How to fix Microsoft GameInput is crashing the PC?

Microsoft GameInput is a small input component that games install, and the Event Viewer line about it is usually only a note that Windows Installer touched it. The crash itself comes from something else. Read the stop code first (Fix 1), then repair Gaming Services (Fix 2).

Facts checked on 16 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What the Microsoft GameInput message in Event Viewer means

GameInput is Microsoft's input API for keyboards, mice, gamepads and other controllers. Microsoft says it replaces the older XInput, DirectInput and Raw Input styles in one interface, and that modern Windows supports it out of the box. Games that use it ship the GameInput redistributable, a file named GameInputRedist.msi, in their own installer.

When that package is installed, updated or repaired, Windows Installer writes an Information entry to the Application log. This is the text users copy into Google:

Event Viewer > Windows Logs > Application

Windows Installer reconfigured the product.
Product Name: Microsoft GameInput.
Product Version: 3.5.270.0.
Product Language: 1033.
Manufacturer: Microsoft Corporation.
Reconfiguration success or error status: 0.

What it says

Windows Installer finished reconfiguring the package. The line ends with a status, and 0 is the Windows Installer value for success.

Product Version

The installed GameInput build. Reports show 10.1.22621.1011, 3.3.221.0 and 3.5.270.0, and the number rises with each update.

Product Language: 1033

English (United States). It is not an error code.

Manufacturer

Microsoft Corporation. A genuine entry names Microsoft here.

The "Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft GameInput" box is the standard Windows Installer progress window. It shows when a package is being repaired or configured, and users report seeing it each time a game starts. A box that returns at every launch means the repair does not stick, which Fix 2 and Fix 5 address.

Why a PC crashes with Microsoft GameInput in the log: the causes, ranked

Microsoft publishes no crash statistics for GameInput. The order below is our reading of user reports and of how GameInput gets onto a PC, so treat it as a guide to what to try first, not as measured data.

How to fix Microsoft GameInput crashes on Windows 11 and Windows 10

Fix 1 shows what really crashed the PC and decides which of the others matter. Fixes 2 to 5 repair the parts GameInput depends on and take about 30 minutes in all. Fixes 6 and 7 test Windows and the hardware. Fixes 8 and 9 are last resorts.

Fix 1. Find the real crash cause in Reliability Monitor and Event Viewer

5 minutesLow riskAlways first. It tells you whether GameInput matters at all.

The GameInput line says Windows Installer finished a configuration. The line that names the crash is a different entry, and the stop code in it points to the right fix.

1. Press Win, type reliability history and open View reliability history.
2. Find the red X at the time of the last crash and select that day.
3. In the list below, open Technical details for the entry marked Windows was not properly shut down or Hardware error.
4. Write down the Bug Check name or the stop code, and any .sys file it names.
5. Open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) and go to Windows Logs > System. Look for Kernel-Power (Event 41) and BugCheck entries at the same time.

Fix 2. Run the Gaming Services Repair Tool from the Xbox app

5 to 10 minutesLow riskThe Xbox app opens with missing content, the configuring box shows at every game start, or you play Xbox app and Game Pass games.

Xbox Support offers this tool for problems installing or updating Gaming Services and for an Xbox app that launches with missing content. Users link both to the GameInput entry, so it is the cheapest repair that targets the right component.

1. Open the Xbox app and select your profile picture at the top.
2. Select Support.
3. Select Gaming Services Repair Tool, then Start Troubleshooting.
4. Let it finish and follow what it reports. It may reinstall Gaming Services by itself.
5. Restart the PC and play the game that crashed.

Fix 3. Install Windows updates and the optional driver updates

15 to 30 minutesLow riskThe stop code names a driver, or Windows has updates waiting.

A driver or Windows bug that only shows while gaming is the most common reason for random reboots. Updating also replaces the inbox GameInput parts that ship with Windows.

1. Open Settings > Windows Update and select Check for updates. Install everything and restart.
2. Select Advanced options > Optional updates (on Windows 10, View optional updates).
3. Open Driver updates, tick the graphics and chipset drivers and select Download & install.
4. Restart the PC and test the game.

For one driver that the stop code named, update or roll it back by hand.

1. Open Device Manager. Right-click Start and select Device Manager.

   

2. Open the device's Driver tab. Expand the category (for example Display adapters), right-click the device, select Properties and open the Driver tab. Driver Date and Driver Version show what is installed now.

   

3. Update the driver. Select Update Driver and let Windows search automatically. To use a driver you downloaded from the device maker, select Browse my computer for drivers instead and point to the unpacked folder.
4. Or roll back the driver. If the problem started after a driver update, select Roll Back Driver, choose a reason and select Yes. The button is greyed out when Windows has no earlier driver to return to.

   

5. Or reinstall the driver. Select Uninstall Device. Tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device only if you want Windows to delete the driver package too, then select Uninstall.

   

6. Restart. Restart the PC. Windows detects the device again and installs a driver for it.
7. Check optional driver updates. Open Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates. If driver updates are listed, tick the ones you need and select Download & install.

   

These steps were written for Windows 11 24H2 and later. The full page with the other versions and what each result means: Update, roll back or reinstall a driver

Fix 4. Remove Gaming Services with PowerShell and install it again

10 minutesLow riskThe repair tool did not help, or the Xbox app and Store cannot update Gaming Services.

Many users link the GameInput entry to Gaming Services updates, and a half-updated package keeps being reconfigured. A fresh copy from Microsoft Store replaces it. Your installed games stay.

1. Close the Xbox app and Microsoft Store.
2. Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin). On Windows 10 select Windows PowerShell (Admin). Select Yes.
3. Paste the first command and press Enter. It removes Gaming Services for all users.
4. Paste the second command and press Enter. Microsoft Store opens on the Gaming Services page.
5. Select Get or Install and wait for it to finish.
6. Restart the PC, open the Xbox app once and start your game.

Terminal (Admin): remove Gaming Services

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers Microsoft.GamingServices | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers

Terminal (Admin): open Gaming Services in Microsoft Store

start ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9MWPM2CQNLHN

Fix 5. Uninstall Microsoft GameInput and let the game install it again

10 to 20 minutesLow riskOnly one game crashes, or the GameInput entry and the configuring box appear right before it starts.

Microsoft says PC games must include the GameInput redistributable in their installers, so a repair of the game puts a good copy back. The redistributable also refuses to install an older version over a newer one, so reinstalling cannot downgrade you.

1. Close the game and its launcher.
2. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps. On Windows 10 open Apps & features.
3. Find Microsoft GameInput, select the three dots (Windows 10: select the entry) and choose Uninstall.
4. Restart the PC.
5. Verify or repair the game files in its launcher, using How to verify game files in Steam, Epic Games, Xbox app, EA app, Battle.net and GOG Galaxy. The game installer then adds GameInput back.

If you see no Microsoft GameInput entry in Installed apps, it is already part of Windows on your PC and there is nothing to remove. Skip to the next fix.

Fix 6. Repair Windows system files with SFC and DISM

15 to 30 minutesLow riskThe crashes have no pattern, or other Windows features misbehave.

Corrupted system files can cause crashes and give GameInput a broken base to run on. These scans find and replace them from the Windows component store.

1. Open an elevated command window. Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin), or type cmd in the search box, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. Select Yes when Windows asks for permission.

   

2. Run DISM first. Type the command below and press Enter. DISM downloads clean copies of damaged components from Windows Update, so it can take several minutes. Wait until it says The operation completed successfully.

   DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

   

3. Run System File Checker. In the same window, type the command below and press Enter. Do not close the window until the verification reaches 100%.

   sfc /scannow

   

4. Read the result and restart. Compare the last message with the table below this guide, then restart the PC so that repaired files are loaded.

   

These steps were written for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. The full page with the other versions and what each result means: Run DISM and SFC to repair Windows system files

Fix 7. Test the memory and the system drive

30 to 60 minutesLow riskThe crashes also happen outside games, with different stop codes, or the PC restarts without a blue screen.

Random reboots and changing stop codes point to hardware as often as to software. Faulty memory is the classic cause, and Windows has a built-in test.

1. Open Windows Memory Diagnostic. Press Windows + R, type mdsched.exe and select OK. You can also search for Windows Memory Diagnostic and open it from the results.
2. Choose when to test. Select Restart now and check for problems (recommended) to test right away. Select Check for problems the next time I start my computer if you want to finish your work first: the test then runs at the next start.
3. Let the test run. The PC restarts into a blue screen that shows the progress of the test. You do not have to do anything. When the test ends, the PC restarts by itself and Windows loads.
4. Look for the notification. Sign in. After a short while Windows shows a notification with the result, also when no errors were found. If you missed it, read the result in Event Viewer.
5. Open the System log. Press Windows + R, type eventvwr and select OK. In Event Viewer, expand Windows Logs and select System.
6. Find the result. Right-click System and select Find. Type MemoryDiagnostics-Results and press Enter. Select the event that is found: its text says whether the test detected errors.

These steps were written for Windows 11 25H2 and 26H2, Windows 10 22H2. The full page with the other versions and what each result means: How to test your RAM with Windows Memory Diagnostic

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator. Type cmd in the search box on the taskbar, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. Select Yes when Windows asks for permission.
2. Scan the drive without changing anything. Type the command below and press Enter. Replace C: with another drive letter to check that drive. This scan only reports; it does not fix anything.

   chkdsk C:

   

3. If errors were found, run the repair. Run chkdsk with /f to fix file system errors. On the Windows drive (C:) chkdsk cannot lock the drive while Windows is running, so it offers to check it at the next restart.

   chkdsk C: /f

   

4. Schedule the check and restart. Type Y and press Enter, then restart the PC. chkdsk runs before Windows starts. Do not turn the PC off while it runs.
5. Read the result after the restart. The report of a check made at startup is not shown on the desktop. Open PowerShell and run the command below to see it, or open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) > Windows Logs > Application and filter by the sources Chkdsk and Wininit.

   Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Application'} | Where-Object { $_.ProviderName -match 'wininit' } | Select-Object -First 1 | Format-List TimeCreated, Message

These steps were written for Windows 11 and Windows 10 (the steps are the same). The full page with the other versions and what each result means: Check a disk for errors (chkdsk)

Also check the temperatures of the graphics card and processor while gaming, and make sure the power supply is rated for your graphics card. We could not find a Microsoft figure for this, so use the card maker's recommendation.

Fix 8. Rename the Gaming Services folders in WindowsApps

15 minutesRead the warningFixes 2 to 5 did not stop the crashes and the Gaming Services folders are involved.

Some users report that renaming the Microsoft.GamingServices folders in WindowsApps stopped the crashes. Microsoft does not document this, so use it only after the fixes above.

1. Open File Explorer (Win + E), select View > Show > Hidden items (Windows 10: the View tab and the Hidden items box).
2. Go to C:\Program Files\WindowsApps. If access is denied, right-click WindowsApps and select Properties.
3. Open the Security tab and select Advanced, then select Change next to Owner.
4. Type your user name, select Check Names, then OK.
5. Tick Replace owner on subcontainers and objects, select Apply and OK.
6. Find every folder named Microsoft.GamingServices. followed by a version and _x64__. Rename each one by adding a word at the end.
7. Restart the PC and test the game.

Users note that Windows restores the original folder names after an update, so the change lasts only until then.

Fix 9. Reset Windows and keep your files

1 to 2 hoursRead the warningEverything above failed, the stop codes keep changing and the hardware tests were clean.

A reset reinstalls Windows and every Windows component, including the parts GameInput uses. It removes the damage that SFC and DISM cannot repair.

1. Open Recovery in Settings. Open Settings > System > Recovery. Next to Fix problems using Windows Update, select Reinstall now. This keeps your apps, files and settings.

   

2. Start the reinstall. Choose whether the PC may restart on its own 15 minutes after the installation, then select OK.
3. Wait and restart. Windows Update downloads and installs a repair copy of your current Windows version. Keep the PC plugged in and online, and restart it when asked.
4. If that did not help: Reset PC. Back in Settings > System > Recovery, next to Reset this PC, select Reset PC. This keeps your personal files but removes installed apps and settings.
5. Choose Keep my files. Select Keep my files. Do not select Remove everything.

   

6. Choose where Windows comes from. Select Cloud download to download a fresh copy of Windows, or Local reinstall to use the files already on the PC (faster, but may not include the latest updates).
7. Reset. Review the summary and select Reset. The PC restarts several times.

These steps were written for Windows 11 22H2 and later. The full page with the other versions and what each result means: Reinstall Windows without losing files

If the PC still crashes after these fixes

If the crashes continue, collect the evidence before you contact anyone. The blue screen leaves a record, and it is far more useful to support than the GameInput line.

1. Note the stop code and the .sys file name from Reliability Monitor (Fix 1).
2. Check whether a dump file exists in C:\Windows\Minidump. If it does, keep a copy.
3. Open Settings > System > About and note the Windows version and build.
4. Note the crash time, the game and whether the GPU was under load.

• What to send to support: the stop code, the file name, your Windows build, the GameInput version from the Event Viewer line, and the fixes you tried.
• When it is hardware: the stop code changes at every crash, the PC restarts with no blue screen, the memory test reports errors or temperatures are high.
• When it is the game: only one title crashes and a clean Windows with that title still crashes. Report it to the game's publisher.

How to keep GameInput crashes from coming back

• Keep Windows, the Xbox app and Gaming Services updated through Windows Update and Microsoft Store > Library.
• Update the graphics driver from the card maker, and do not mix driver tools.
• Do not remove Gaming Services or GameInput with tuning or debloat tools.
• Do not let the PC sleep or shut down while a game is installing or updating.
• Check temperatures if you overclock, and return to default settings when testing a crash.

Windows 10 left support on 14 October 2025. The Xbox app and GameInput still run on Windows 10 22H2, but a PC that gets no security updates falls behind what new drivers and games expect.

Frequently asked questions

Is Microsoft GameInput crashing my PC?

Probably not by itself. The Event Viewer entry says Windows Installer reconfigured the product and ends with a status of 0, which means success. It shows that GameInput was configured shortly before the crash, not that it caused it. Users who removed GameInput report that the crashes continued. Read the stop code in Reliability Monitor (Fix 1). A graphics or chipset driver, Gaming Services, memory or heat is a more likely cause. Fix 2 and Fix 5 repair GameInput's side anyway.

What does "Windows Installer reconfigured the product. Product Name: Microsoft GameInput" mean?

It means Windows Installer finished configuring the Microsoft GameInput package. The message lists the product version, language 1033 (English, United States), the manufacturer Microsoft Corporation, and a status. A status of 0 is the Windows Installer value for success. The entry appears when a game or Gaming Services installs, updates or repairs GameInput. It is an Information entry, not an error. The version in it changes with each GameInput update, for example 3.3.221.0 or 3.5.270.0.

What is Microsoft GameInput and is it a virus?

Microsoft GameInput is a genuine Microsoft input API, not a virus. Microsoft describes it as one interface for keyboards, mice, gamepads and other controllers, supported on Windows 10 19H1 (May 2019) and later. Games ship it as GameInputRedist.msi in their installers. A real entry lists Microsoft Corporation as the manufacturer. If you doubt a file, scan it with How to scan for malware with Microsoft Defender, or open Installed apps and check that the publisher is Microsoft.

Why does Windows say "Please wait while Windows configures Microsoft GameInput"?

It is the Windows Installer progress box, and it shows while the GameInput package is configured or repaired. Users report seeing it each time a game starts and say GameInput keeps reinstalling itself. That means the repair does not stick. Run the Gaming Services Repair Tool (Fix 2), reinstall Gaming Services (Fix 4) and reinstall GameInput through a game file check (Fix 5). Let the box finish the first time and do not close it.

What is GameInput in Task Manager, and what is the GameInput Redist service?

We could not confirm either name in the Microsoft pages we read. Microsoft documents GameInput as an API and the GameInputRedist.msi installer, and does not describe a service or a Task Manager process by name. An entry with GameInput in its name most likely belongs to that runtime. To check, right-click it in Task Manager, choose Open file location and look at the file's Properties > Details for Microsoft Corporation as the publisher.

Should I uninstall Microsoft GameInput?

You can, but it is not a fix on its own. Users report that removing it did not stop the crashes. A game that needs GameInput installs it again when you verify or repair the game, and the redistributable will not install an older version over a newer one. Uninstall it only as part of Fix 5, then repair the game. If Installed apps shows no Microsoft GameInput entry, it is built into your Windows and needs no action.

Does this affect Windows 10 as well as Windows 11?

Yes. Microsoft says GameInput supports Windows 10 version 19H1 (May 2019) and later, so both systems can show the entry. The fixes here are written for Windows 11 and Windows 10 22H2, with the menu differences noted. Windows 10 left support on 14 October 2025, so it gets no new security fixes, and Fix 3 matters more there. Move to Windows 11 if your PC meets the requirements.

Is it safe to rename the Gaming Services folders in WindowsApps?

It is possible but not risk-free, which is why it is Fix 8, near the end. Microsoft does not document this step. It needs you to take ownership of WindowsApps, which changes permissions on the folder that holds your Store apps. Note the original owner first and back up your files. Users report that Windows restores the folder names after an update, so it is a temporary workaround.

Do I need to reinstall Windows because of GameInput?

Almost never. The GameInput entry does not show that Windows is damaged. Work through Fixes 1 to 7 first, because the real cause is usually a driver, Gaming Services or hardware. A reset (Fix 9) is the last step when the stop codes keep changing and the memory and drive tests are clean. Back up your files first. Even then, if crashes return on a clean install, replace the hardware you suspect.