Game Error Index

Reading this index

Multiple games

• 0xc0000005 — engine or driver level

  An access violation — the process touched memory it does not own. Usually a corrupted install, a bad mod, or a driver conflict.

• DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED — engine or driver level

  The graphics driver stopped responding and the device was reset. Usually VRAM oversubscription, an unstable overclock, or a driver crash.

• Failed to create XAudio2 engine — engine or driver level

  The DirectX runtime is incomplete or damaged. Installing the DirectX End-User Runtime is the usual fix.

007 First Light Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• Crash on launch, or black screen at startup

  Verify files, run as administrator, clear the game shader cache folder, disable Discord and Steam overlays, confirm the Day 1 patch downloaded (the game needs a one-time internet connection), and add…

• Fatal error crashes on 4GB or 6GB graphics cards

  Keep Texture Quality on Low or Medium. Watch the VRAM meter in the graphics menu — if the bar turns red, severe stuttering and crashes are guaranteed.

• Input lag or floaty controls

  Disable overlays and capture tools, then enable V-Sync or set an FPS cap slightly below your monitor refresh rate.

• Performance drops after 10–30 minutes

  Check temperatures and throttling, and remove overclocks — GPU overclock plus RAM XMP/EXPO — for a stability test.

• Shader compilation crash on 6GB cards

  Lower the Windows desktop resolution before the very first launch, then restore it once the game has built its cache.

Apex Legends

• Crash during intense firefights

  Set Texture Streaming Budget below your card’s VRAM — 2 GB to 4 GB on mid-range cards — and disable or reduce anti-aliasing.

• Crash On Startup

  Apex closes immediately when launching, crashes when loading into the lobby, or exits suddenly during matchmaking.

• Crash on startup or when loading into the lobby

  Run EasyAntiCheat_Setup.exe from the EasyAntiCheat folder as administrator and choose Repair Service.

• Crashes on FX-6000 series CPUs

  Run in windowed mode and follow Respawn’s FX-specific guidance. There is no full fix for these chips.

• Illegal instruction" error

  Report it to Easy Anti-Cheat through their technical support form and verify game files in the meantime.

Apex Legends Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Apex Legends crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Apex Legends Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Apex Legends crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

ARC Raiders Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  ARC Raiders crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

ARC Raiders Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having ARC Raiders crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

ARK: Survival Ascended Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  ARK: Survival Ascended crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

ARK: Survival Ascended Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having ARK: Survival Ascended crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Baldur's Gate 3 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Baldur's Gate 3 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Baldur's Gate 3 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Baldur's Gate 3 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Batman: Arkham Knight

• Batgirl’s special takedowns and DLC critical strikes unusable on keyboard

  Copy the Bindings lines from [Engine.PlayerInput] into [BmGame.RPlayerInput] in BmInput.ini, add bindings for TriggerWeaponDestroy and TriggerSecondaryGroupCombatMove, and set the file read-only.

• Game refuses to start on Intel integrated graphics

  Use the community Intel GPU detection fix, which drops a modified dxgi.dll into Binaries\Win64. Note it increases startup time and is incompatible with the Quixote fix because they share the DLL name.

• Instability on Windows 11

  Disable HAGS in Settings > System > Display > Graphics settings. Re-enable it after playing, since turning it off can affect other titles.

• Launch crash or black screen

  Try -windowed, -noborder and -dx11 as Steam launch options one at a time, and rename the BmGame configuration folder so the game rebuilds it.

• Low Fps

  Frame rate is far below what the hardware should deliver, with stutter that persists even on capable systems — worst while driving the Batmobile.

• Stutter and low frame rate on capable hardware

  Disable the GameWorks effects — enhanced rain, light shafts, smoke/fog and interactive paper debris — even on NVIDIA cards and regardless of GPU tier.

BioShock Infinite

• Cannot restore the game after Alt-Tab

  Exit TeamViewer before playing.

• Crash on startup, sometimes every 5–10 minutes

  Disable any OSD or hardware monitoring overlay, revert any GPU overclock, and disable virtual network adapters such as Hamachi or the Killer NIC.

• Crashes during loading

  Back up and move the BioShock Infinite folder out of Documents\My Games, then start the game so it rebuilds the folder. Also disable the NVIDIA overlay.

• Microstutter

  Adaptive VSync on NVIDIA or dynamic VSync on AMD reduces it substantially. High-polling-rate mice can also cause it — Razer users should set polling rate to 125 Hz.

• Stuttering

  The game runs at a reasonable average frame rate but hitches constantly, with texture quality stuck at very low or textures that visibly reload over and over.

• Texture quality stuck on Very Low / textures never load

  Set PoolSize in XEngine.ini to roughly 400 less than your VRAM in MB, add -ReadTexturePoolFromIni as a launch option, or use -DisableTexturePool.

• Xbox button prompts and a spinning camera with no controller attached

  Remove physical controllers, disable virtual ones, or edit XEngine.ini and change AllowJoystickInput=1 to 0.

Black Myth: Wukong Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Black Myth: Wukong crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Black Myth: Wukong Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Black Myth: Wukong crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Borderlands 2

• .NET Framework Client Profile reinstalls every launch

  Uncheck read-only on the installation folder, or add a DWORD named NET40Redist with value 1 under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Valve\Steam\Apps\49520.

• Co-op will not connect

  Add a firewall exception for the game, open those UDP ports, or add the -tcp launch argument to force TCP. Verify the game cache and reboot Steam as well.

• Items falling through the world

  Set PhysX to Low or Disabled. Community reports consistently point at this setting.

• Memory exhaustion on long sessions

  Apply a 4 GB patch (LAA flag) to the executable. Back up the original file first — you are modifying a binary.

• Microlag and stutter on Windows 10/11

  Right-click Borderlands2.exe in Binaries\Win32, open the Compatibility tab and disable fullscreen optimizations.

• Out Of Video Memory

  Borderlands 2 crashes with a message saying it has run out of video memory, often during extended sessions or heavy combat.

• Ran out of video memory

  Lower PhysX to Low or Medium first — it is the primary culprit. Then reduce Texture Quality and View Distance.

Call of Duty: Warzone Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Call of Duty: Warzone crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Call of Duty: Warzone Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Call of Duty: Warzone crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Code Vein 2 Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• “Out of Video Memory” crash

  Update the motherboard BIOS for the Intel microcode fix, load Intel Default / Baseline settings, and turn off CPU overclocking.

• “UE Fatal Error” or “UE-CodeVein2 Fatal Error”

  Verify game files, update drivers, run as administrator and remove any mods. Then force DirectX 11 with the -dx11 launch option, disable every overlay (Steam, Discord, GeForce, MSI Afterburner), raise…

• Crashes after a game or driver update

  Disable all mods first, then overlays. If the game becomes stable, re-enable them one at a time to find the culprit.

• Cutscenes locked to 30 FPS

  An injectable ASI fix distributed via the PCGamingWiki forums removes the cap.

• Persistent stuttering

  The widely used “Ultimate Engine Tweaks” mod edits Engine.ini at %localappdata%\CodeVein2\Saved\Config\Windows\Engine.ini for lower latency and fewer hitches; set the file read-only afterwards.

Counter-Strike 2 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Counter-Strike 2 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Counter-Strike 2 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Counter-Strike 2 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Crimson Desert Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• “Out of Video Memory” or DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG

  If it crashes during shader compilation before the main menu on a 13900K/14700K/14900K, update BIOS to microcode 0x129/0x12B and load the Intel Baseline profile.

• Compatibility errors on older Windows builds

  Update Windows through Windows Update before installing.

• Crash on launch

  Verify game files through Steam, delete the shader cache folder so the game rebuilds it, and run the executable as administrator. These two steps cover the large majority of launch failures.

• Ghosting behind fast-moving objects with DLSS

  Switch to DLAA if available, or use FSR 4.1 instead.

• Low FPS despite capable hardware

  Confirm the game is running on the discrete GPU and that the monitor is connected to the GPU output, not the motherboard.

• Traversal stutter when sprinting through settlements

  Install on a Gen4 NVMe SSD. On a hard drive the stutter cannot be fixed with settings.

Cyberpunk 2077

• Crash before the main menu (launcher fault)

  Delete %localappdata%\Programs\CD Projekt Red\REDlauncher and relaunch. The launcher rebuilds its own files.

• Crash On Startup

  The game closes immediately on launch, flatlines before the main menu, or fails before the CD Projekt Red launcher fully opens.

• Crashes that only appear on your machine

  Test at stock CPU, GPU and RAM settings. If crashes stop, reapply tuning gradually.

• Instant crash on startup after an update

  Disable all mods and test clean. Re-enable one at a time. A clean test is the fastest way to separate game instability from a mod conflict.

• Random flatlines during long sessions

  Close heavy background apps and increase the Windows page file to 1.5–2x installed RAM before you start downgrading hardware.

• Runtime errors after a Windows reset or drive migration

  Use Modify > Repair on the 2015-2022 redistributables (x64 and x86), then run the installers in the game’s redist folder.

Cyberpunk 2077 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Cyberpunk 2077 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Cyberpunk 2077 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Cyberpunk 2077 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Death Stranding 2 Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• “Out of Memory” or DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED

  Remove any GPU overclock first. Then set a manual Windows page file of 16384 MB initial and 32768 MB maximum on your fastest SSD.

• Black screen on launch

  Add -windowed to the Steam launch options to reach the display settings, set the native resolution and refresh rate manually, then switch back to fullscreen or borderless.

• Crash at the very first loading screen, or Vulkan errors

  From the launcher menu before pressing play, turn ray tracing completely off, disable frame generation, and switch anti-aliasing from DLSS/FSR to PICO.

• Crash during cutscenes or long delivery transitions

  Restart the game every two to three hours to clear the cache until a patch arrives.

• Startup crash after a Windows 11 update

  Enable compatibility mode for Windows 8 plus “Run as administrator” and disable fullscreen optimizations on the executable. Try -dx11 to bypass DX12 shader initialisation.

Destiny 2

• Crash on launch or when switching displays

  Disable HDR in Destiny 2 and in Windows display settings, then test again.

• Crashes during raids or Crucible

  Reset GPU core clock, memory clock, voltage and power limit to stock. Disable manual CPU overclocking and test with XMP/EXPO off for 20–30 minutes in the activity that usually crashes.

• Freeze during sign-in or random exits mid-activity

  Allow Destiny 2 through Windows Defender Firewall (both Private and Public) and add the install folder to your antivirus exclusions. Use exclusions rather than disabling protection entirely.

• Freeze on alt-tab or activity loading

  Switch consistently between fullscreen and borderless, disable fullscreen optimizations on the executable, and close OBS, Medal, Overwolf, Xbox Game Bar and RGB overlays.

Destiny 2 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Destiny 2 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Destiny 2 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Destiny 2 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• Blue screens or full system restarts

  Return the GPU core clock, memory clock and voltage to default, disable CPU overclocks, and test with XMP/EXPO/DOCP disabled.

• Crashes that persist after every software fix

  Collect a DxDiag report (Win+R, dxdiag, Save All Information) and record the exact symptom, the full error message, when it started, whether it followed a patch or driver update, your GPU model and dr…

• DirectX 12 crashes tied to ray tracing

  Disable ray tracing. Treat this as a diagnostic step rather than proof that ray tracing is broken on every GPU.

• Freeze or black screen when interacting with an NPC, object or UI element, or when teleporting

  Run Scan and Repair from the Battle.net gear menu, update the GPU driver, disable ray tracing, and lower texture quality.

• Game will not launch

  Rename or delete dstorage.dll and the LocalPrefs file, run the executable as administrator (and try compatibility mode), install the Visual C++ redistributables, allow the game through Controlled Fold…

DOOM (2016)

• Crash at startup on Vulkan

  Force OpenGL with +r_renderAPI 0 as a launch option. This is also the recovery path when the game crashes before the menu.

• Crash On Startup

  DOOM closes on launch, sometimes with a fatal error such as "Failed to create XAudio2 engine" or "wglCreateContextAttribsARB failed", and sometimes with no message at all.

• Crashes on gaming laptops

  In Settings > System > Display > Graphics, select DOOM and set it to the high-performance GPU.

• FATAL ERROR: Failed to create XAudio2 engine

  Install the latest DirectX End-User Runtime from Microsoft, then restart.

• FATAL ERROR: wglCreateContextAttribsARB failed

  Switch the renderer. If the game will not open, add +r_renderAPI 0 to Steam launch options to force OpenGL, or switch to Vulkan in Options > Video once you are in.

• Launch failures from missing runtimes

  In Steam, open Steamworks Common Redistributables > Manage > Browse local files and run the vcredist installers under _CommonRedist for both x64 and x86.

Dota 2 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Dota 2 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Dota 2 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Dota 2 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Elden Ring Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Elden Ring crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Elden Ring Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Elden Ring crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Elden Ring Nightreign Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Elden Ring Nightreign crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Elden Ring Nightreign Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Elden Ring Nightreign crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Escape from Tarkov Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Escape from Tarkov crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Escape from Tarkov Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Escape from Tarkov crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Fallout 4

• Crash at the main menu

  Disable all mods and test. The Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch should sit near the top of the load order.

• Crash On Startup

  Fallout 4 closes before reaching the main menu, or crashes at the menu with no error message.

• Crashes in downtown Boston

  Confirm a PreVis problem by setting bPreCulledObjectsEnabled=0 and bUseCombinedObjects=0 in Fallout4.ini — if the flickering stops, a mod is breaking PreCombine data.

• Crashes on modern NVIDIA cards (weapon debris)

  Turn Weapon Debris off. It is the single highest-value stability change in the graphics menu.

• Everything broke after the next-gen update

  Either wait for compatibility patches or downgrade to 1.10.163 with a downgrade patcher, which remains the stable baseline most modding guides target.

• Launch crash before the menu

  Install Visual C++ 2015-2022 (x64 and x86) and the DirectX End-User Runtime, then restart.

Fortnite Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Fortnite crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Fortnite Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Fortnite crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Forza Horizon 6 Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• Black screen on launch

  Set RTSS (RivaTuner) to “Use Microsoft Detours” for the game executable, disable Discord/Steam/MSI Afterburner overlays, set the system clock to automatic, and do a clean GPU driver install.

• Constant streaming stutter

  Move it to an SSD. Horizon 6 requires SSD-class storage for asset streaming; on an HDD the stutter is unavoidable.

• Error 0x0 / “Region Failed” when going online

  Open Command Prompt as administrator and run “netsh interface teredo show state”. If Teredo is blocked, run “netsh interface teredo set state type=default” and restart the game.

• FPS falls from 80+ to 20 after a few minutes

  Switch the controller to a wired USB connection. Performance normally returns immediately.

• Heavy stuttering on AMD cards

  Disable SAM / ReBAR in BIOS, and in AMD Adrenalin disable driver-level enhancements except FSR upscaling.

• Micro-stutter and uneven frame pacing

  Turn V-Sync off in the game menu, set the frame rate to Unlocked, then manage frame pacing from your GPU software instead: NVIDIA Control Panel maximum FPS, or AMD Frame Rate Target Control.

• Slow FPS degradation over a long session (NVIDIA)

  With Nvidia Profile Inspector, open the game profile, go to “Section 8 – Extras”, and set PS_CONST_FOLDING_GPU to OFF.

Genshin Impact Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Genshin Impact crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Genshin Impact Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Genshin Impact crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

God of War (2018)

• Crashes and freezes on PC

  Run as administrator, set GoW.exe to High priority in Task Manager, switch to the High or Ultimate Performance power plan, verify game files, and disable any overclock.

• Resizable BAR behaving inconsistently

  Test with ReBAR disabled in BIOS and compare frame pacing. Enable it again if there is no difference.

• Severe performance drop on Intel Arc A750/A770

  Roll back to a driver in the 537x–538x range, or to 5526 / 5601, using DDU to uninstall first.

• Stutter after a driver update

  Delete the contents of %LOCALAPPDATA%\GodOfWar\DXCache and relaunch so shaders recompile.

God of War Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  God of War crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

God of War Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having God of War crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Grand Theft Auto V

• Black Screen

  The Rockstar Games Launcher reports a successful launch, but the game window never appears — or a black screen shows for thirty seconds or more before returning to the desktop.

• Crash to desktop right after the splash screen

  Reinstall BattlEye from the game’s BattlEye subfolder, then disable every overlay. RAGE titles crash on injection more often than most engines.

• Crashes with 0xc0000142 or 0xc000007b

  Rename Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA V\settings.xml so the game rebuilds it, then reinstall Visual C++ 2015-2022 (both x64 and x86).

• ERR_GFX_D3D_INIT

  GTA V fails to start with a graphics initialisation error, or reaches the splash screen and closes before the menu appears.

• Launch failures after a game update (mods)

  Rename dinput8.dll, the scripts folder and any .asi files in the install root, then launch vanilla. Keep mods out of GTA Online — story mode only.

• Sign-in loop / "launcher failed to initialize

  Delete %LocalAppData%\Rockstar Games\Launcher, sign in again, and add GTA5.exe plus C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games to your antivirus exclusions.

Grand Theft Auto V Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Grand Theft Auto V crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Grand Theft Auto V Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Grand Theft Auto V crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Helldivers 2 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Helldivers 2 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Helldivers 2 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Helldivers 2 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Horizon Zero Dawn

• Black Screen

  The game goes black during the optimisation or shader compilation step, crashes to desktop, or launches to a black screen while audio continues.

• Crash during the initial shader compilation

  Free space on the install drive, increase the page file, and let Windows manage its size. Restart the game after compilation finishes so it can release memory still held from the compile pass.

• Game crashes during optimisation or after the splash

  Delete PSOCache.bin (roughly 1.4 GB) from the game’s LocalCacheDX12 folder and relaunch. The game rebuilds and recompiles it.

• Intermittent crashes writing to memory address 0

  Be aware the community-reported hex patch is not universally effective and may make crashes more frequent for some users. Try the cache and page file fixes first.

• Save game failed

  Run as administrator, use a profile without non-Latin characters, and toggle Controlled folder access off in Windows Security ransomware protection.

• Textures flicker or look muddy after forcing anisotropic filtering

  Force anisotropic filtering in the driver, then delete PSOCache.bin from LocalCacheDX12 and let shaders recompile.

League of Legends Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  League of Legends crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

League of Legends Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having League of Legends crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Left 4 Dead 2

• Crash On Startup

  L4D2 crashes at launch or quits to the desktop without warning, often after installing Workshop content.

• Crashes linked to Workshop content

  Manually clear steamapps\common\Left 4 Dead 2\left4dead2\workshop after unsubscribing.

• Crashes on multicore rendering

  Disable Multicore Rendering in video settings.

• Discord-related crashes

  In Discord, disable OpenH264 Video Codec, quality of service high packet priority and hardware acceleration, then restart.

• Frequent crashes to desktop

  Disable recently added mods and functionally duplicated mods first. If it stabilises, you do not need any of the deeper fixes.

• Memory-related crashes

  Set Paged Pool Memory to Low (or at least Medium in unstable sessions) and turn VSync off.

• Multiplayer-specific crashes

  Avoid non-standard mods as host, and if a specific campaign node crashes, try a different map start point or reset the chapter.

Marvel Rivals Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Marvel Rivals crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Marvel Rivals Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Marvel Rivals crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

• Black Screen

  The game boots to a black screen and freezes, or shows a white screen immediately after starting.

• Boots to a black screen and freezes

  Disable ShadowPlay and the GeForce Experience overlay. This is the first thing to rule out for Fox Engine on PC.

• Crashes after installing mods

  Move them out of steamapps\common\MGS_TPP and test unmodded, then re-enable one at a time.

• MFPlat.dll error on launch

  Install the Media Feature Pack matching your Windows version. This is a system component, not a game file.

• Periodic hitching

  Disable Shader Cache for the game in the NVIDIA Control Panel. Enabling adaptive VSync in the driver can also disable VSync entirely on a 60 Hz display — that is a separate trap.

• Significant performance loss when calling Fulton or the helicopter

  Lower Effects specifically rather than the whole preset.

• White screen after starting the game

  Delete TPP_GRAPHICS_CONFIG from the configuration folder and relaunch so it regenerates.

Minecraft Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Minecraft crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Minecraft Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Minecraft crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Monster Hunter Stories 3 Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• “Fatal D3D Error” when entering Shadow Dens

  Textures on Medium for an 8GB card — non-negotiable. High is fine at 12GB, and 16GB or more can run whatever you like.

• Black screen with audio

  Press Alt+Enter to force windowed mode and set the correct resolution. Disable Steam and Discord overlays.

• Controller not recognised, or audio crackling

  Set the controller override to “Enable Steam Input” so signals become XInput (this also helps DualSense latency).

• Download stuck on unpacking or 100%

  Wait for disk usage to drop to zero and do not close Steam during the phase.

• Freezes during cutscenes

  Make sure the GPU shader cache is enabled in the control panel. If you run a Windows “N” edition, install the Media Feature Pack — missing codecs crash cutscenes outright.

• Silent crash to desktop on launch

  Restart Steam completely to force the initial patch, verify game file integrity, update the GPU driver (or DDU and clean install if it got worse), and add the installation folder and executable to Win…

Monster Hunter Wilds Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Monster Hunter Wilds crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Monster Hunter Wilds Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Monster Hunter Wilds crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Nioh 3 Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• Crash during boss cutscenes

  Set Cutscene Quality to Medium.

• DirectX 12 crash on launch

  Update the GPU driver first. If it persists, add -dx11 to the Steam launch options to fall back to DirectX 11. Also run the executable as administrator and disable fullscreen optimizations.

• Disconnect or crash when summoning in co-op

  Disable cross-play in the network settings.

• Freeze after alt-tabbing back

  Switch from Exclusive Fullscreen to Borderless Windowed. The cost is roughly 2–3% FPS and alt-tabbing becomes reliable.

• Freezing and DXGI device removed errors

  Disable frame generation, cap FPS to 60, turn off Steam/Discord/GeForce/Xbox Game Bar/MSI Afterburner overlays, do a clean driver install, and verify game files.

• Save corruption after a crash

  Enable Steam Cloud saves and manually back up %APPDATA%\Nioh3\SaveData\ weekly.

No Man's Sky Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  No Man's Sky crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

No Man's Sky Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having No Man's Sky crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Palworld Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Palworld crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Palworld Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Palworld crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Project Zomboid Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Project Zomboid crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Project Zomboid Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Project Zomboid crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

PUBG: Battlegrounds Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  PUBG: Battlegrounds crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

PUBG: Battlegrounds Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having PUBG: Battlegrounds crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Red Dead Redemption 2

• Black screen on launch or freeze during missions

  Disable fullscreen optimizations on both PlayRDR2.exe and RDR2.exe, then verify files. If it persists, switch API and clear the sga_ files again.

• ERR_GFX_STATE

  The game loads to the main menu, then closes with an "ERR_GFX_STATE" error the moment you continue into story mode.

• ERR_GFX_STATE after loading into story mode

  Switch Graphics API to DirectX 12, or delete every file starting with sga_ (e.g. sga_vulkan_final_init.vkPipelineCacheWindows) in Documents\Rockstar Games\Red Dead Redemption 2\Settings.

• Out Of Memory

  An "Out of Memory" error appears at launch or mid-session, sometimes on systems with 16 GB of RAM and an 8 GB card that run other demanding titles without complaint.

• Out of Memory on 8 GB cards

  Texture Quality to High, MSAA off, resolution scaling at 100% or lower. Set the page file to 1.5x initial and 2–3x maximum of your installed RAM, then restart.

• Unexpectantly closed" with no error text

  Right-click the speaker icon in the tray, open Sound settings, and select NVIDIA High Definition Audio under Output.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Red Dead Redemption 2 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Red Dead Redemption 2 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Resident Evil Requiem Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• “Out of Video Memory” or DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG

  If the crash is during shader compilation before the main menu and you have a 13900K/14700K/14900K, update the motherboard BIOS to microcode 0x129/0x12B and load the Intel Baseline profile.

• Black screen with audio playing

  Press Alt+Enter to toggle windowed. If that fails, delete config.ini in the Capcom save folder to reset graphics, and disable HDR in Windows Display Settings before launching.

• Crash or hang during shader compilation

  BIOS microcode update per above. Then delete the shader cache under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Capcom\Resident Evil Requiem and clear Steam’s global shader pre-cache, and relaunch.

• FPS tanks in large open areas

  Set Mesh Quality to Low and Volumetric Lighting to Medium. On AMD cards also try disabling ReBAR.

• Mouse cursor stuck on screen

  In Options > Controls set the input mode explicitly to Keyboard/Mouse Only or Controller Only instead of auto-detect. If the cursor persists, Alt+Tab out and back in.

• Stutter when frame generation is on

  Disable in-game V-Sync and use NVIDIA Control Panel V-Sync instead, cap frames with RTSS below your refresh rate, and keep frame generation off entirely on 8GB cards.

• White dots along the bottom of the screen

  Switch DLSS from Performance to Balanced or Quality.

RimWorld Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  RimWorld crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

RimWorld Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having RimWorld crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Rocket League

• Choppy feel despite a normal FPS counter

  Confirm in Windows display settings that the monitor is still at 144 Hz or 240 Hz and that it is plugged into the GPU, not the motherboard.

• Controller conflicts

  Disable the Steam overlay for Rocket League and, if you use Steam Input, try turning it off for this game.

• Crashes and stutter on Windows 10/11

  On RocketLeague.exe in Binaries\Win64, tick Disable fullscreen optimizations and set high DPI scaling override to Application.

• nvlddmkm stopped responding or sudden crashes

  Check Windows Event Viewer around the crash time, do a clean driver install, and verify game files.

• Weird behaviour after years of updates

  Back up and delete Documents\My Games\Rocket League\TAGame\Config and %localappdata%\RocketLeague\Saved\Config, then relaunch. You will lose keybinds and camera settings, so note them first.

Rocket League Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Rocket League crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Rocket League Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Rocket League crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Rust Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Rust crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Rust Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Rust crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Sea of Thieves Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Sea of Thieves crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Sea of Thieves Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Sea of Thieves crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Stardew Valley Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Stardew Valley crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Stardew Valley Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Stardew Valley crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Subnautica 2 Errors: Fix Paths, and When to Ask for a Refund

• “The game may not have exited correctly”

  If the game then crashes on that window every launch, clear the temporary cache files inside the game folder in %LOCALAPPDATA% — without touching the Saved folder — and verify file integrity through S…

• Crash on launch

  Verify game file integrity, do a clean driver install, clear the DirectX shader cache from Windows Disk Cleanup, run the executable as administrator, and disable Discord and GeForce Experience overlay…

• Do not force DirectX 11

  Editing Engine.ini to force DX11 causes an immediate crash. Leave the renderer on DX12 and lower Lumen instead.

• Fabricator or base crafting consumes resources and produces nothing

  Save the game and reload the same save; base mechanics restart fully. Also avoid placing portable containers directly on the floor inside base modules, as they can fall through the floor and block the…

• Frame rate degrades after two to three hours

  Save and restart the game every few hours. The developer has confirmed this will be patched before full release.

• Freeze when swimming out of caves into open water

  Confirm the game is on an SSD — on a hard drive these freezes are unavoidable — and lower Global Illumination to Medium or Low.

• Friends cannot join co-op, or the loading screen never ends

  Make sure every player has the same game version, restart Steam and the game, verify files, try changing the host, and check firewall, antivirus and VPN settings.

Terraria

• .NET installation fails

  Place the downloaded runtime ZIP in the installation’s LaunchUtils folder, typically under steamapps\common\tModLoader\LaunchUtils.

• Crashes that keep coming back after a fix

  Temporarily untick "Keep game saves in the Steam Cloud for Terraria" so the game uses only local files.

• Out Of Memory

  tModLoader runs out of memory — often the mod list loads fine but the game crashes or freezes when you create or enter a world.

• Out of memory when creating or entering a world

  Use the 64-bit tModLoader from Steam — the 32-bit build is limited to roughly 3.5 GB. Then reduce the mod load and close memory-heavy apps.

• tModLoader crashes on startup

  Disable all mods from the Mods menu and test. If it stops, re-enable one at a time. Keep required library mods even if they look small — another mod may depend on them.

• World or player file corruption

  Rename the .wld.bak file in your Terraria Worlds folder to .wld to restore the backup, and back up Documents\My Games\Terraria regularly.

Terraria Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Terraria crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Terraria Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Terraria crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

• Crash a few minutes into a session

  Move to 1K or 2K textures, disable ENB or ReShade for a test, reduce grass density and check temperatures. Test in the same spot for the same duration each time.

• Crash On Startup

  Skyrim closes at launch or at the main menu, typically after installing or updating mods.

• Crash on startup with mods

  Make sure SKSE, the address library and every DLL plugin match your exact game version. Launch through SKSE’s executable, not the vanilla launcher.

• Crashes after removing mods mid-playthrough

  Create a clean save before removing script-heavy mods, and avoid pulling scripted mods out mid-game.

• Physics glitches then crash on modern high-refresh displays

  Cap to 60 FPS through your GPU control panel, a display tweak mod, or RTSS. Do not stack several frame limiters at once — conflicting caps cause their own stutter.

• Script-related crashes in combat

  Set fPostLoadUpdateTimeMS=2000.0 in Skyrim.ini under [Papyrus], and consider fFleeIsFleeing=0.00 under [General] to stop an NPC AI crash path.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order.

The Sims 4 Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  The Sims 4 crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

The Sims 4 Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having The Sims 4 crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

• Crash during shader compilation, before the main menu

  Update the motherboard BIOS to Intel microcode 0x12F or later and apply Intel defaults. This is a voltage-stability fix, not a memory fix.

• Crashes while saving

  Check the Documents folder permissions and free space, and make sure the game is not installed under a folder Windows restricts.

• DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED / D3D device hung with ray tracing

  Disable path tracing and drop texture quality one step. Re-test the exact save and area that crashed before touching anything else.

• msvcp120.dll / VCRUNTIME140.dll / MSVCP140.dll errors

  Install both vc_redist.x64.exe and vc_redist.x86.exe from Microsoft, or use Modify > Repair on existing 2015-2022 entries. Never download single DLLs from third-party sites.

• Out Of Video Memory

  The game crashes with an out-of-video-memory message, a DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED error, or a D3D device hung error — most often in Novigrad, Toussaint, or during cutscenes.

• Stuttering

  Average frame rate looks fine, but the game hitches while traversing — worst in Novigrad and other dense hubs, with sharp drops in 1% lows.

• Unable to detect Windows Media Player

  Turn Windows Media Player on in Control Panel > Programs > Turn Windows features on or off, or install the Media Feature Pack for your Windows build.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order.

Tomb Raider (2013)

• Crash to desktop and problems minimising the game

  Disable Exclusive Fullscreen and uninstall any RAM optimizer or game booster software — they are bloatware that actively destabilises the game.

• Flickering and crashes on SLI or CrossFire

  Set VSync to Off in the launcher’s advanced settings and disable tessellation.

• Large FPS loss on modern Windows with display scaling

  Disable DPI optimisations for the executable in Compatibility settings, skip the launcher, or revert system scaling to its default.

• Low Fps

  Frame rate is much lower than expected for the hardware, with the biggest drops outdoors and in the Shantytown hub area.

• Screen looks like broken glass at certain points

  Change the High Precision setting to any other value and apply. The fix must be reapplied each time it appears, and you can set it back afterwards without retriggering it.

• Severe frame-rate loss, especially on NVIDIA cards

  Set hair to Normal to disable TressFX and set ambient occlusion to Normal rather than Ultra. These two changes are the largest single performance gain available.

• Static noise in music and ambient sound

  Update your audio drivers, and in Control Panel > Sound > Audio > Advanced > Performance, set the hardware acceleration slider to None.

VALORANT Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  VALORANT crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

VALORANT Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having VALORANT crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.

Warframe

• Black Screen

  Warframe launches to a black screen, sometimes with audio playing normally, or freezes before the login screen.

• Black screen at launch with sound playing

  Press Alt + Enter, or delete the display settings in EE.cfg so the game rebuilds them.

• Crash to desktop in open worlds (Plains, Vallis, Duviri)

  Drop Texture Memory one step and turn off Volumetric Lighting. These two plus Geometry are the expensive options in Warframe.

• Crash when a squad member joins

  Close the Discord overlay. Digital Extremes lists Rivatuner, MSI Afterburner OSD, Razer Synapse and Chroma, Raptr, GeDoSaTo, Lucid VirtuWatt and Baidu IME as known conflicts.

• Freeze on the login screen

  Untick "use automatic configuration script" and "proxy server" in Windows Internet Options.

• Hitches and stutters on DirectX 12

  Switch to DirectX 11 in the launcher. Conversely, if you have a 6-core or better CPU and low FPS in crowds, DX12 is the better choice — test both.

Warframe Common Crashes & What the Errors Mean (2026)

• Common Crashes

  Warframe crashes are rarely mysterious. Here is what the common error patterns mean and the first place to look before reinstalling.

Warframe Crash, Black Screen & Stutter Fixes (2026)

• Crash Black Screen Fix

  Having Warframe crash, show a black screen, or stutter? Work through these fixes in order. Most issues are software, not hardware — and if nothing works, you usually have refund options.