When trying to play your favorite computer game you might come across this error message “A debugger has been found running in your system. Please, unload it from memory and restart the program.” This is actually caused by a tool placed by the gaming company in their games that detects if any debugger software is running in your computer, if one is detected then the game won’t launch to protect its source code from being copied. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will show you how to fix this particular problem.
How To Fix A Debugger Has Been Found Running In Your System
Before performing any of the recommended troubleshooting steps listed below it’s best to restart your computer first. This action refreshes the operating system and remove any corrupt temporary data that could be causing the problem.
There are several factors that can cause this problem ranging from an antivirus program that is running to an outdated Windows version. Listed below are the troubleshooting steps that you need to do to fix this problem.
Add the game to the antivirus exception list
There’s a possibility that the antivirus program you have installed in your computer is blocking the game from the internet. If this is what’s causing the problem then you should add the game executable file to the exception list.
Windows Defender
- Click the Windows button and in the search bar type “Windows defender”.
- Open the application named “Windows Defender Security Center”.
- Select the option “Virus and threat protection”.
- Go to Virus and Threat Protection Settings. Windows may prompt you to allow an administrator access to use this feature. If so, press Yes.
- Search the window which says “Add or remove exclusions”. Click it and you will be navigated to a menu where you can add exclusions.
- Click on the option which says “Exclude a folder” and navigate to your game directory. Once you reach the location select the folder and save changes.
Bitdefender
- Open Bitdefender and go to the Protection Window by clicking the shield icon shown below in the picture.
- Click on the link which says View Modules.
- Click on the Settings icon which you can see on the upper right corner of the antivirus.
- Go to the Exclusions tab present in the window.
- Click on “List of files and folders excluded from scanning”.
- Click on the ADD button. Navigate to your game directory and select the folder to exclude it from the scanning process. You should also select the Both option before you add an exception
- Click Add and save changes.
- You can also add the game executable file in the exceptions list by clicking on “List of processes excluded from scanning”. When the window pops up, you can navigate to the gasme .exe file which is present in your main game directory. Select both and save changes.
Avast Antivirus
- Open the Avast interface.
- Click on Settings found at the bottom left corner of the screen.
- From Settings, browse to General and scroll down the options until you find Exclusions.
- Expand the section and you will see a dialogue where you can add global exceptions. Navigate to your game directory using the option of Browse.
- Once you have selected the game folder, click on ADD found at the bottom left side of the screen. Press OK and it is now added to global exceptions of Avast antivirus.
McAfee Antivirus
- Open McAfee Antivirus by clicking on its icon present on the toolbar on the bottom right side of your Windows.
- Click on Manage Security.
- Select the option of Schedule and run scans option present in the box of Virus and Spyware Protection.
- Select the option of Schedules scans from the list of options that follow. A new window will open and from there you will see the Add button present under the tab of Excluded Files and Folders. Select the game directory after clicking Add through the file explorer.
- Once you reach the location select the folder and save changes.
Kaspersky AV
- Open Kaspersky AV from the icon present in your taskbar at the bottom right of the screen.
- Navigate to the Settings menu.
- Select the tab of Additional and select the tab of Threats and Exclusions from the list of options given.
- Click on the Configure Exclusions present in the middle of the screen.
- Select the option of Add present in the bottom right of the screen.
- Now navigate to the game directory using the Browse button. Once you reach the location select the folder and save changes.
Check if the debugger has been found running in your system error still occurs.
Update your Windows software
There’s a possibility that the problem is caused by a bug in your current version of Windows. These bugs usually gets ironed out by updates so its best to make sure that your operating system is running on the latest version.
- Open Settings by tapping on the gear-like button at the lower left part of the Start menu.
- Locate the Update & security section at the bottom section of the Settings window and click on it in order to open Windows Update options, among others.
- Stay in the Windows Update tab and click on the Check for updates button under the Update status section in order to check if there is a new version of Windows available for users to download.
- If there is one, Windows should start the downloading and installation process automatically.
- Restart your computer once the update process has been completed.
Check if the debugger has been found running in your system error still occurs.
Do a system restore
One troubleshooting step that usually works is to do a system restore. This works like a time machine which rewinds your computer to the time when you didn’t experience the problem. Take note that this will only work if you have previously turned on the system restore feature.
- Search for System Restore using the Search bar next to the Start menu and click on Create a restore point. Inside the System Properties window, click on System Restore.
- Select the option called Choose a different restore point and click the Next button.
- Select a particular restore point you saved before manually. You can also select any restore point available in the list and hit the Next button to initialize the restoration process. After the process is done, you will be reverted to the state your computer was in at that period in time.
Check if the debugger has been found running in your system error still occurs.
Check if the problem occurs in Safe Mode
To check if another software you installed or process running is causing the problem you will need to start your computer in Safe Mode.
- Press Windows + R key combination on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box and type in “msconfig” then click OK.
- Click the Boot tab and check the Safe Boot option.
- On the Startup tab, click “Open Task Manager”.
- In the Task Manager window under the Startup tab, right click on each startup item which are enabled and select “Disable”.
- Click OK, and then click Restart. Check to see if the problem still appears. If the problem does not occur then try enabling startup items one by one in Task Manager and restarting your computer. Try running the program each time until it displays the same error message. This is the culprit so try fixing or uninstalling it.
- Don’t forget to undo the changes you have made and to restart your computer.