Android emulator “process has terminated”: cold boot the AVD
Free 5 GB of disk, wipe the AVD's data for a cold boot, and fall back to software rendering.
Make sure 5 GB of disk is free, then cold-boot the AVD: in Device Manager choose Wipe Data on the failing AVD. If the window flashes and dies, retry with -gpu swiftshader or update the emulator in SDK Manager.
Try these fixes in order
Check free disk space
The emulator requires at least 5 GB free on startup. Free space and confirm before deeper troubleshooting.
Wipe data and cold boot
Wipe the AVD's user data from Device Manager (overflow menu > Wipe Data), then launch with Cold Boot Now. This discards the corrupt snapshot state.
Test software rendering
If the process still dies at launch, start the emulator from the terminal with software rendering to isolate GPU driver problems.
emulator -avd Pixel_8_Pro_API_34 -gpu swiftshaderUpdate the emulator
Install the latest stable emulator and system image from SDK Manager; several termination bugs are fixed per release.
Interpret what you see
Host disk is nearly full
What it suggests: The emulator checks free disk on startup and exits without a clear message when under 5 GB.
Next check: Free disk space, then relaunch the AVD.
Only one AVD fails
What it suggests: A corrupt snapshot can terminate the process immediately on every launch while other AVDs work.
Next check: In Device Manager, choose Wipe Data on the AVD for a clean cold boot.
The window flashes, then the process dies
What it suggests: GPU driver or Vulkan incompatibilities terminate the emulator right after the window appears.
Next check: Launch with -gpu swiftshader to test software rendering.
Why this happens
- The host has less than 5 GB of free disk space, so the emulator refuses to start.
- The AVD snapshot or system image is corrupt, or the GPU driver path fails.
Still not working?
Do not delete the entire ~/.android/avd directory as a first step; you will lose every AVD. Wipe a single AVD's data from Device Manager first, and only recreate that AVD if the wipe fails.
Official sources
These steps are based on the linked documentation and general diagnostics. BugMedic has not independently tested every product and system configuration. Review commands before running them.