Stable Diffusion Model Failed to Load, Exiting

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Check the file

   Copy steps
   1. Re-download the model from its source
   2. Place it in models/Stable-diffusion
   3. Click the refresh icon next to the checkpoint dropdown
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Free memory

   Copy steps
   1. Close other apps
   2. Add --lowvram to COMMANDLINE_ARGS
   3. Increase Windows virtual memory (page file)
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Isolate the cause

   Copy steps
   1. Temporarily move the extensions folder contents elsewhere and relaunch
   2. Update the GPU driver
   3. Rebuild the venv if torch is damaged
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

Console shows 'Stable diffusion model failed to load' and exits, the checkpoint dropdown is empty, or a safetensors error (HeaderTooLarge, MetadataIncompleteBuffer) appears.

Why it happens

• Incomplete or corrupt download
• Checkpoint placed in the wrong folder
• Not enough RAM or VRAM for the model
• Outdated driver, broken extension or damaged torch install

This guide also covers

• stable diffusion model failed to load exiting
• stable diffusion checkpoint not loading
• safetensors header too large

The same problem in other apps

All not loading, error messages & connection guides →

• Midjourney Job Failed or Internal Server Error (Midjourney)

Other Stable Diffusion errors

• Stable Diffusion CUDA Out of Memory Error
• Stable Diffusion "Torch is not able to use GPU" Error
• Stable Diffusion Black Images and NaN Error
• Stable Diffusion Very Slow on Mac (M1, M2, M3)
• Stable Diffusion Not Using AMD GPU (Slow, CPU Only)
• Stable Diffusion xformers Error After Update
• Stable Diffusion "Couldn't install torch" Error
• Stability AI API 402 Insufficient Credits Error