When you try to launch RPCS3, you get the vulkan-1.dll missing error message like the following:
“The program can’t start because vulkan-1.dll is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.”
How do you fix this error? Not to worry. Following are the possible solutions you can try:
Method 1: Reinstall RPCS3
Method 2: Check your antivirus software
Method 3: Update graphics card drivers
Method 4: Run the latest Vulkan Runtime Installer
Method 1: Reinstall RPCS3
As the error message says, reinstalling the program may help fix the problem. If you have tried reinstalling RPCS3, skip this method and move to the next method. If not, uninstall RPCS3 and install it again. This may work for you.
Method 2: Check your antivirus software
If you have antivirus software installed, check your antivirus software, as the vulkan-1.dll file can be blocked by the antivirus software. If it is blocked by your antivirus software, you can add the file to the antivirus software’s exclusion list to fix the error.
If you’re not sure whether the vulkan-1.dll file is blocked by your antivirus software, you can temporarily disable the antivirus software. While the antivirus software is disabled, if you can use RPCS3 without the vulkan-1.dll missing error, it means the antivirus software is the cause.
Method 3: Update graphics card drivers
The vulkan-1.dll should be installed along with the graphics card driver, for example, the NVIDIA graphics card driver. If the graphics card driver is outdated, the RPCS3 vulkan-1.dll missing error can occur. To fix the error, you can try updating the graphics card driver.
Go to your PC or motherboard manufacturer’s website, then you can download the latest version of graphics card driver there.
Method 4: Run the latest Vulkan Runtime Installer
Vulkan-1.dll is known as Vulkan Loader and associated with Vulkan Runtime. To fix the vulkan-1.dll missing error, you can try running the latest Runtime Installer to get the latest vulkan-1.dll.
Go to website vulkan.lunarg.com to download the latest Vulkan Runtime Installer file, then double-click on the downloaded file t o install the Vulkan Loader.
In the example below, the latest file is VulkanRT-1.2.198.1-Installer.exe. It can be different on your end if the installer file is updated.
Hopefully you find this article helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment below. I’ll get back to you ASAP.