beeradmoore/dlss-swapper · error · Exception

Process exit code was

Error message

Process exit code was {process.ExitCode}

What it means

DLSSSettingsManager.RunRegAdd shells out to an external process (reg add) to change DLSS registry settings and returns true only when the process exits with code 0. Any non-zero exit code triggers this exception, surfacing that the external command failed. Notably, the message uses a non-interpolated string, so the log always reads literally 'Process exit code was {process.ExitCode}' — a string-formatting bug that hides the actual code.

Solutions

1. Fix the message to actually interpolate the exit code: use $"Process exit code was {process.ExitCode}" so failures are diagnosable.
2. Re-run the operation elevated (as administrator) — HKLM writes usually require admin rights.
3. Run the same reg add command manually in a console to see reg.exe's real error output.
4. Verify the registry key path and value name/data passed by the Set* caller are valid for the installed DLSS version.
5. Check that antivirus/execution policies are not silently blocking reg.exe.

Example fix

// before
throw new Exception("Process exit code was {process.ExitCode}");
// after
throw new Exception($"Process exit code was {process.ExitCode} for: {processInfo.FileName} {processInfo.Arguments}");

static bool CanWriteRegistry(string keyPath)
{
    try
    {
        using var k = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(keyPath, writable: true);
        return k != null;
    }
    catch (UnauthorizedAccessException) { return false; }
    catch (SecurityException) { return false; }
}

static bool Succeeded(Process process) => process is { HasExited: true, ExitCode: 0 };

try
{
    DLSSSettingsManager.SetShowDlssIndicator(true);
}
catch (Exception ex) when (ex.Message.StartsWith("Process exit code was"))
{
    Logger.Warn(ex, "reg add failed - run the app as administrator to change DLSS settings.");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling SetShowDlssIndicator, SetLogLevel, or SetLoggingWindow when the spawned reg add process exits non-zero: invalid registry value name/data, target key does not exist and reg add cannot create it, insufficient privileges to write HKLM, or the executable is missing/blocked so it fails to run correctly.

Common situations: Running without administrator rights while writing to a protected hive; antivirus or AppLocker blocking reg.exe; typos in value names after a DLSS SDK version change; the ExitCode being a specific reg.exe error (e.g. 1 = access denied / invalid parameters).

Related errors

• Could not launch installer
• Could not detect ubisoftConnectInstallsKey.

AI-assisted analysis of beeradmoore/dlss-swapper@ab9b1e2d4b (2026-09-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/bfb6899ce7340016. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/Helpers/DLSSSettingsManager.cs:44

            Verb = "runas",
            UseShellExecute = true,
            CreateNoWindow = true
        };

        try
        {
            using (var process = Process.Start(processInfo))
            {
                if (process is not null)
                {
                    process.WaitForExit();

                    if (process.ExitCode == 0)
                    {
                        return true;
                    }

                    throw new Exception("Process exit code was {process.ExitCode}");
                }
            }
        }
        catch (Exception err)
        {
            Logger.Error(err, $"Could not command \"{processInfo.FileName} {processInfo.Arguments}");
        }

        return false;
    }

    public bool SetShowDlssIndicator(int value)
    {
        return RunRegAdd(NGXCORE_REG_KEY, "ShowDlssIndicator", "REG_DWORD", value.ToString(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture));
    }

    public int GetShowDlssIndicator()
    {

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