“The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142)” appears when launching any Autodesk software

Issue:

Autodesk software fails to start and displays the following message:

acad.exe – Application Error

The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142). Click OK to close the application.

powershape.exe – Application Error
The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0150004). Click OK to close the application.



VREDPro.exe – Application Error
The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b). Click OK to close the application.
 

Other possible error codes include, but are not limited to:
0xc0000005.
0xc000007b.
0xc0000142.
0xc0000005.

Symptoms

• AutoCAD does not start or launch after a successful installation.
• An error message displaying code 0xc0000142 appears.

Causes

Potential causes include:

• Corrupted or incomplete previous installations.
• Conflicting operating system language settings, particularly “beta” language support options.

Solution

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Perform a Clean Uninstall and Reinstall
   • Completely remove any existing AutoCAD installations using the deepuninstaller tool.
   • Reboot your system.
   • Reinstall AutoCAD .
2. Adjust Operating System Language Settings (If Issue Persists)If the application still fails to launch after a clean uninstall and reinstall, check your operating system’s language settings:
   • Open Region Settings or Language Settings on your computer. The exact path varies by operating system version (e.g., Control Panel > Clock and Region > Region > Administrative tab > Change system locale, or Settings > Time & Language > Language & region).
   • Look for options related to “Beta: Use Unicode UTF-8 for worldwide language support” or similar beta language features.
   • Ensure this option is unchecked.
   • Restart your computer.

After completing these steps, launch AutoCAD to verify the resolution.