Saitek R440 Wheel causes Grand Theft Auto V to crash on startup

Try unplugging the joystick. If none is used - try to create new user account and start game under it.

Not sure what "If none is used" means... but the game crash does NOT occur if the wheel is unplugged. The game crash ONLY occurs if the wheel is plugged in.

UPDATE - I used x360ce.exe for 32bit programs to get the wheel + pedals working in an OLDER game, GTA IV (32bit), which had no crashing issues, with or without the controllers.  

So I tried running the 64bit version, x360ce_64.exe, all by itself (without GTA V), in it's OWN directory (Not in the GTA V directory). The x360ce_64.exe program runs until it begins to detect the Saitek wheel, and then crashes. The crash is VERY SIMILAR to the GTA crash:

Faulting application name: x360ce_x64.exe, version: 3.2.8.77, time stamp: 0x5611255f
Faulting module name: pid.dll, version: 10.0.10586.0, time stamp: 0x5632d86f
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x000000000000649b
Faulting process id: 0x4708
Faulting application start time: 0x01d1c77e2f629e7d
Faulting application path: U:\Games\Grand Theft Auto V\x360ce_x64.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\pid.dll
Report Id: dc33d95a-4a55-49e9-9c24-97829baf880d
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:

Have you tried creating the new user account in Windows?

Did you read and have you met the System Requirements for x360ce?
http://www.x360ce.com/
"System Requirements

• Windows Vista or newer.
• .NET 3.5 (includes 2.0 and 3.0) - included in Windows 7.
In Windows 8 and 10: Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off > enable “.NET Framework 3.5 (includes 2.0 and 3.0)”.
• .NET 4.6 (includes 4.0) - included in Windows 8 and 10.
• DirectX End-User Runtime (June 2010) - Required regardless of OS; .NET MUST be installed prior to the DirectX update.
• Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2013 - For x64 systems install both x86 and x64 redistributables."

Yes, all the above requirements have been met and yes the problem persists with a new user.

Your exception code: 0xc0000005 is an access denied message and means you have a permissions problem on some file the x360ce software needs to create or modify.
The easiest test is to enable the hidden Administrator account, login to it, and try the game.
To do that, type WinKey+X and click on Command Prompt (Admin).  In the CMD window, type NET USER ADMINISTRATOR <password> /ACTIVE:YES<enter> (Substitute <password> with a password you will remember and it cannot be blank!)   You should get "The command completed successfully"  Then type SHUTDOWN /L<enter> to logoff.  The Administrator login should be in the lower left corner of the login screen.  Click it, type the password, login, and try the game.
If it works, we've identified the problem.  If it still doesn't, you need to go ask the folks at x360 why; but, that 12 year old wheel just may not work with Windows 10.

OK so first I removed all saitek sw / drivers I could, rebooted, and reinstalled with a better driver I found:
ftp://ftp.saitek.com/pub/software/full/Saitek_R440_Force_Wheel_SD6_64.exe

This  installer actually ran & completed without errors.  And now "Saitek R440 Force Wheel (HID) / (USB)" appears in device manager under human interface devices.  

And then I was able to run x360ce_64.exe successfully! It totally works, all axes and buttons.

BUT
(1) GTA still gives the crash / error, AND
(2) when I go into the windows 10 "SETUP USB CONTROLLERS" menu, I can see the movements of the wheel and pedals, - BUT pressing ANY of the 6 buttons gives another error, "Windows Shell Common DLL has stopped working" -- unless I UNCHECK "test force feedback effects".  Then the buttons work too.

The weird thing is, I did enable the ADMINISTRATOR and logged in as him. And I get the same 2 crashes (1) and (2) above, BUT - the event viewer logs reference a different file.  In MY user, the errors reference "pid.dll" as faulting module. But in Admin user, the errors reference "SaiQFF04.dll", which I assume is a saitek driver.

See below:

ERRORS, LOGGED IN AS MY USUAL WINDOWS USER:

   GTA:
Faulting application name: GTA5.exe, version: 1.0.678.1, time stamp: 0x56e2b38c
Faulting module name: pid.dll, version: 10.0.10586.0, time stamp: 0x5632d86f
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x0000000000003e05
Faulting process id: 0xd28
Faulting application start time: 0x01d1c9eaa462cd5f
Faulting application path: U:\Games\Grand Theft Auto V\GTA5.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\pid.dll

   X360CE_64:
Faulting application name: rundll32.exe_shell32.dll, version: 10.0.10586.0, time stamp: 0x5632d71b
Faulting module name: pid.dll, version: 10.0.10586.0, time stamp: 0x5632d86f
Exception code: 0xc000041d
Fault offset: 0x0000000000003e05
Faulting process id: 0x1344
Faulting application start time: 0x01d1c9e7f577350f
Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\pid.dll


AS ADMINSTRATOR:

GTA:
Faulting application name: GTA5.exe, version: 1.0.678.1, time stamp: 0x56e2b38c
Faulting module name: SaiQFF04.dll, version: 6.0.4.1, time stamp: 0x46372b3b
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x0000000000005a80
Faulting process id: 0x3f0
Faulting application start time: 0x01d1c9e9da43ae93
Faulting application path: U:\Games\Grand Theft Auto V\GTA5.exe
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SaiQFF04.dll

SETUP USB CONTROLLER / Windows Shell Common DLL has stopped working"
Faulting application name: rundll32.exe_shell32.dll, version: 10.0.10586.0, time stamp: 0x5632d71b
Faulting module name: SaiQFF04.dll, version: 6.0.4.1, time stamp: 0x46372b3b
Exception code: 0xc000041d
Fault offset: 0x0000000000005a80
Faulting process id: 0x1508
Faulting application start time: 0x01d1c9ea3812625e
Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\rundll32.exe
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\system32\SaiQFF04.dll

What happens if you set GTA5 to run in Windows Vista compatibility mode?
You might also try installing the drivers logged in as the Administrator.