This page lists error messages and symptoms, their causes, and how to resolve them.

Diagnostics tip: run with --debug for verbose Dokan output, and inspect the files in logs\, error.log, and critical_error.log next to SimpleXisoDrive.exe. See Services.

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Cause: %SystemRoot%\System32\dokan2.dll is missing, so the application exits immediately.

Resolution:

1. Download Dokan from https://github.com/dokan-dev/dokany/releases.
2. Install it with the default options (the runtime library is included).
3. Restart Windows if prompted.
4. Verify:

   Test-Path "$env:SystemRoot\System32\dokan2.dll"

Cause: The runtime library exists but the kernel driver does not. Mounting may fail.

Resolution: Reinstall Dokan and restart the computer. Verify %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\dokan2.sys exists.

Cause: DllNotFoundException when DokanNet tries to load dokan2.dll. The file may be corrupt, from the wrong architecture, or missing dependencies.

Resolution:

1. Uninstall Dokan via Windows Settings > Apps.
2. Download and install the latest release for your architecture.
3. Restart the computer.
4. Retry. If it persists, reinstall the Visual C++ runtime that Dokan depends on.

Causes and fixes:

Cause	Fix
A previous mount still holds the drive letter	Unmount the other instance or restart Explorer.
Drive letter already in use	Choose another letter.
Driver busy or crashed	Restart the machine; check Windows Event Viewer.
Running without admin for a drive letter	Run as Administrator.
Folder mount on a non-NTFS volume	Use an NTFS folder or a drive letter.
Mount folder does not exist	Create the folder first.

This generic Dokan error was historically caused by enabling the MountManager option without administrator rights. SimpleXisoDrive enables MountManager only when elevated; if you still see this message, try the following:

1. Run the application as Administrator.
2. Reinstall or update Dokan.
3. Restart Windows.

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Cause: Drag-and-drop/single-argument mode only tries M: through R:, and all six are in use.

Resolution:

• Free one of the letters or unmount another volume.
• Use the two-argument form with a specific free drive letter:

  SimpleXisoDrive.exe "D:\Games\Halo.iso" X:

This is informational. The application avoids Dokan's mount manager when not elevated because it frequently fails. If the mount then fails, right-click SimpleXisoDrive.exe and choose Run as administrator.

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The resolver tried all four strategies (see Command-Line Reference) and failed. Additional hints are printed when applicable:

Hint	Meaning
"The specified path is a directory..."	You passed a folder with zero or multiple image files. Point at a file, or ensure the folder contains exactly one .iso, .xiso or .zar.
"Tried looking for '.iso', '.xiso' and '.zar'..."	The extensionless variant also does not exist. Check the file name.
"If your file path contains spaces..."	Quote the path: "D:\My Games\Halo.iso"

Note that the failure is also logged as a FileNotFoundException for diagnostics.

Drag-and-drop passes the full path, so this is only an issue if you typed a relative path in a shell. Use an absolute path or change to the correct directory first.

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The file exists but no valid volume descriptor could be found. The most common reasons:

1. It is a PC ISO, not an Xbox disc image.
2. It is an encrypted/Redump-style image that must be converted to XISO first.
3. It is a corrupted or incomplete download.
4. It uses an unsupported layout (for example, an Xbox 360/One file system rather than original-Xbox XDVDFS).

CISO-compressed images (.cso, including split .1.cso part sets) are supported and decompressed on the fly, so they do not need to be extracted first. XISOSharp's underlying diagnostic (the probed locations and their failure reasons) is attached as the inner exception and written to the log file for support.

This variant is used for an image embedded in a ZArchive (or a renamed archive probed as one): the single archived file was streamed as an XISO but its volume descriptor did not validate. The archive itself is valid; the embedded file is not an Xbox image, so the archive mounts as a directory tree instead. See XDVDFS Format for the supported layouts.

The file has the .zar extension (or was detected as an archive) but its footer, name table, or file tree failed validation. Common causes:

1. The file is corrupt or incomplete (an interrupted download or copy).
2. It is not a ZArchive at all (a renamed .iso, .zip, or other container).
3. It was produced by a newer/unsupported ZArchive version (the reader supports ZArchive 0.1.2).

To verify the source, list the archive with a ZArchive tool such as zarchive.exe. If the archive is valid but mounts as a single .iso file, it uses the embedded-image layout and should have been detected as an XDVDFS image instead.

ZArchiveSharp decompresses 64 KiB blocks on demand and keeps a small cache. A block that fails to decode causes a short read for that file (the mounted volume stays usable). If only some files are affected, the archive is likely corrupt; re-create it from the original ISO. Empty-named and over-long (>= 0x80 character) ZAR entries are skipped by the underlying format reader.

Some corrupt entries are logged and skipped. Look for warnings such as:

• Suspicious FileSize detected: 4294967295 for '<name>' - the entry claims to be 4 GiB;
• TraverseBinaryTreeForAll: Max iterations reached... - the directory tree appears to contain cycles.

These do not necessarily prevent browsing, but the affected branch may be incomplete. Re-dump the image if you suspect corruption.

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• When started with no valid arguments from Explorer, the application waits for a key on most error paths. If it still closes, run it from a terminal to capture the message.
• On success in command-line mode the window stays open until Ctrl+C.

• Confirm the image is not corrupted (see above) and that the game partition is the intended one.
• Directory listings come directly from the image's directory tree; empty-named entries are skipped by design.

-l asks Windows to open the mount path. If Explorer does not appear:

• make sure the mount actually succeeded (check the console and logs\);
• check that explorer.exe is available (customized systems may block it).

Reads are streamed directly from the image; performance depends on disk speed and fragmentation. Mount to a local drive for best results; network shares and external USB drives are slower. ZArchive reads additionally decompress each 64 KiB block on first access and cache the most recent blocks, so the first pass over a .zar is CPU-bound while repeated reads of the same region are fast.

The application opens the ISO or ZAR with FileShare.ReadWrite specifically to coexist with scanners. If a scanner still locks the file, add an exclusion for the image folder or the application.

This is expected until the installed version matches the latest GitHub release. Answer n to skip. The prompt is skipped automatically when standard input is redirected.

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Include:

1. The exact command line used (redact personal paths if desired).
2. The complete console output.
3. The newest file in logs\.
4. error.log (and critical_error.log if present).
5. The image size and how it was produced (dump tool, format variant, and for .zar the packer used).

Remember that warning-level logs may already have been submitted automatically; see Privacy and Networking.

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• Review the FAQ and Command-Line Reference.
• Open an issue: https://github.com/purelogiccode/SimpleXisoDrive/issues