Alex Ruben
How To Fix Crashes and Launch Issues in The Last of Us Part I (2025)
If The Last of Us Part I keeps crashing or refuses to launch after installing the FitGirl Repack in 2025, you’re not alone. These issues pop up more often than you’d think, especially after big game updates or repacks. Sometimes, it’s missing DLLs, corrupted files, or even Windows security blocking certain files. So, this guide is meant to help get things running smoothly again, with some practical steps that might seem a little unpolished but actually do the job. Expect to end up with a game that launches properly, avoids crashes, and doesn’t throw weird errors.
How to Fix Crash or Launch Issues in The Last of Us Part I
Method 1: Installing and Configuring the Goldberg Emulator and DLLs
This method helped a lot of folks because, honestly, sometimes the game’s built-in launcher or files just don’t play nice on some setups. The Goldberg Emulator is kind of weird, but it’s needed for some fixes involving DLL dependencies, which are often the culprit behind startup crashes or missing DLL errors. On some setups, when you copy over those DLL files to the game folder, the game just CAN’T find what it needs unless you tell it explicitly where to look.
- Go to Goldberg Emulator’s page. Yes, that’s where it lives.
- Download the latest build—usually, there’s a ZIP file or installer. Just grab the latest version to be safe.
- Open your Downloads folder and find the downloaded archive or installer.
- Right-click and choose Extract All or run the installer, if it’s executable.
Pro tip: Sometimes, the emulator files are buried deep in subfolders, so don’t just blindly copy; check which DLL files are actually needed. Use tools like Winhance if you want to see what’s missing or monitor DLL loads, but honestly, just copying the ones that come with the emulator often works.
Method 2: Copy and Paste DLL Files Correctly
This part sounds simple, but it’s often missed. The game needs these DLLs to run, and if they’re in the wrong place, it crashes or won’t start. Because Windows can be *really* weird about permissions or locating DLLs, copying them into the game’s main folder usually helps.
- Navigate to the folder where you extracted the Goldberg Emulator files.
- Select all the DLL files you’ve identified as necessary—this could be
libgcc_s_seh-1.dll,SDL2.dll, or similar. - Right-click and choose Copy.
- Open the directory containing your game, typically located at:
- C:\Program Files\GameLibrary\The Last of Us Part I or wherever you installed it.
- Right-click in the folder and select Paste. Overwrite existing DLLs if prompted, but be cautious—make sure they are the correct files.
Sometimes, just copying the DLLs isn’t enough. You might need to run the game as an administrator or disable Windows Defender temporarily because antivirus sometimes flags these DLLs as suspicious.
Method 3: Run the Game with Administrator Rights & Compatibility Mode
Trust me, Windows has a knack for blocking stuff even if you did everything right. Running the game as administrator and setting compatibility mode can help dodge those security blocks and ensure all the paths resolve correctly.
- Right-click on the game icon or executable.
- Choose Properties.
- Go to the Compatibility tab.
- Check the box next to Run this program as an administrator.
- Now, tick the box for Run this program in compatibility mode for and pick a Windows version like Windows 10 or Windows 11 (if available). Sometimes, the game was built for older Windows versions, and compatibility mode helps smooth out the wrinkles.
Apply the changes and restart the game. It feels a bit kludgy, but on many setups, this does wonders. And yes, you might need to turn off full-screen optimizations as well for good measure—another checkbox in the same menu.
Other quick fixes if you’re still stuck
- Update your graphics drivers from the manufacturer’s website—NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel.
- Disable any overlays (like Discord, GeForce Experience, or Steam overlay) since those sometimes interfere.
- Make sure your Windows is fully updated. Sometimes, missing system updates cause weird crashes.
- If everything else fails, verify game files or try running the game from a different drive—solid-state helps, especially with loading times and stability.
On some setups, the game might still throw a fit the first time, but after a reboot or a quick relaunch, it works fine. Windows of course has to make it harder than necessary, but hey, persistence pays off.
Summary
- Download and extract Goldberg Emulator from the official site.
- Copy the necessary DLL files into your game folder.
- Run the game as administrator, and toggle compatibility mode if needed.
- Update drivers, disable overlays, and keep Windows patched.
Wrap-up
If these steps get the game to launch without crashing, then the fix is in. It’s kind of a pain, but honestly, these issues seem to be caused by a mix of missing dependencies, security settings, and sometimesWindows just not locating the libraries right away. When it works, it feels pretty good to see the game finally start up normally. Sometimes, just a reboot or launching as admin did the trick for me—so don’t give up after one try. Fingers crossed this helps someone avoid hours messing around with troubleshooting.