Programs or applications require an amount of memory from the system to start-up and perform its functions. However, if there is an issue with memory allocation for the program, then the user will see a message on the screen that reads, “The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000017).” This is a common error message that pops up whenever an application has issues finding some memory to run itself.
There are two possible reasons why an application might face issues with memory allocation. Either there is not enough storage in the RAM with several other applications working simultaneously, or certain memory locations have gone down as bad memory. So what can you do to fix this error? There are a few solutions that you can try, and we will take at them here in this article.
How to fix “The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000017)”?
As mentioned above, there are two possible causes for the error to show up. Either you have a bad memory, or there is not enough memory to run that particular application. Bad memory may be the result of a recent Windows update marking certain memory locations as bad, or there is some physical damage to the RAM, and the system can no longer access some memory locations. Well, whatever may be the case, let’s take a look at the solutions. But remember to create a system restore point before trying any of the solutions. Such that, if anything goes wrong, you will have something to get your system back to what it was before.
Removing bad memory:
- Click on the search bar and search for “Command Prompt.”
- When you see it in the results, click on “Run as administrator.”
- User Account Control window pop-up will show up. Click on Yes here.
- In the command prompt window, enter “bcdedit /enum all” and press Enter. You will see a list of memory locations deemed as bad by your system.
- Enter “bcdedit /delete value {badmemory} badmemorylist” in the command prompt window again and press Enter. This will clear all those bad locations.
Now close the command prompt window and try opening up the application again. If, for some reason, you still see the error message, then try the next solution below.
Repairing Windows:
We use bootable USB and CD drives to install Windows on our PCs. But one can even use such bootable Windows installation devices for repairing the PC. Repairing the PC with a Windows installation device will get rid of the bad memory locations.
- Download the iso file for Windows directly from Microsoft’s website.
- Create a bootable USB or CD using third-party applications. If you are wondering which program to use, then Rufus is something that you can try out.
- Restart your PC, and this time use the USB or CD drive and boot from it.
- Choose to “Repair your computer” with the bootable device. You do not need to go for a clean reinstallation of Windows.
- In the setup under advanced troubleshooting, choose the option of “Startup Repair.” That will take care of the bad memory locations.
After the repair is complete, try rerunning those applications. If you still reencounter the same error, then it is definitely a hardware issue. In that case, go for the final solution given below.
