The VAN-79 error on Valorant displays a terse login message, without precise indication of its cause. It is related to Riot Vanguard, the game’s anti-cheat system, and affects a wide variety of configurations. Since late 2024, reports have increased on support forums, with a common point: the usual solutions (software restart, client reinstallation) do not always suffice.
Windows Sleep and VAN-79 Error: Why a Simple Restart Isn’t Enough
The majority of guides recommend restarting the PC. The advice seems basic, but the nuance lies in the type of restart. Since the Vanguard updates in late 2024, several players have noticed that the VAN-79 error appears much more frequently after waking from sleep or hibernation than after a complete shutdown.
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Windows 10 and 11 use fast startup by default, which does not fully unload kernel drivers at shutdown. Vanguard, which operates at the kernel level, can remain in an inconsistent state if the system does not go through a complete power cycle. A standard restart via the Start menu does not produce the same effect as a full shutdown followed by a power-up.
To attempt to resolve the VAN-79 error on Valorant after waking from sleep, the most reliable procedure is to disable fast startup in Windows power options, then turn off the PC (not put it to sleep), wait a few seconds, and turn it back on. This complete power cycle forces the reloading of all kernel drivers, including that of Vanguard.
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Hardware Virtualization and Vanguard: An Under-Documented Conflict
This point is often overlooked in most troubleshooting tutorials. Configurations where hardware virtualization is enabled (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) have a higher likelihood of triggering the VAN-79 error, especially under Windows 11.
The issue arises particularly when tools like WSL2 (the integrated Linux subsystem in Windows) or Docker Desktop are installed. These programs rely on a lightweight hypervisor that struggles to coexist with Vanguard’s kernel driver. After certain updates to Windows 11, this coexistence becomes unstable.
Riot Games’ technical support confirmed in several support tickets between 2024 and 2025 that temporarily disabling virtualization in the BIOS/UEFI resolved the issue for affected players. This adjustment is made at PC startup, in the firmware settings, by looking for the “Intel VT-x,” “AMD-V,” or “SVM Mode” option depending on the motherboard.
Check if Virtualization is the Cause
Before modifying anything in the BIOS, open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc), then the “Performance” tab. At the bottom of the “Processor” section, Windows indicates whether virtualization is enabled. If it is and you are not using WSL2, Docker, or a virtual machine, disabling it should have no impact on your daily use.
However, if you need these tools for development, the situation is more restrictive. Field reports vary on this point: some players manage to coexist Vanguard and WSL2 by only disabling Hyper-V via the command bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off, without touching VT-x in the BIOS. Others must go as far as complete deactivation.
Third-Party Antivirus and Active Protection Drivers on Valorant
Vanguard operates at the same privilege level as the active protection modules of antivirus programs. When two kernel drivers attempt to monitor the same memory areas, a silent conflict can occur, and VAN-79 is a frequent manifestation of this.
Since their 2025 versions, Bitdefender and Avast have been identified as recurring blockage sources. Their real-time protection drivers interfere with the loading of Vanguard at system startup. The problem does not manifest systematically: it depends on the loading order of services at boot, which explains why the error may appear one day and not the next.
Properly Test for an Antivirus Conflict
Temporarily disabling the antivirus from its interface does not always suffice, as the kernel driver remains loaded. The most reliable method involves a clean boot of Windows:
- Open msconfig, go to the “Services” tab, check “Hide all Microsoft services,” then uncheck everything else except the Riot Vanguard services (vgc).
- Restart the PC (complete shutdown, not sleep) and launch Valorant.
- If the error disappears, reactivate the services one by one to identify the responsible software.
This procedure isolates the conflict without requiring uninstallation. If your antivirus is the cause, check its settings to add an exception for the Riot Vanguard folder and the vgc service.
TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, and UEFI Prerequisites for Valorant
Valorant requires that TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are enabled to function under Windows 11. A change in these settings (after a BIOS update, a CMOS reset, or a dual-boot with Linux) can trigger the VAN-79 error without explicit warning.
Verification is done in two steps. For TPM: type tpm.msc in the Windows search bar. The module should display “The TPM is ready” with version 2.0. For Secure Boot: open msinfo32 and look for the line “Secure Boot State,” which should indicate “Enabled.”
- If Secure Boot is disabled, you need to enter the BIOS/UEFI and re-enable it, usually in the “Boot” or “Security” section.
- If TPM is not detected, check that it is enabled in the BIOS (often under the name “PTT” for Intel or “fTPM” for AMD).
- After any modification in the BIOS, perform a complete shutdown followed by a restart for Vanguard to recognize the changes.
One last point deserves attention: resetting Winsock and flushing the DNS cache (commands netsh winsock reset and ipconfig /flushdns in an administrator command prompt) resolve cases where VAN-79 is linked to corruption of network settings rather than Vanguard itself. If none of the previous suggestions have worked, this network manipulation remains to be tested before considering a complete reinstallation of Vanguard and the Valorant client.