diff --git a/backend/api/routers/dub_generate.py b/backend/api/routers/dub_generate.py
index a9d9e9ba..1dbfa693 100644
--- a/backend/api/routers/dub_generate.py
+++ b/backend/api/routers/dub_generate.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ from schemas.requests import DubRequest
 from services.model_manager import get_model, _gpu_pool
 from services.audio_dsp import apply_mastering, normalize_audio, apply_effects_chain, get_effect_chain
 from services.audio_io import atomic_save_wav, _safe_torchaudio_save
-from services.ffmpeg_utils import find_ffmpeg
+from services.ffmpeg_utils import find_ffmpeg, spawn_subprocess
 from services.rvc import apply_rvc, is_enabled as rvc_is_enabled
 from services.incremental import segment_fingerprint
 from services.watermark import embed_watermark
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ async def _pitch_preserving_stretch(
     # Mono float32 via stdin → ffmpeg → stdout. One subprocess per segment,
     # run off the event loop so concurrent requests stay responsive.
     arr = wav.detach().cpu().to(torch.float32).numpy().reshape(-1).astype(np.float32, copy=False)
-    proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+    proc = await spawn_subprocess(
         find_ffmpeg(), "-hide_banner", "-loglevel", "error", "-y",
         "-f", "f32le", "-ar", str(sr), "-ac", "1", "-i", "pipe:0",
         "-af", filter_str,
diff --git a/backend/api/routers/gallery.py b/backend/api/routers/gallery.py
index c235796d..a2c3a203 100644
--- a/backend/api/routers/gallery.py
+++ b/backend/api/routers/gallery.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from pydantic import BaseModel
 from core.db import db_conn
 from core.config import VOICES_DIR, OUTPUTS_DIR
 from core import event_bus
+from services.ffmpeg_utils import spawn_subprocess
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("omnivoice.gallery")
 
@@ -199,7 +200,7 @@ async def search_youtube(
 ):
     """Search YouTube for character/celebrity clips using yt-dlp."""
     try:
-        result = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+        result = await spawn_subprocess(
             "yt-dlp",
             "--dump-json",
             "--remote-components", "ejs:github",
@@ -273,7 +274,7 @@ async def download_youtube_clip(
             video_url,
         ]
 
-        result = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+        result = await spawn_subprocess(
             *cmd,
             stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
             stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
diff --git a/backend/api/routers/tools.py b/backend/api/routers/tools.py
index 7e95d02c..7af6017f 100644
--- a/backend/api/routers/tools.py
+++ b/backend/api/routers/tools.py
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException
 from pydantic import BaseModel, Field
 
 from services import director, speech_rate, incremental
-from services.ffmpeg_utils import find_ffmpeg, find_ffprobe
+from services.ffmpeg_utils import find_ffmpeg, find_ffprobe, spawn_subprocess
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("omnivoice.tools")
 router = APIRouter()
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ async def probe(req: ProbeReq):
             status_code=501,
             detail="ffprobe binary not available. Install system ffmpeg or re-run the setup.",
         )
-    proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+    proc = await spawn_subprocess(
         ffprobe, "-v", "quiet", "-print_format", "json",
         "-show_format", "-show_streams", target,
         stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE, stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
diff --git a/backend/services/ffmpeg_utils.py b/backend/services/ffmpeg_utils.py
index 6dee08d1..d4782104 100644
--- a/backend/services/ffmpeg_utils.py
+++ b/backend/services/ffmpeg_utils.py
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ async def _spawn_thread_fallback(cmd, **kwargs):
             stdout=subprocess.PIPE if stdout == asyncio.subprocess.PIPE else stdout,
             stderr=subprocess.PIPE if stderr == asyncio.subprocess.PIPE else stderr,
             stdin=subprocess.PIPE if stdin == asyncio.subprocess.PIPE else stdin,
+            **kwargs,  # forward cwd / env / etc. so the fallback matches the async call
         )
 
     proc = await loop.run_in_executor(None, _run)
@@ -166,6 +167,20 @@ async def _spawn_thread_fallback(cmd, **kwargs):
     return _AsyncCompatProc(proc)
 
 
+async def spawn_subprocess(*args, **kwargs):
+    """Drop-in replacement for ``asyncio.create_subprocess_exec``.
+
+    Falls back to a thread-based ``subprocess.Popen`` (wrapped to match the
+    asyncio Process interface) on event loops without subprocess support —
+    notably the Windows ``SelectorEventLoop`` that uvicorn forces under
+    ``--reload``/multi-worker (``use_subprocess=True``), where the native call
+    raises ``NotImplementedError`` (GH #122). Also inherits the EAGAIN retry.
+    On loops that DO support subprocesses (Proactor, posix) the native path is
+    used unchanged, so there is no behavior change off the broken loop.
+    """
+    return await _spawn_with_retry(list(args), **kwargs)
+
+
 async def _spawn_with_retry(cmd, **kwargs):
     """Spawn a subprocess, retrying briefly on EAGAIN (posix_spawn resource pressure)."""
     delay = 0.1
diff --git a/backend/services/sonitranslate.py b/backend/services/sonitranslate.py
index 0453596a..d80adaef 100644
--- a/backend/services/sonitranslate.py
+++ b/backend/services/sonitranslate.py
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Optional
 
+from services.ffmpeg_utils import spawn_subprocess
+
 logger = logging.getLogger("omnivoice.sonitranslate")
 
 # Default install location — inside the OmniVoice project tree
@@ -73,7 +75,7 @@ async def install(progress_callback=None) -> dict:
         logger.info("Cloning SoniTranslate...")
         if progress_callback:
             progress_callback("Cloning SoniTranslate repository...")
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+        proc = await spawn_subprocess(
             "git", "clone", "--depth", "1",
             "https://github.com/R3gm/SoniTranslate.git",
             str(SONI_DIR),
@@ -91,7 +93,7 @@ async def install(progress_callback=None) -> dict:
             progress_callback("Creating virtualenv...")
 
         python = sys.executable
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+        proc = await spawn_subprocess(
             python, "-m", "venv", str(SONI_VENV),
             stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
             stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
@@ -103,7 +105,7 @@ async def install(progress_callback=None) -> dict:
         if progress_callback:
             progress_callback("Installing base requirements (this may take a while)...")
 
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+        proc = await spawn_subprocess(
             pip, "install", "-r", str(SONI_DIR / "requirements_base.txt"),
             cwd=str(SONI_DIR),
             stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
@@ -116,7 +118,7 @@ async def install(progress_callback=None) -> dict:
         # Install extra requirements
         if progress_callback:
             progress_callback("Installing extra requirements...")
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+        proc = await spawn_subprocess(
             pip, "install", "-r", str(SONI_DIR / "requirements_extra.txt"),
             cwd=str(SONI_DIR),
             stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
diff --git a/tests/test_subprocess_fallback.py b/tests/test_subprocess_fallback.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0791b635
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_subprocess_fallback.py
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+"""Windows --reload subprocess regression (issue #122 "Extract: Unknown Error").
+
+uvicorn forces the SelectorEventLoop on Windows when use_subprocess=True
+(`--reload` / multi-worker), where `asyncio.create_subprocess_exec` raises
+NotImplementedError. `spawn_subprocess` must transparently fall back to a
+thread-based subprocess so ffmpeg/yt-dlp/ffprobe spawns still work.
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+import os
+import sys
+
+from services import ffmpeg_utils
+
+
+def _force_notimplemented(monkeypatch):
+    async def _boom(*a, **k):
+        raise NotImplementedError("no subprocess on this loop (simulated Windows SelectorEventLoop)")
+    monkeypatch.setattr(ffmpeg_utils.asyncio, "create_subprocess_exec", _boom)
+
+
+def test_spawn_subprocess_falls_back_to_thread_on_notimplemented(monkeypatch):
+    _force_notimplemented(monkeypatch)
+
+    async def run():
+        proc = await ffmpeg_utils.spawn_subprocess(
+            sys.executable, "-c", "import sys; sys.stdout.write('ok')",
+            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE, stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+        )
+        out, _ = await proc.communicate()
+        return proc.returncode, out
+
+    rc, out = asyncio.run(run())
+    assert rc == 0
+    assert out == b"ok"
+
+
+def test_spawn_subprocess_fallback_forwards_cwd(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
+    # sonitranslate's pip install passes cwd= — the thread fallback must honor it.
+    _force_notimplemented(monkeypatch)
+
+    async def run():
+        proc = await ffmpeg_utils.spawn_subprocess(
+            sys.executable, "-c", "import os,sys; sys.stdout.write(os.getcwd())",
+            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE, stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+            cwd=str(tmp_path),
+        )
+        out, _ = await proc.communicate()
+        return out
+
+    out = asyncio.run(run())
+    assert os.path.realpath(out.decode()) == os.path.realpath(str(tmp_path))
+
+
+def test_spawn_subprocess_fallback_passes_stdin_input(monkeypatch):
+    # dub_generate's atempo pipes audio bytes via stdin → communicate(input=...).
+    _force_notimplemented(monkeypatch)
+
+    async def run():
+        proc = await ffmpeg_utils.spawn_subprocess(
+            sys.executable, "-c", "import sys; sys.stdout.buffer.write(sys.stdin.buffer.read())",
+            stdin=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE, stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+        )
+        out, _ = await proc.communicate(input=b"abc123")
+        return proc.returncode, out
+
+    rc, out = asyncio.run(run())
+    assert rc == 0
+    assert out == b"abc123"
+
+
+def test_spawn_subprocess_native_path_when_loop_supports_it():
+    # On a loop WITH subprocess support (posix / Windows Proactor) the native
+    # asyncio path is used unchanged — no behavior change off the broken loop.
+    async def run():
+        proc = await ffmpeg_utils.spawn_subprocess(
+            sys.executable, "-c", "print('hi')",
+            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+        )
+        out, _ = await proc.communicate()
+        return proc.returncode, out
+
+    rc, out = asyncio.run(run())
+    assert rc == 0
+    assert b"hi" in out