on the Apply button and relaunch Panzer Corps 2 to check if the issue persists.

Using AMD Radeon Settings

  1. Go to the Start menu, search for AMD Radeon Settings and launch the program. You can also right-click on your Desktop and select AMD Radeon Settings from the context menu.
  2. After the application shows up, go to the top-right corner of the window and click on System.
  3. Navigate to the top-left corner of the next screen and click on the Switchable Graphics option.
  4. The Running Applications view will now appear. Locate Panzer Corps 2 here and change its Switchable Graphics mode to High Performance.
  5. If Panzer Corps 2 doesn’t show up in the Running Applications view, head to the top-left corner of the window and click on Running Applications, then click on Browse.
  6. Navigate to the installation folder of Panzer Corps 2 and select the game’s EXE file.
  7. Now, change Switchable Graphics mode for the game to High Performance once it shows up in the window.

Using the Settings App

You can also make the necessary changes in the Settings application. The following steps will show you what to do:

  1. Launch the Settings application. You can do this via the Start menu or by pressing Windows + I.
  2. Click on the System label after the home screen of Settings shows up.
  3. After the System interface opens, scroll down to the bottom of the Display tab and click on the Graphics Settings option.
  4. Once the Graphics Settings screen appears, click on the Browse button under the “Choose an app to set preference” drop-down menu.
  5. In the Open dialog that shows, navigate to the installation folder of Panzer Corps 2, go to the game’s EXE file and select it, and then click on the Add button.
  6. Now, back at the Graphics Settings screen, select Panzer Corps 2, then click on the Options button.
  7. Once the Graphics Specifications dialog shows up, click the radio button for High Performance, and then click Save.
  8. The game will now be forced to run on your dedicated display card whenever you launch it.

Repair the game files of Panzer Corps 2

The game’s files might have suffered integrity violations. It could be that your system went off in the middle of gameplay, your anti-virus program tampered with the game’s files, or the game’s installation or recent update did not complete. A malware attack is another cause of game file issues.

Thankfully, you can use your gaming client to scan for and replace problematic game files. The process is easy and straightforward, and the client will do all the heavy lifting. We will show how to use GOG Galaxy and the Steam client to perform this fix.

Using GOG Galaxy

  1. Click on the Start button.
  2. Search for GOG Galaxy in the Start menu, then launch it.
  3. You can double-click on its desktop shortcut if you have one.
  4. After the program shows up, navigate to the Library section and click on Panzer Corps 2.
  5. Next, switch to the game’s tab.
  6. Afterwards, go to the game’s title.
  7. Click on the More drop-down menu beside the game’s title.
  8. Now, drag your mouse pointer over Manage Installation, then click on Verify/Repair.
  9. GOG Galaxy will now begin to scan for faulty game files. It will automatically replace any that it finds.
  10. Once the process is complete, restart the launcher and run Panzer Corps 2 to check for the problem.

Using the Steam Client

  1. Summon the Steam client by double-clicking its Desktop shortcut or by opening the Start menu and searching for it.
  2. Once the client appears, find your way to the top of the window, under the title menu, and then click on Library.
  3. After your list of games appears in the Library interface, locate the entry for Panzer Corps 2 and right-click it.
  4. From the context menu, select Properties.
  5. Switch to the right side of the window on the Properties page and click on Local Files.
  6. Now, click on “Verify Integrity of Game Files” under the Local Files tab.
  7. The Steam client will now begin to check the game’s files on your system, comparing them with those on its servers. Missing, outdated, and corrupted files will be replaced automatically.
  8. The duration of the process will be dependent on the size and number of affected files, your system’s speed, and the strength of your Internet connection.
  9. Once the process completes, Steam will notify you via a dialog box.
  10. Close the Steam client, launch it again, and then run Panzer Corps 2 and check whether the Exception Violation or VCRUNTIME140.dll error will appear.

Perform a Clean Boot

The errors could be results of application conflicts. Some programs are designed to launch whenever your computer boots up, and they could be clashing with Panzer Corps 2. These programs are called startups. You have to perform a Clean Boot to figure out which startup program is responsible for the problem.

The steps below will walk you through the entire process:

  1. Launch the Run dialog box.
  2. Once Run opens, type “msconfig” (no quotes) and hit the Enter key.
  3. The System Configuration dialog window will now appear.
  4. Go to the Services tab and check the box beside “Hide all Microsoft services.”
  5. Next, click on the Disable All button. All the startup services under the tab, except Microsoft services, will no longer launch after you restart your system.
  6. Now, head to the Startup tab and click on “Open Task Manager”.
  7. After the Startup tab of Task Manager appears, disable all the startup programs by selecting each program and clicking on the Disable button.
  8. Close the Task Manager and click on the OK button in the System Configuration dialog.
  9. Restart your system and check if the error goes away.

If you don’t see the error, then one of the startup applications has been the culprit all along. You can now enable them one after the other to isolate the culprit. If the stress of going through every startup item one by one is too much for you, try the process below instead:

  1. Launch the System Configuration dialog window.
  2. Go to the Services tab.
  3. Enable half of the services from the top by checking their boxes and clicking on the Enable All button.
  4. Next, restart your system and check for the issue.
  5. If the problem doesn’t occur, then none of the services you enabled is responsible; move over to the next half. If the error you’re dealing with shows up, however, then you have to check the services you enabled one after the other to isolate the culprit.
  6. The idea is to eliminate a group of startup items so that you don’t have to check them one by one. Use the same “halving” process for the startup programs in Task Manager.

Conclusion

If you’ve resolved the problem, let us know how you did it in the comments section below.