Roon.exe fails to open after latest update with 'unknown hard error' (ref#KWWMB5)

Support
1

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· None of these quite match

Tell us what's going on

· After the latest update roon.exe doesn't open the program but shows a warning windows with the message "unknown hard error". I've already tried to reinstall, to fix and change some parameters in windows registry and even system rollback - nothing worked

Tell us about your home network

· Sometimes I use vpn, but not for roon or music streaming accounts

2

Hey @Timur_Babakulyev,

Thanks for writing in and sharing your report! Looking at your screenshot, I can see the “Unknown Hard Error” occurring when roon_firewall_helper.exe tries to run during installation. This is a specific Windows system-level error, not a typical Roon issue. Here are your next troubleshooting steps:

First - Right-click the Roon installer → Run as administrator. The firewall helper requires elevated privileges to register itself, and permission issues can trigger this error. See if you still have issues when trying this.

Then - consider reinstalling Visual C++ Redistributables as they may be corrupt or missing.

This is the #1 cause of “Unknown Hard Error” on Windows 10. Roon’s firewall helper depends on these.

  • Download and install both of these from Microsoft directly:
    • [url=https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe]Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable x64[/url]
    • [url=https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x86.exe]Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable x86[/url]
  • Restart your PC, then try installing Roon again

Then, try a clean install with leftover file removal

Your reinstalls may not have been fully clean. Try this sequence:
  1. Uninstall Roon completely
  2. Manually delete these folders (they survive uninstall):
    • C:\Users\Timur\AppData\Local\Roon
    • C:\Users\Timur\AppData\Roaming\Roon
  3. Reboot
  4. Install fresh from [url=https://roon.app/en/downloads]roon.app/downloads[/url]

Let me know if any of the above help, thank you @Timur_Babakulyev! :+1:

3

Hi, nothing worked. I tried a lot of solutions, including editing programs brandmauer, adding new rules for them, installing latest .net runtime, also tried YOUR solution
I found this error in Windows Event with description “the process was terminated due to an internal erorr in the .net runtime at ip 0x00007FFAA5EF92EE with exir code 0x80131506”

4

Hey @Timur_Babakulyev,

Thanks for that! The Windows Event log error you found is key — exit code 0x80131506 is COR_E_INVALIDPROGRAM, meaning the .NET runtime is crashing hard trying to execute Roon’s code. This points to a deeper conflict than a simple reinstall can fix.

Since you installed the latest .NET runtime but the crash persists, there may be a corrupted or conflicting older version:

  • Download the Microsoft .NET Runtime Repair Tool: http://dotnet.microsoft.com
  • Or use the Programs & Features panel to repair/uninstall all .NET Desktop Runtime versions, then reinstall only the latest one Roon requires (currently .NET 8)
Exit code 0x80131506 can be triggered when security software intercepts .NET JIT compilation. Try:
  • Temporarily disable your antivirus entirely (not just add an exception) and attempt to run Roon
  • If you use Kaspersky, ESET, or Bitdefender, these are known to interfere with .NET JIT — check their logs for blocked operations

Let me know if either help, thank you! :folded_hands: