Before the first launch, turn off Windows protection and enable one game overlay — that's where most people stumble.
Requirements
Tick what matches your PC:
- Windows 10 or 11 (x64), builds 1909-25H2
- 16 GB RAM and virtualization on: VT-X on Intel, SVM on AMD
- On Intel CPUs — booting in UEFI mode
- One game overlay: Discord or Medal, started as administrator
System requirements
- Operating system Windows 10 or 11 Builds 1909 – 25H2
- Processor Intel or AMD
- Graphics card NVIDIA or AMD
- Game mode Borderless window or windowed
- Launchers BSG Launcher or Steam
- Built-in spoofer No
Preparation
Remove third-party antivirus and anti-cheats Kaspersky, Avast, ESET and the like, plus FaceIT and Riot Vanguard, conflict with the loader. They must be uninstalled, not just paused.
- Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps (or Control Panel → Programs and Features).
- Uninstall any third-party antivirus (Kaspersky, Avast, AVG, ESET, 360, Malwarebytes, etc.). Pausing or disabling is not enough — the antivirus driver stays resident.
- Uninstall the FaceIT AC and Riot Vanguard anti-cheats if present — they block third-party software at the kernel level.
- FaceIT is the CS2 anti-cheat, Vanguard is the Valorant one. If you don't play those games, they are safe to remove.
Fully disable Windows Defender The #1 cause of “it won't launch”. Disable it for real: manually first, then remove it from startup, reboot, and finish it off with Defender Control.
- Step 1. Turn protection off by hand. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings and switch every toggle off:
- Real-time protection — Off.
- Cloud-delivered protection — Off.
- Automatic sample submission — Off.
- Tamper Protection — Off. Turn this one off first, otherwise the others switch themselves back on.
- Step 2. Disable reputation-based protection. In Windows Security → App & browser control → Reputation-based protection → Settings, turn everything off (SmartScreen, potentially-unwanted-app blocking).
- Step 3. Remove Defender from startup. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) → Startup apps tab, find Windows Security notification icon and click Disable.
- Step 4. Restart your computer. This is mandatory — some Defender services only unload after a reboot.
- Step 5. Finish with Defender Control. Download Defender Control (archive password: r1xon), run it as administrator and click Disable Windows Defender — the tile turns red.
- If your antivirus deletes the utility itself, protection is still active — go back to step 1. The file ships zipped on purpose so Defender can't wipe it before it's disabled.
- Install Discord or Medal — without one of these overlays the in-game menu will not appear.
- In Discord open User Settings → Game Overlay and enable it. If Discord says No suitable overlay, add the game manually under Registered Games.
- In Medal open the clip settings and turn Capture Clips off — recording eats FPS.
- Set the game graphics mode to Borderless or Windowed. Fullscreen is not supported by the vendor.
- On the first run the loader may reboot the PC a couple of times — that is normal, open it again after every restart.
Launch
- Start Discord or Medal as administrator.
- Run the loader. Keep focus on the monitor where you want the overlay.
- Paste the license key with the right mouse button straight into the loader window and press
Enter. - Wait until the console window closes and start Escape from Tarkov.
- The software menu shows up in the game main menu — it can take up to three minutes. It opens and closes on
Insert.
Problems & fixes
20AES instruction set is not supported
Please enable AHCI disk mode in BIOS
Please enable Intel VT-X / AMD-V (SVM) in BIOS
Intel VT-x / VMX / SVM is not supported
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned, reboot, then remove the hypervisor files hvix64.exe and hvax64.exe from C:\Windows\System32 (take ownership with takeown and icacls first) and reboot again.Please unload a third-party hypervisor
Failed to delete hvax.exe(1)
hvax64.exe manually from C:\Windows\System32 and restart the PC.Failed to init render
Please disable Intel Rapid Storage Technology
iaStor and disable them.Either virtual or RAID disk is present
iaStor services; a Windows reinstall is the last resort.SPACES disk is present
Failed to load dependencies
(1)(-5), reboot and retry through a VPN.Failed to allocate / map memory
Incompatible HWID / Incorrect HWID
wmic diskdrive get Caption, wmic baseboard get SerialNumber and getmac all run without errors in an administrator console. If the binding still does not match, request an HWID reset from support.Unsupported Nvidia driver version
Failed to download font (-5)
C:\Windows\Fonts — or turn a VPN on and the loader will fetch it itself.Failed to download files (1)
Loader crashes 1-3 seconds after launch
MAPPER error
Error 0x302
No available servers were found
Nothing matches. Run R1XON Checker or write to support — we will sort it out.
Advanced setup — only if it still won’t launch
Disable Secure Boot Secure Boot stops the loader from starting. Check the status first, then disable it in BIOS if needed.
- Check the status: press
Win + R, typemsinfo32, and in System Summary find Secure Boot State. If it reads Off or Unsupported — you're set, skip the rest. - If it's On — enter BIOS/UEFI (tap
Del,F2orF10while the PC boots — depends on the motherboard). - Find Boot or Security → Secure Boot and set it to Disabled. Save (usually
F10) and reboot.- If Secure Boot is greyed out, set a Supervisor Password under Security first — that unlocks the option. You can remove the password afterwards.
Enable virtualization (VT-x / SVM) The loader needs hardware CPU virtualization. Enabled in BIOS.
- Enter BIOS/UEFI and open Advanced → CPU Configuration (naming varies by board).
- Enable Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) on Intel, or SVM Mode on AMD. Save and reboot.
Disable Hyper-V and Windows virtualization Windows' own virtualization features grab the hypervisor and get in the loader's way. Disabled separately from VT-x.
- Open Control Panel → Programs → Turn Windows features on or off and uncheck Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Hypervisor Platform.
- Open Command Prompt as administrator, run the command, then reboot:
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off - Also turn off Memory Integrity and Application Guard if enabled (see “Disable Core Isolation”).
Disable Core Isolation Memory Integrity blocks the driver from loading. Takes a minute to switch off.
- Open Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation details.
- Turn off Memory Integrity and restart the PC.
Disk in GPT layout If the loader says “Unsupported firmware”, the system disk is MBR and needs converting to GPT.
- Check the layout: Win+R → diskmgmt.msc, right-click the system disk → Properties → Volumes → Partition style. It should read GUID (GPT).
- If it's MBR, convert without data loss: admin Command Prompt, run mbr2gpt /convert /allowfullOS. After converting, switch the BIOS boot mode to UEFI.
Disable Intel RST (Rapid Storage) On some laptops Intel RST mode gets in the loader's way. Switched to AHCI in BIOS.
- In BIOS find SATA Mode / Storage Configuration and switch from Intel RST / RAID to AHCI. Save and reboot.
Use a VPN for download and activation CIS ISPs often block the activation servers. A VPN is needed while downloading the loader, activating the key and injecting — you can turn it off before joining a match.
- Use a full VPN — an app that routes all traffic, not a browser proxy or extension: half the support tickets come from exactly this. In Happ and similar clients turn on TUN mode.
- Turn the VPN on before downloading the loader and activating the key. If something won't load, switch country (Europe or the US usually work).
- After a successful inject you can turn the VPN off before the match to avoid extra ping.
Update Visual C++ and DirectX Up-to-date runtimes keep the loader and overlay from crashing at start.
- Install Visual C++ Redistributable x64 and restart the PC.
- Update DirectX if you haven't in a while.
FAQ
5Where do I get the key after payment?
Which key opens the menu?
Insert (on a laptop — Fn + Insert). It may not show up immediately after the game starts: the vendor allows up to three minutes.Why do I need Discord or Medal?
What does the RISKY label in the menu mean?
Do I need to do all steps every time?
Still stuck?
Run R1XON Checker first — it pinpoints most launch problems in 30 seconds. If it still fails, attach the checker report to your support ticket and we’ll sort it out fast.