Regression: MKVToolNix v99/v100 crashes on startup with ASUS Strix Soar driver (v98 works)

Help
1

Hello,

I would like to report what appears to be a reproducible regression between MKVToolNix v98 and v99.

System

  • Windows 11 x64 (same Windows installation for all tests)

  • ASUS Strix Soar PCIe sound card

  • ASUS Strix Soar driver versions tested:

    • Strix Setup 1.1.22

    • Strix Setup 1.1.23

  • Microsoft audio driver:

    • Provider: Microsoft

    • Version: 10.0.28000.1896

    • Date: 2026-04-27

Results

MKVToolNix v98

  • ASUS Strix Soar driver 1.1.23 → Works perfectly.

MKVToolNix v99

  • ASUS Strix Soar driver 1.1.22 → Crashes immediately after startup.

  • ASUS Strix Soar driver 1.1.23 → Crashes immediately after startup.

MKVToolNix v100

  • ASUS Strix Soar driver 1.1.22 → Crashes immediately after startup.

  • ASUS Strix Soar driver 1.1.23 → Crashes immediately after startup.

Additional testing

I completely removed the ASUS driver and allowed Windows to install its own Microsoft audio driver (10.0.28000.1896).

With the Microsoft driver:

  • MKVToolNix v100 starts normally.

  • All functions appear to work correctly.

However, the Microsoft driver only provides stereo output, while I use the ASUS Strix Soar for analog 5.1 speakers, so it is not a usable long-term workaround.

Notes

  • The Windows installation is exactly the same in all tests.

  • No Windows updates or configuration changes were made between testing v98 and v99.

  • The only variable is the MKVToolNix version together with the ASUS driver.

  • Resetting the MKVToolNix configuration does not help.

  • The GUI window appears briefly and then closes immediately.

  • Reinstalling MKVToolNix does not solve the problem.

  • Both ASUS driver versions (1.1.22 and 1.1.23) behave identically.

This strongly suggests a compatibility regression introduced between MKVToolNix v98 and v99, possibly during GUI or Qt initialization when the ASUS Strix Soar driver is present.

If there is a debug build or any additional logging that would help identify the problem, I would be happy to test it and provide further information.

Thank you for your excellent work on MKVToolNix.

2

Welcome! And thanks for the report.

There are other problems with audio playback in Qt 6.11.1 which at least v100 uses (not sure about v99 at the moment): see this ongoing issue. We seem to have drilled down to Qt 6.11.x-without-ffmpeg-support being the culprit; either downgrading to Qt 6.10.x (with or without ffmpeg support) or compiling 6.11.1 with ffmpeg support fixes the problem mentioned there.

I’d appreciate if you could give the three debug builds listed in this table a try & report if and how they react for each build here in the forum, not in that issue. If the crashes persist, I’ll likely ask you to open a new issue over on Codeberg.

3

Thank you for the debug builds.

I tested all four builds with the ASUS Strix Soar driver (v1.1.23).

Results:

  • Qt 6.10.2 (without FFmpeg): Works correctly.

  • Qt 6.10.2 (with FFmpeg): Works correctly.

  • Qt 6.11.1 (without FFmpeg): Crashes immediately on startup.

  • Qt 6.11.1 (with FFmpeg): Crashes immediately on startup.

So in my case, enabling FFmpeg does not make any difference. The deciding factor seems to be the Qt version itself: Qt 6.10.2 works, while Qt 6.11.1 crashes immediately at startup with the ASUS Strix Soar driver installed.

Please let me know if you would like me to perform any additional tests.

4

Thanks for the quick feedback. Yeah looks like a bug in Qt 6.11.x, and an unrelated one to the audio-stops-half-a-second-after-starting one over on Codeberg. I don’t know if you’ve read what I wrote in the table-with-debug-builds posts, but I’m currently planning on going back to Qt 6.10.2 for the next MKVToolNix releases for the time being, and your report just cements that.

That being said, I highly doubt I’ll be able to prevent this type of problem from happening as I do not have this particular hardware (nor do I have a physical Windows installation anymore, only VMs). It’s clearly a Qt incompatibility. What I can do is: whenever I look into upgrading to ≥ Qt 6.11 in the future I can create a test build & link it here for you to give it a go, similar to what I plan to do for the audio-stops issue over on Codeberg.

If you want to use MKVToolNix v100 without downgrading your drivers, you can just stick to the v100-with-Qt-6.10.2-no-ffmpeg debug build. It’s otherwise identical to release v100. Or wait for release v101.