The game won't start: "Bad Image" error on vorbisFile.dll

If the message ends with Error status 0xc0e90002, Windows 11's Smart App Control is blocking your ASI loader, usually the Ultimate ASI Loader (a 5 MB vorbisFile.dll). Nothing is broken. Follow the steps above: Silent's loader replaces it. Don't turn Smart App Control off for this: once it's off, Windows can't turn it back on without a reinstall.

Windows also asked about vorbisHooked.dll. Is replacing it OK?

Yes. The vorbisHooked.dll in the zip is the game's original vorbisFile.dll under a new name, and the loader calls it. If you renamed your own original to that name before, it's the same file.

I already have the Ultimate ASI Loader. Do I have to switch?

Only if it gets blocked. If your game starts and your mods load, keep it. If you ever get the "Bad Image" error, switch with the steps above.

My plugins don't load

Plugins go in the game folder itself, next to gta_sa.exe, or in a scripts folder there. Windows hides file extensions by default, so modloader.asi may show as just modloader: that's fine. And check that the game folder has both vorbisFile.dll and vorbisHooked.dll.

The game won't start: "Bad Image" error on vorbisFile.dll

If the message ends with Error status 0xc0e90002, Windows 11's Smart App Control is blocking your ASI loader, usually the Ultimate ASI Loader (a 5 MB vorbisFile.dll). Nothing is broken. Follow the steps above: Silent's loader replaces it. Don't turn Smart App Control off for this: once it's off, Windows can't turn it back on without a reinstall.

Windows also asked about vorbisHooked.dll. Is replacing it OK?

Yes. The vorbisHooked.dll in the zip is the game's original vorbisFile.dll under a new name, and the loader calls it. If you renamed your own original to that name before, it's the same file.

I already have the Ultimate ASI Loader. Do I have to switch?

Only if it gets blocked. If your game starts and your mods load, keep it. If you ever get the "Bad Image" error, switch with the steps above.

My plugins don't load

Plugins go in the game folder itself, next to gta_sa.exe, or in a scripts folder there. Windows hides file extensions by default, so modloader.asi may show as just modloader: that's fine. And check that the game folder has both vorbisFile.dll and vorbisHooked.dll.

Install guide

How to install an ASI loader in GTA San Andreas

Two small files into your game folder, about two minutes. We use Silent's ASI Loader 1.3: the classic loader San Andreas mods have run on since 2014, and one that Windows 11 doesn't block.

Download ASI LoaderSilent's ASI Loader 1.3 · 60 KB zip · GTAGarage

About 2 minutes
Free
Only copies files

Before you start

What it does

Mod Loader, CLEO, SilentPatch and MoonLoader are all plugins: .asi files. The game can't load plugins on its own. The ASI loader takes the place of one small game file, vorbisFile.dll. When the game starts, it loads every .asi in your game folder, then hands over to the game's original file, so the sound keeps working.

LiorMods mods that need it

Already run mods with CLEO, Mod Loader or SilentPatch, and the game starts fine? You already have an ASI loader. Skip this guide.

Install

1Download Silent's ASI Loader 1.3 with this link: gtagarage.com/mods/download.php?f=37262. The download starts at once: a small zip, about 60 KB. It comes from GTAGarage, the long-running GTA mod archive (2.5 million downloads of this file).
2Open the zip. It holds a few files and folders, and you need exactly two: vorbisFile.dll and vorbisHooked.dll. Ignore the rest (ReadMe, the scripts folder and the example folder).
3Select both files: click one, then Ctrl+click the other. Copy them with Ctrl+C.
4Open your game folder (the one with gta_sa.exe) and paste with Ctrl+V. Windows says the folder already has a file with that name: choose the option that starts with Replace ("Replace the file in the destination").

Why not the Ultimate ASI Loader, which many guides link to? On Windows 11 with Smart App Control on, Windows can block it, and the game won't start at all (a "Bad Image" error, see Troubleshooting). Silent's loader isn't blocked, and for San Andreas it does the same job.

Check it works

In your game folder, vorbisFile.dll now shows 53 KB in the Size column (View → Details), with vorbisHooked.dll (64 KB) next to it.
The game starts as before. The loader itself shows nothing on screen: you see it working once you add a plugin, like SilentPatch or Mod Loader.

Uninstall

Delete vorbisFile.dll, then rename vorbisHooked.dll to vorbisFile.dll: that's the game's original file. Your .asi plugins stop loading.

Troubleshooting

Next: SilentPatch Still stuck? Write to us