How to fix error dpc-watchdog-violation in Autoruns

Solution Steps

1. 1 Restart Autoruns completely. Close it, open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), find any remaining Autoruns processes, right-click → End Task. Background processes from previous sessions are the most common cause of startup crashes.
2. 2 Update Autoruns to the latest version. Open the app, go to Help → Check for Updates (or download the latest installer from the official website). Updates fix known bugs and compatibility issues.
3. 3 Reset Autoruns settings. Navigate to %APPDATA%\Autoruns and rename the settings folder to add '.old'. This forces Autoruns to create fresh settings — corrupted config files cause crashes.
4. 4 Run Autoruns as Administrator. Right-click the shortcut → Properties → Compatibility → check 'Run as Administrator'. Some features of Autoruns require elevated permissions.
5. 5 Check if Autoruns conflicts with your antivirus. Temporarily disable real-time protection and test. Add Autoruns installation folder to antivirus exclusions.
6. 6 Clear Autoruns cache. Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Autoruns\Cache and delete all files. Corrupted cache data causes rendering and processing errors.
7. 7 Repair Autoruns installation. Windows Settings → Apps → Autoruns → Modify → Repair. This replaces damaged program files while preserving your data.
8. 8 If Autoruns still won't work: uninstall from Settings → Apps, restart, reinstall from official website. A clean install is the nuclear option but fixes almost everything.