Here's a solution that worked for me after the 7/28/22 had broken it. This is related to the issue of Apex not launching after the EAC popup is completed loading. The game would never launch.
Background: I'm running on an inactivated version of Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, with an AMD FX-8350 and GTX 1050. After the 7/28/22 update, I got an error saying "Your Windows 7 system is too outdated. Please install KB4534310." I did this, then EAC would load, the screen will switch to black, then I'll be sent back to the desktop without any errors. Tried all the typical solutions (repair files, reinstall programs, etc.) along with atypical ones.
Here's what I did following the background:
- Download Autoruns for Windows
- This is a program that extracts into your designated folder, but does not need installation. There's a few files with Autoruns in it; I just picked the one that says "Autoruns"
- Run Autoruns and give it a few minutes to search through your computer
- In the options menu up top, click on "Options" and check "Hide Microsoft Entries"
- This is done so you don't deactivate anything Windows needs to boot or run, I think. Found some info in a YouTube Autoruns tutorial
- Go to the "Drivers" tab in Autoruns
- Look for any rows highlighted in RED. Under the "Publishier" column within the Drivers tab, you'll see the word (Verified) before the publisher's name. The rows highlighted in RED will say (Unverified) before the name of the publisher.
- There are others highlighted in Yellow listed as "File not found" under the "Image Path" column. I have 7 of these highlighted but did not affect this solution.
The only rows that were (Unverified) were related to a software I used years ago when building this PC, called AOEMI Backupper. There were 2 or 3 rows in red. I searched the software on Google and installed the newest version. Restarted the PC and Apex started working. Also, the drivers are no longer (Unverified) in Autoruns - I'm guessing because this version is 6 years newer than the one I had installed when I was having the issues. You're going to have to figure out what programs are (Unverified) and how to remove/update them.
As an FYI, do NOT F*** with the drivers in the Systems folder. I tried removing some files as found in other solutions, but this led to Windows failing to boot, and unable to find a solution. Luckily, I was smart enough to move the .dll files to a USB rather than deleting them, just in case something didn't work. Well, it didn't work (twice), so I had to take out my SSD from my desktop, plug it into my laptop along with the USB, and move the .dll files from the USB back into the systems folder on the SSD.
As a side note: I've been gaming on PC since 1997 with Counter-Strike 1.5 and have never stopped gaming. Apex is the one game that has given me the most trouble in the last 23 years. I'm building a new PC in a few months as a gift to myself for earning a Master's degree. I'm never coming back to this game due to the time loss experienced trying to get this game to work properly over the last 3 years. I get spooked every time there is a new update, expecting a new issue. That's not nice 😞 Regardless, I'm appreciative of the developers and the work they put it in. This game is truly fun when it works as intended.
Cheers, I hope this helped someone. If it did, maybe you can help someone too...in Apex or IRL.
