NVIDIA Shader Cache Corruption
What is this error?
NVIDIA's shader disk cache has become corrupted, causing stuttering, visual artifacts, or crashes when shaders are loaded.
Common causes
- abrupt game exit during shader compilation
- disk space too low for cache
- corrupted shader cache files
- driver update left stale cache
- SSD write error during cache
How to fix it
- Clear NVIDIA shader cache
- delete game-specific pipeline caches
- ensure adequate disk space
Too many steps? Crashless can diagnose this automatically — checks your drivers, temps, VRAM, and 400+ known error patterns.
Get free AI diagnosis Detailed analysis
Corrupted NVIDIA shader cache causes micro-stuttering as the GPU tries to load broken pre-compiled shaders, or crashes when it encounters invalid cache data. Symptoms: stuttering that gets worse over time, brief freezes during new scenes, or crashes with shader-related errors.
How to fix it:
- Clear NVIDIA shader cache: go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\DXCache and %LOCALAPPDATA%\NVIDIA\GLCache — delete all files in both folders
- Also clear the game's own shader cache — usually in %LOCALAPPDATA%\[GameName]\Saved\PipelineCaches or ShaderCache
- In NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Shader Cache Size: set to 10GB (or higher if you play many games)
- Disable then re-enable Shader Cache in NVIDIA Control Panel to force a fresh start
- In Steam, disable Shader Pre-Caching: Settings > Shader Pre-Caching > Off (Steam's cache can conflict with NVIDIA's)
- Make sure your system drive has at least 10GB free — shader cache needs disk space
- After clearing, expect stuttering on first launch as shaders recompile — this is normal and will improve
When to seek help
If this error keeps happening after trying the fixes above, it may point to a deeper hardware or system issue. Consider professional help if:
- The crash occurs across multiple games or applications
- You see the same error after a clean Windows install
- Your PC is less than a year old (could be a warranty issue)
- You smell burning or hear unusual sounds from your PC
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