Red Dead Redemption 2 Crashes In Windows 10

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Red Dead Redemption 2 is an action adventure game released by Rockstar Games in 2018. The game is set in the wild west and follows the adventure of outlaw Arthur Morgan. Although this is quite a stable game there are instances when certain issues can occur. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Red Dead Redemption 2 crashes in PC issue.

Before performing any of the recommended troubleshooting steps listed below it’s best to restart your computer first. This action refreshes the operating system and removes any corrupt temporary data that could be causing the problem.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Crashes In Windows 10

Check if your PC meets the system requirements

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that requires a powerful computer hardware to run properly. Your PC must meet at least the minimum requirements to avoid experiencing any issues while playing the game.

Minimum requirements

  • OS:  Windows 7 – Service Pack 1 (6.1.7601)
  • Processor:  Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD FX-6300
  • Memory:  8GB
  • Graphics Card:  Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
  • HDD Space:  150GB
  • Sound Card:  DirectX compatible

Recommended requirements

  • OS:  windows 10 – April 2018 Update (v1803)
  • Processor:  Intel Core i7-4770K / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X
  • Memory:  12GB
  • Graphics Card:  Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 480 4GB
  • HDD Space:  150GB
  • Sound Card:  DirectX compatible

Once your computer meets the requirements you should try to check if Red Dead Redemption 2 still crashes.

Update your graphics driver

This game relies heavily on your graphics card to run smoothly which is why you will need to make sure that your computer has the latest graphics drivers installed.

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card then follow the steps listed below.

  • Press Win+R (Windows logo key and R key) at the same time to invoke the Run box.
  • Type msconfig and click OK. Then the System Configurations will open.
  • When System Configuration opens, click the Boot tab. Under Boot options, check Safe boot then click OK.
  • When you’re prompted to restart your computer to apply these changes, click Restart then you will boot into Safe Mode.
  • Go to your local hard disk by clicking on This PC then Local Disk C. You should be able to see the NVIDIA folder right there. Right-click on it and choose Delete.
  • Click Start and type Run. Select Run, the Run dialog box will appear.
  • Type “devmgmt.msc” in the run box and click the OK button which should open the Device Manager Window.
  • Expand the “Display Adapters” field. This will list all network adapters that the machine has installed. Right click on the Nvidia adapter you want to uninstall and select “Uninstall”.
  • Click “OK” when prompted to uninstall the device. This will remove the adapter from the list and uninstall the driver.
  • Press Win+R (Windows logo key and R key) at the same time to invoke the Run box.
  • Type msconfig and click OK. Then the System Configurations will open.
  • When System Configuration opens, click the Boot tab. Under Boot options, uncheck Safe boot then click OK.
  • When you’re prompted to restart your computer to apply these changes, click Restart.
  • Download the latest NVIDIA driver for your computer from here https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx.
  • Run the setup file and follow the instructions which appear on screen. Choose the Custom installation option and check all the boxes in the custom install options windows. Also check the box which states “perform clean install”.
  • Restart your computer

If you have an AMD graphics card then follow the steps listed below.

  • Download the AMD Cleanup Utility from here https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-601.
  • Locate the file where it was saved and double-click on the “AMDCleanupUtility.exe’ file.
  • A dialogue box should appear stating AMD Cleanup Utility has detected the system is not in safe mode and provide an option to reboot the system to run the Utility in safe mode:
  • Click “Yes” the system will be rebooted and AMD Cleanup Utility will run in safe mode.
  • The next dialogue box provides a warning message stating that the AMD Cleanup Utility will remove all AMD driver and application components.
  • Click “OK” to continue
  • After clicking “OK” the Utility will be minimized to the notification area (system tray) and the progress will be displayed as a tool tip.
  • The cleanup process will continue to run in the background.  To check the progress, hover the mouse over the AMD icon in the notification area.
  • Once the cleanup process is finished, a message is displayed stating it has successfully completed. Click “View Report” to see the list of components that were uninstalled, otherwise click “Finish” to exit the Utility.
  • Reboot your computer.

Once the drivers have been uninstalled it’s time to install the latest driver update. You can do this with the help of the AMD Driver Auto-detect tool  which you can download from https://www.amd.com/en/support.

  • Visit the AMD Driver and Support page and see section Auto-Detect and Install Radeon Graphics Drivers for Windows.
  • Click the DOWNLOAD NOW button to begin downloading the executable file for the tool.
  • Once download is complete, run the file to launch the Installer.
  • Click Install to extract the needed files.
  • After file extraction is complete the tool should automatically launch.
  • Review the End User License Agreement and information about the User Experience Improvement Program.
  • Click Accept and Install to continue or close the window to exit the AMD Driver Auto-detect tool.
  • After clicking Accept and Install, the tool will attempt to detect the installed AMD graphics product and operating system.
  • Upon successful detection of your system configuration, the tool will display the latest Recommended and Optional driver packages that are compatible with your graphics product, as well as the currently installed driver version
  • Select the desired version and choose Express installation.
  • After the driver package has been downloaded, installation should begin automatically.
  • Restart your computer

Check if Red Dead Redemption 2 freezes issue still occurs.

Try using the Vulcan API

Several people experiencing this problem fixed the issue by switching from DirectX12 to Vulcan.

  • Open the Settings Menu
  • Navigate to the Graphics page
  • Unlock Advanced Settings
  • Scroll down until you see the Graphics API option
  • Choose Vulcan

Check if RDR2 crashes issue still occurs.

Run the game as an administrator

Sometimes the game will crash because it does not have the necessary permission to access certain system files. What you will need to do in this case is to make sure to run RDR2 as an administrator.

  • Navigate to the location where the game is installed.
  • Right click Red Dead Redemption 2.exe and select Properties.
  • Choose the Compatibility tab and select Disable fullscreen optimizations and Run as an administrator.
  • Click Change High DPI settings, then tick the Override high DPI scaling behavior option, and select Application. Click OK to apply.
  • Go back to the compatibility window and click Apply and OK.

Check if the crashing issue still occurs.

Verify the game integrity

There are instances when the problem can be caused by corrupted game files which is why you will need to make sure to verify the game integrity.

Steam

  • Restart your computer and launch Steam
  • From the Library section, right click Red Dead Redemption 2 and select Properties from the menu.
  • Select the Local files tab and click the Verify integrity of game files… button.
  • Steam will verify your game’s files – this process may take several minutes.

Epic Games

  • Restart your computer and open Epic Games launcher
  • Go to the Library
  • Find the Red Dead Redemption 2 in the list.
  • Click the cog icon to the right of Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Click Verify

Rockstar

  • Restart your computer and open Rockstar Games Launcher
  • Go to the Settings
  • Click My installed games tab
  • Select Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Click the Verify Integrity button

Try to check if Red Dead Redemption 2 crashes issue still occurs.

Disable the antivirus

Avast

  • Right-click on the avast! icon in the system tray. Select avast! shields control and there will be options to disable avast for 10 minutes, 1 hour, until the computer is restarted or permanently.

Bitdefender

  • Double click on the system icon for Bit Defender.
  • When the Bit Defender window appears, move the mouse arrow to the left side and click >> Virus Shield.
  • Move mouse arrow to the black check by Virus Shield is enabled and click.
  • The black works will change to red, >> Virus Shield is disabled.
  • Move mouse arrow to the top right corner and click the down arrows.
  • Bit Defender is now inactive.
  • To enable Bit Defender, do the same steps except click to enable.

Microsoft Security Essentials

  • Right-click on the MSE icon in the system tray and choose Open.
  • Click the Settings tab, then click Real Time Protection.
  • Uncheck the box next to “Turn on real time protection”.
  • Click the “Save changes” button.
  • Exit MSE when done.

ESET

  • Double click on the system tray icon to open the main application window.
  • Or via Start >> All Programs >> ESET >> ESET Smart Security.
  • Click Setup >> Antivirus and antispyware >> Temporarily disable Antivirus and antispyware protection.
  • When prompted to confirm temporarily disable select Yes.
  • Note: Protection will be automatically started after a system reboot.

McAfee

  • Navigate to the system tray on the bottom right hand corner and look for the McAfee icon.
  • Right-click it -> chose “Exit”
  • A popup will warn that protection will now be disabled. Click on “Yes” to disable the Antivirus guard.

Check if the issue still occurs. In case it doesn’t then you should add the RDR2 folder and executable file to the antivirus exception list.

Add -ignorepipelinecache launch argument to your launcher

If the game crashes with the error message ERR_GFX_STATE then you should perform the temporary fix listed below which should fix the problem.

Rockstar launcher

  • Start the Rockstar Games Launcher
  • Select Settings
  • Under My installed Games Select Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Scroll down to Launch arguments
  • In the Launch Options box, add –ignorepipelinecache
  • Select Games
  • Launch Red Dead Redemption 2

Epic Games launcher

  • Start the Epic Games Launcher
  • Select Settings
  • Scroll down to Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Tick the box Additional Command Line Arguments
  • In the text box, add -ignorepipelinecache
  • Return to the Main Menu
  • Launch Red Dead Redemption 2

Steam launcher

  • Start the Epic Games Launcher
  • Select Settings
  • Scroll down to Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Tick the box Additional Command Line Arguments
  • In the text box, add -ignorepipelinecache
  • Return to the Main Menu
  • Launch Red Dead Redemption 2

Try to check if Red Dead Redemption 2 crashes issue still occurs.