Short answer up front: Error 136 is an Easy Anti‑Cheat (EAAC) “security/violation” failure — most of the time it’s either the EAAC driver/service didn’t get installed, or something on your PC (Core Isolation / antivirus / overlays / RGB/utilities / VPN) is preventing its kernel driver from loading. The practical fixes are: repair/reinstall EAAC from the game folder, temporarily disable Memory Integrity (Core Isolation) and other security/overlay software, remove leftover EAAC folders and reinstall, then reboot and try again. See the step checklist below (with commands and paths) and try them in order. If it still fails, post back the results of two quick checks I ask for at the end and I’ll guide you through the next steps.
What to try (prioritized and explicit)
1) Run the EAAC installer as Administrator and Repair
- Close the game and launcher.
- Open the game folder (examples):
- EA App / Origin: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games\Battlefield 2042\EasyAntiCheat\
- Steam: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Battlefield 2042\EasyAntiCheat\
- Right‑click EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe → Run as administrator → choose the game from the dropdown → Repair Service (or Reinstall). This is the official first step recommended by EA. (help.ea.com)
2) Check the Easy Anti‑Cheat service / driver presence
- After repair, verify the driver file exists: look for eaanticheat.sys (or EasyAntiCheat.sys) in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ and/or the EAAC folder inside the game. You said Everything didn’t find it — that suggests the installer never placed the driver or Windows blocked it.
- Check service (run an elevated Command Prompt and paste):
sc query EasyAntiCheat
(If the service name is different on your install, look for “EasyAntiCheat” in services.msc.)
- If the service is missing or the driver file is absent after repair, continue with step 3.
3) Temporarily disable Core Isolation → Memory Integrity (very common cause)
- Open Windows Settings → Privacy & security → Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation details.
- Turn Memory integrity OFF, reboot, then run EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe → Repair again. Microsoft documents that Memory Integrity can prevent a driver from loading (and suggests disabling it if an updated driver is not available). After you get the driver installed and game working, you can re‑evaluate re‑enabling it (some users must leave it off for EAC to work). (support.microsoft.com)
4) Do a clean‑install of EAAC (delete leftover folders, then reinstall)
- Some EA forum posts and EA staff suggestions point to stale/partial EAAC installs causing 136. Delete these folders (replace USERNAME with yours):
- C:\ProgramData\eaanticheat
- C:\Program Files (x86)\EasyAntiCheat (if present)
- C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\EA
- C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\EAAntiCheat.Installer.Tool
- Reboot, then launch the game — it should trigger a fresh EAAC install, or run EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe manually and Repair. (Back up anything you want before deleting.) (forums.ea.com)
5) Disable / remove software that commonly conflicts
- Temporarily uninstall or disable: third‑party antivirus (Malwarebytes, other AVs), VPNs, overlays (Discord overlay, GeForce Experience overlay), RGB lighting control, performance/overclock tools, and any USB/gamepad helper apps. Do a clean boot if you prefer to test fast (disables non‑Microsoft services/startups). These are frequent culprits when anti‑cheat reports a security violation. (appuals.com, makeuseof.com)
6) Secure Boot / Driver signature / Windows updates
- Ensure Windows is up to date. Some older unsigned drivers fail to load with modern Windows policies; if Memory Integrity was the blocker you already handled that.
- If Secure Boot or driver signature issues are suspected, don’t disable signature enforcement permanently — instead focus on reinstalling a properly signed EAAC driver via the Repair step above. EAAC updates are distributed by the game/EA and should be signed. (help.ea.com, support.microsoft.com)
7) If you want to dig for driver records (advanced)
- Enumerate installed drivers in an elevated Command Prompt:
dism /online /get-drivers /format:table
pnputil /enum-drivers
Look for anything related to EasyAntiCheat / eaanticheat and post back the lines you see. If you prefer GUI, Device Manager and Services (services.msc) are the less scary options.
If none of the above fixes it
- Collect these two outputs and paste them here (I’ll read them and advise the exact next commands):
1) Result of sc query EasyAntiCheat (copy/paste command output).
2) The Memory integrity setting screenshot/status (or just say whether it’s On or Off after you tried step 3).
- Also tell me: Windows 10 or 11, exact game launcher (EA App / Origin / Steam / Epic), and which antivirus/security suite you run.
Why this usually works (brief)
- Error 136 = EAC is complaining that its kernel component isn’t present or can’t be loaded. That usually means the EAAC installer didn’t put the signed driver in place, or Windows’ Core Isolation / a third‑party security tool blocked the driver. Repairing/reinstalling EAAC and temporarily disabling Memory Integrity (or removing the conflicting app) gets the driver installed so the game can run. Official EA troubleshooting covers running EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe to repair and checking antivirus/service issues. (help.ea.com, support.microsoft.com)
If you want, I can walk through the commands with you step‑by‑step. If you post the two quick outputs above (sc query output and Memory Integrity status + your OS and launcher), I’ll give the exact next commands or edits to make. Or, if you prefer, I can show the exact folder paths and a safe deletion script to clean up old EAAC files.
