MSFS 2024 works on console but crashes on PC ("Your last session ended unexpectedly")

A few common causes on PC (and some quick things to try)

That “Your last session ended unexpectedly” message is basically MSFS telling you it didn’t shut down cleanly last time, so on PC it’s usually one of these: bad/corrupt cache, a bad add-on getting loaded, a driver issue, or a Windows dependency/permission problem. Since it runs fine on Xbox, it points pretty strongly to something PC-specific (drivers, add-ons, install path, background apps, etc.).

Try this in order (stop when it starts launching normally):

1) Boot it completely “clean” (no Community content)
If you have any add-ons installed, temporarily empty/rename your Community folder so the sim can’t load anything extra.

1. Close the sim.
2. Find your Community folder (it varies depending on Steam/MS Store and where you installed “Packages”).
3. Rename it to something like Community.OFF
4. Start the sim.

If it launches after that, you’ve got a bad add-on (or a conflict) and you can add them back in chunks until the culprit shows up.

2) Delete the rolling cache (or disable it for a test)
A corrupted cache is a classic cause of repeat-crashes right on startup.

1. If you can reach the sim settings: turn Rolling Cache OFF, apply, restart.
2. If you can’t reach settings: tell me which edition you’re on (Steam or Microsoft Store) and where your Packages folder is, and I’ll tell you exactly what file to remove.

3) Reset the sim’s local config (forces fresh settings on next launch)
Sometimes a bad graphics setting or corrupted config will crash it immediately. The safest test is to temporarily move the local MSFS config out of the way so it rebuilds.

Because the folder location differs (Steam vs Store), I don’t want to send you to the wrong path—see my questions at the bottom and I’ll point you to the exact folder.

4) Graphics driver + overlays (simple but surprisingly common)

1. Update your GPU driver to the current WHQL release (or if you already updated recently and this started right after, try rolling back one version).
2. Temporarily disable overlays: GeForce Experience overlay / Discord overlay / MSI Afterburner-RivaTuner, etc.
3. Run the sim once as Administrator (just to rule out a permissions hiccup).

5) Repair / Verify the install
If you’re on Steam, do a “Verify integrity” on the base app. If you’re on Microsoft Store/Xbox app, use the app repair/reset options for MSFS. This catches a surprising number of broken base files.

A couple targeted questions so I can narrow it down fast

1. Are you on Steam or Microsoft Store/Xbox app on PC?
2. Does it crash before you reach the main menu, or only when loading into a flight?
3. Do you have anything in your Community folder right now (and if so, roughly how many add-ons)?
4. Any error in Windows Event Viewer for the crash (even just the “Faulting module name”)?
5. GPU/CPU and current driver version?

Answer those and I’ll tailor the next steps (and give you the exact folders/files to move depending on Steam vs Store).