What Windows background apps could cause a Steam game to crash on startup?

[Adam.J]

I just bought a new game on Steam, and it crashes immediately on startup every single time. I've tried the usual game crash on startup fix steps like verifying files and updating my graphics driver, but nothing works. The weird thing is, my friend with a nearly identical PC setup has no issues. Is there something deeper I should be checking, like a specific Windows update or background program that could be interfering?