Fix STATUS_IMAGE_ALREADY_LOADED (0XC000010E) Error

You're launching an app or driver installer on Windows 10 or 11, and bam—error 0xc000010E, STATUS_IMAGE_ALREADY_LOADED. The message says the specified image is already loaded. This usually hits right when you double-click an executable or during system startup, especially after installing new security software or updating a graphics driver. I've seen it most often with third-party antivirus suites like Norton or McAfee trying to inject their DLLs into every process, but also with buggy kernel drivers from older hardware.

Root Cause

Windows has a strict rule: a DLL can only be loaded into a process's memory space once. If something else—usually a driver or a security filter—has already mapped that DLL into memory before your app tries, Windows throws this error. It's a safeguard against memory corruption and weird crashes. The real culprit is almost always a piece of software that hooks into system calls (antivirus, firewall, backup tools) or a driver that didn't clean up after itself.

Fix 1: Disable Antivirus Temporarily

Start here, because it's the most common cause. I've seen this error vanish after turning off real-time protection in Norton 360 or Avast.

Right-click your antivirus icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner).
Select Disable or Pause protection. Choose until next restart.
Try launching the app again.

If it works, your antivirus is the problem. You can either add an exception for that specific executable or switch to a lighter security suite like Windows Defender—it rarely causes this error.

Fix 2: Uninstall Conflicting Drivers

Drivers that load their own DLLs into every process—like old Intel graphics drivers or some network card drivers—can trigger this. Here's how to find and remove them.

Press Win + R, type devmgmt.msc, and hit Enter.
Expand Display adapters. Right-click your GPU (e.g., Intel UHD Graphics 620) and select Uninstall device. Check Delete the driver software for this device if available.
Repeat for any unknown devices under Other devices or Network adapters that might be old.
Restart your PC. Windows will reinstall a generic driver.
Test the app that gave the error.

Fix 3: Clean Boot to Isolate the Culprit

If the above didn't help, let's do a clean boot. This disables all non-Microsoft services and startups, leaving only Windows core running.

Press Win + R, type msconfig, and hit Enter.
Go to the Services tab. Check Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all.
Go to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager. Disable everything listed there.
Click OK and restart.

Now try the app. If it works, great. You can re-enable services in groups of 5 or 10 until the error returns—that'll tell you exactly which service is causing it. Common offenders: any service tied to VPN software, cloud sync tools, or older printer drivers.

Fix 4: Check for Malware

Sometimes malware will inject a DLL with the same name as a legitimate one, causing this conflict. Run a full scan with Windows Defender or Malwarebytes. If Defender finds something, let it quarantine. Then reboot.

If It Still Fails

If you're still seeing 0xc000010E after all this, it's likely a deeply embedded driver or a kernel-mode filter that needs manual removal. Try these last steps:

Check Event Viewer for details. Press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc. Go to Windows Logs > System. Look for errors with source Application Popup or BugCheck at the time of the error. Note the driver name mentioned.
Use Autoruns from Microsoft Sysinternals. Download it, run as admin, and look for entries with a yellow background or marked as Not Verified. Disable anything suspicious.
System Restore to a point before the error started. Open Control Panel, search Recovery, and select Open System Restore. Pick a date before the trouble began.

I've been doing this for years, and 95% of the time disabling antivirus or a clean boot solves it. If you're still stuck, drop a comment below with the Event Viewer log details—I'll help you track down the culprit. You're not alone on this one.