[Windows] ChatGPT Desktop 26.831.2377.0 crashes immediately with 0xC0000005 on Windows 10 25H2 build 26200

Summary

The current Microsoft Store ChatGPT/Codex desktop app (OpenAI.Codex 26.831.2377.0) crashes immediately on startup on a Windows 10 x64 machine. No window appears and the process terminates silently.

The failure is reproducible from both the packaged executable and AppX shell activation. The process exits with -1073741819, which is 0xC0000005 (EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION). Disabling Chromium's sandbox does not change the failure.

This appears closely related to existing Windows 26200 startup-crash reports, but this report documents the current 26.831.2377.0 build on Windows 10 25H2 and records that config, reinstall, GPU, PATH, and WebView2 checks did not resolve it.

Environment

• OS: Windows 10 Home Single Language
• Windows version: 25H2
• Build: 26200.9168
• Architecture: x64
• Device: HP Pavilion Gaming Laptop 15-ec2008AX
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 + AMD Radeon integrated graphics
• ChatGPT/Codex package: OpenAI.Codex_26.831.2377.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
• Package status: Ok
• App AUMID: OpenAI.Codex_2p2nqsd0c76g0!App
• Executable: app\ChatGPT.exe
• Embedded Chromium file version: 152.0.7977.64
• Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime: 151.0.4129.107

Reproduction

1. Install OpenAI.Codex 26.831.2377.0 from Microsoft Store.
2. Launch ChatGPT from Start Menu or AppX activation.
3. Observe that no usable window appears and the process exits.
4. Direct executable launch reproduces the same behavior:

$pkg = Get-AppxPackage OpenAI.Codex
$exe = Join-Path $pkg.InstallLocation "app\ChatGPT.exe"
cmd /c "`"$exe`""
echo "ExitCode=$LASTEXITCODE"

Result:

ExitCode=-1073741819

-1073741819 = 0xC0000005 (EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION).

5. Diagnostic sandbox test:

cmd /c "`"$exe`" --no-sandbox"
echo "ExitCode=$LASTEXITCODE"

Result remains:

ExitCode=-1073741819

No ChatGPT or Codex process remains afterward.

Troubleshooting / controls already tested

• Reinstalled the Microsoft Store package.
• Confirmed AppX package status is Ok.
• Confirmed ChatGPT.exe Authenticode signature is valid (Status: Valid).
• Direct executable launch fails, so this is not only a Start Menu/AppX activation issue.
• AppX shell activation fails.
• Tested with --disable-gpu and --disable-gpu --disable-gpu-compositing; failure unchanged.
• Tested with a minimal Windows PATH; failure unchanged.
• Temporarily removed/renamed %USERPROFILE%\.codex\config.toml; failure unchanged. The config was restored afterward.
• Config contains no approval_policy = "untrusted" setting.
• Electron logging / stack-dumping environment variables did not produce useful output; exit code remained 0xC0000005.
• WebView2 Runtime is installed.
• Windows Application Error/WER searches did not produce a corresponding current ChatGPT event.
• User-configured Windows LocalDumps for ChatGPT.exe, but no ChatGPT dump was produced.

Expected behavior

The desktop app should start and display the ChatGPT window.

Actual behavior

ChatGPT.exe terminates immediately with 0xC0000005 and no visible UI or actionable error.

Related reports

This appears related to existing OpenAI Codex Windows startup crash reports involving Windows build 26200 and 0xC0000005, including #39443. That report identified a chrome.dll access violation on an older package version. This report is for the newer 26.831.2377.0 package and Windows 10 25H2.

Notes

The failure persists with --no-sandbox, so the Chromium sandbox is not an obvious explanation. The current evidence establishes a native process crash but does not identify the exact faulting module because Windows is not producing an Application Error/WER record or minidump in this environment.

I can provide additional sanitized diagnostics if maintainers need them. Please avoid requesting repeated destructive reproduction steps unless necessary; the crash is already deterministic on launch.

Start by reproducing the failure with the packaged app\ChatGPT.exe from the OpenAI.Codex package, both normally and with --no-sandbox, and confirm the 0xC0000005 exit code. Review the reported Windows, Chromium, WebView2, GPU, and configuration controls before collecting any additional diagnostics requested by maintainers. Done means identifying the startup fault and restoring a usable ChatGPT window on the reported environment.