When I open the app, I receive an error message saying, "The window terminated unexpectedly (reason: ‘crashed’, code: ‘-2147483645’) ". When I click the ‘New Window’ button on the bottom right, the same exact error message reappears. I am stuck with the repeated error message and cannot open the Cursor app.
Steps to Reproduce
Cursor was working fine until I was prompted to restart my computer after Windows 11 updates were installed. After the reboot, I started receiving the error message anytime I try opening the Cursor app.
Operating System
Windows 10/11
Version Information
Cursor 3.2.16
Additional Information
I deleted the Cursor folder from the %APPDATA% folder.
I ran the ‘cursor --disable-gpu --disable-extensions’ command in PowerShell as administrator, but nothing happened.
I also ran ‘cursor --disable-chromium-sandbox’ command in PS as administrator which seems to successfully open the app, however, after I close the app and then reopen the app the normal way, I still receive the same error message.
I tried uninstalling and then reinstalling the downloaded latest versioned app but still receive the same error message when I open it.
This started happening immediately after I rebooted, after I was prompted to restart the computer for Windows updates.
Hey, thanks for the detailed report. Code -2147483645 (that’s 0x80000003, Windows STATUS_BREAKPOINT) is a known crash at the Chromium sandbox level, not Cursor-specific. The fact that --disable-chromium-sandbox lets the app launch, while --disable-gpu doesn’t, points straight to sandbox initialization, not GPU. This often shows up after a Windows Update, when drivers get updated or security software starts handling sandboxed processes differently.
What to try, in order:
Update your GPU drivers (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel). Windows Update may have installed a version that conflicts with the Chromium sandbox.
Clear the GPU cache. Delete these folders:
%APPDATA%\Cursor\GPUCache
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Cursor\GPUCache
Check antivirus or EDR. CrowdStrike, Bitdefender, Webroot, Sophos, and similar tools often start blocking the Chromium sandbox after system updates. Temporarily turn off real-time protection and try launching Cursor. If that helps, add Cursor to exclusions.
If nothing helps, make a permanent shortcut with the flag as a workaround. Right-click the Cursor shortcut → Properties → in Target, add --disable-chromium-sandbox at the end. Running without the sandbox is less isolated, but it’s safe for normal use while we track down the root cause.
If you go through the list and something specific fixes it, or doesn’t, let me know. It’ll help narrow down the cause.
It worked! I updated my GPU driver to the latest version, rebooted the machine and voilà.. the Cursor app opened without incident, as if nothing happened! lol
