How to Fix GTA IV Crashes and Freezings on PC?
One of the most anticipated PC games of the year, Grand Theft Auto IV did not have a great start: except from the fact that those who opted for digital distribution had no pre-loading options, it appears that those who managed to install the game are constantly suffering from GTA IV crashes, freezings and other performance related issues. Is there a way to fix these problems?
For the moment, Rockstar remain silent – it’s probably still early and they have to analyze the tons of reports regarding poor performance and lock-ups. However, one thing is clear: there are many people having problems and we only have one possible suggestion right now for trying to fix the game: try defragging your hard disk drive after installing GTA IV. It might be a long shot, but it’s worth trying, since a heavily defragged game (and with a 15GB install, Rockstar’s title can do that) can lead to crashes, freezings and other problems.
It’s worth noting that on the official GTA IV forums, at the moment of writing, from the 74 people who took the time to answer a poll asking “how well does the game run?” an incredible 41 people answered that it “runs horribly”, 17 admitted that the game does not run at all and just 16 say that the game runs fine. Is both frightening and unbelievable. But it also appears to be genuine – user AussieDave27 has posted some images to prove the GTA IV lock-ups.
We’ll update the story if Rockstar comes with an answer or an official solution to the problem. If you have found your own fix for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV, please share it with the world!
Update: The crashes might also be problem related to the graphic cards. Website PCGH reports that “neither a HD 4870 with 1,024 MiByte nor a HD 4850 is running. GTA 4 is also denying to run with an HD 3870 or HD 3850.” So now we’ll keep our eyes open and see if AMD brings in any driver updates. Stay tooned!
2nd day Update: Rockstar has released a document summing up the bugs that appear in the game and possible suggestions (where applicable) to solve the problems. You can download the document here. Also, the company hinted that a patch might be on the way.
This is happening to me. The graphic settings cannot be changed whatsoever, so I have about 1 1/2 car’s distance view ahead of me, and textures so poor that the look like smeared excrement across my screen. My pc is by no means a slouch, playing games like Gears, Farcry2, and Fallout 3 with little to no problems. I’m going to try the defrag, but I guess I’ll be stuck waiting for Rockstar to fix this broken game. I’m very disappointed, seeing as the only game I bought (didn’t pirate) was the one I shouldn’t have. Shoulda saved my $ for Prince of Persia.
I am getting the same Fatal Error EM10. This game needs a patch and bad! ONCE AGAIN… a company throws a copy out for profit and the quality is garbage! YOU WONDER WHY PEOPLE PIRATE GAMES!
I can’t even activate the game and get it started it just crashes my computer, really sad…
Sometimes i can play for an hour or two and sometimes 2 minutes if im lucky but it always crashes back to the desktop but i never get an error message. And for those who cant adjust the graphic settings, try clicking on the setting then using the mouse wheel to adjust the setting, that worked for me. Also i have the original disc but Securom doesnt belive it so it takes a few attempts to get the game going. Im trying the defragment now and ill let you kno if it helped any.
So far the defragment has been more than helpful. Been playing for about 2 hours and no problems. i used O&O defragment and have xp x64. Hope it works for the rest of you
Thanks for sharing, boodge! I’m glad the solution fixed your problem!
boodge, did that really fix your problem? Because I’m having the very exact same problem as you were having. When I read that defragging can help the only thing that came to my mind was “yeah…right.”
At the moment I’m defragging my C:\ drive using the defragment tool XP comes with. I really wish it makes it work, because I’ve looked forward to this game for the past 2 years, and now that I’ve finally got my hands on it its very disappointing to see this happening.
yea it works for me atleast i didnt think so either but i was desperate enough to give it a shot. i havent had a problem yet since i did it.
But now ive run into a problem, im at about 58% done with the game, and when im trying to load it back up it just crashes on me. Does anyone kno how to load previous save from the main menu?
boodge, I found the only savegame you can load from the main menu is the most recent, when you click Start. Any other save needs to be loaded from the ESC menu after you’re already in-game, from the Game tab.
Another method may be to delete/move/rename your most recent save, the one causing the crashes. Then when the game automatically loads the save, it will load the second most recent.
The folder where the GTAIV saves are located is \Documents and Settings\\Local Settings\Application Data\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\savegames\ . Then you can open the save files in any hex editor and determine which needs to be removed.
PS: I’ve also experienced random crashes to the desktop with no error message, even with all graphic settings at their lowest. Sometimes, when restarting my PC after a GTAIV crash, it will drop a black screen then BSOD right after it’s done saving the settings. The screen states that the rdbss.sys driver unloaded without cancelling pending operations. I’ve never gotten a BSOD while playing the game, only a graphical glitch for a split second then back to the desktop. I hope that defragging solves the problem. I haven’t tested the game yet since I defragged, I first wanted to see if any other people have tried it; to see how their results were.
What is this cant load our games again
I played a 20 Hours of game play & my window crashed by a virus i reinstalled the windows & I came to know that i have reinstall the game again in order to play it. Now I put my saves into the save folder but didn’t load it creates a new coded folder with a new save & start the game from beginning
Can any one help how to load my old saves
“100% Guaranty of Backup Your Saved Files Offlin”
I Really had lost my data first time When I reinstalled my window & only made Backup of my data from Rockstar folder.Then i said whats the sh*t Windows Live game has putted in to saved data that creates a new profile with a binary code injected into saved data with the profile code every time.
But it took only 5 Hours in finding how to backup your saves along with the offline profile you have created in Win XP
“PLEASE ENABLE SHOW HIDDEN FILES”
Backup these 2 Folders:
—————————————————————————————————–
C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_PROFILE\Local Settings\Application Data\Rockstar Games
C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_PROFILE\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\XLive
—————————————————————————————————–
& If you also want backup your replay editor files & User tracks & Bench Mark Report
C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_PROFILEl\My Documents\Rockstar Games
“These files are not necessary to be copied for loading saves”
—————————————————————————————————–
1.Now Install new OS
2.Copy the Backup files in there place
3.Load game
4.Press HOME before Playing
5.Select Your Old Profile
Enjoy the game!
Aaqibi, thanks for sharing your findings with us, I’m sure many people will find them extremely helpful!
I Installed my GTA IV about, 2 weeks ago. afterwards i received a DD3D30 Crash, i’d patch it and i got a Crash again! this time its
TEXP60…i waited for half a year to play this awesome game
beacuse i Feel that i am in a Real NY. So Please tell to Rockstar
that Create an Another Patch to Fix some Last Bugs that i Mentioned
a while ago.even my Ram is 1.5 GB,Graphics is GF FX550 256,and
my CPU is Intel Dual-Core ED500?,so GET TO WORK AND IM
COUNTING ON YOU ROCKSTAR!!!!!!
Looks like Georges right im aslo a GTA Fan for 3 years im still Looking For Your actions for fixing our Problems regarding our Latest Title.
so Rockstar,Don’t make this Kid got Sad because he want to make
his Dream Come True,Once and for all!
Is anyone elese having troubles with scrolling (mouse wheel) I can only do it sometimes with radio. and never zoom with rifle and now im on a mission which I have to scroll down the page on the internet to set up a date with dome fellow I have to kill and cant scroll at all. I have tried to ajust settings in menu and nothing PLEASE HELP ME
I am experiencing crashes within 5-10 mins of play… I’m sure it’s not my GPU or CPU because I can play other games without crashing. Rockstar, please fix this problem ASAP!!!!!
yeah i find gta a bit annoying.. i have played fallout 3 at max settings and it doesnt crash.. ive liked the gameplay of the new gta if only it doesnt crash haha especially in combat.. well my solution is turning all the graphics to low although the looks is so annoying:D
When on the bottom right screen says starting a new game it freezes and i cant fix it any1 know how to fix it??
hmm i that happend 2 me allready. what i did is i replaced my videocard (from 7300gt to 8600gt) hehe.. i know its crap but it works:D anyway i found some solution to the crashes. i disabled the virtual memory and gladly i can play gta for about an hour or sometimes it doesnt really crash:D
and btw before you buy a new video card, burrow one first because who knows if you need 2 replace something else hehe:D
and btw upgrading your ram doesnt help much. i recomend that you upgrade your processor and videocard (i heard that quad cores are good and at least you have an 8600 video card or higher.. they dont recomend ati hds) goodluck to all of us hehe and let us all wish that rockstar would release a patch hehe
for those of you who are experiencing random crashes try setting your fan speed on your graphics card to maximum…it seemed to have worked for me cause ive been able to play the game for more than 2 hours without any problems…I logged my GPU temps and it seems that when the temp goes above 100C (8800GT) the game crashes…I dont understand why the fan speed doesnt increase automatically when the GPU gets this hot…anyways use nvidia control panel or riva tuner to adjust the fan speed and see for yourself…it might just be a coincindence i dont know
Here the list of what the error codes mean:
RMN20 – Windows Vista: Need to have Service Pack 1 or higher to proceed.
RMN30 – Windows XP 64 / Server 2003: Need to have Service Pack 2 or higher to proceed.
RMN40 – Windows XP: Need to have Service Pack 3 or higher to proceed.
DD3D50 – D3D Error – DirectX 9 video card required
TEXP110 – D3D Error – Failed to create texture – Please restart the game
DWIN20 – D3D Error – Failed to query memory. Please re-start the game.
DD3D10 – D3D Error – Please re-boot your system
DD3D10 – D3D Error – Please re-boot your system
DD3D30 – D3D Error – Please re-boot your system
DWIN30 – D3D Error – Please re-boot your system
DD3D20 – D3D Error – Please re-install the game and/or re-install DirectX
DWIN10 – D3D Error – Please restart the game
DD3D60 – D3D Error – Shader Model 3.0 or higher is required
DD3D70 – D3D Error – Unable to retrieve D3D Device. Please re-boot your system
GPUP10 – D3D Error – Unable to retrieve D3D Device. Please re-boot your system
TEXP20 – D3D Error – Unable to retrieve D3D Device. Please re-boot your system
TEXP30 – D3D Error – Unable to retrieve D3D Device. Please re-boot your system
TEXP80 – D3D Error – Unable to retrieve D3D Device. Please re-boot your system
DD3D40 – D3D Error – Unable to retrieve device capabilities. Please install latest video card driver and/or re-install DirectX
TEXP10 – D3D Error – Unable to retrieve device capabilities. Please install latest video card driver and/or re-install DirectX
DD3D80 – D3D reset failed – Please restart the game.
STRB10 – Failed to delete file – Please re-boot your system
RMN10 – Failed to read file – Please re-boot your system
STRM10 – Failed to read file – Please re-boot your system
STRM20 – Failed to read file – Please re-boot your system
BNDL10 – Failed to write file – Please re-boot your system
STBF10 – Failed to write file – Please re-boot your system
VOIC10 – Fatal voice chat error – Please restart the game
RESC10 – Out of video memory – Please re-boot your system
BA10 – Out of virtual memory – Please re-boot your system
EA10 – Out of virtual memory – Please re-boot your system
TEXP60 – Unable to create color render target – Please re-install DirectX and/or install the latest video card driver.
TEXP70 – Unable to create depth render target – Please re-install DirectX and/or install the latest video card driver.
AE10 – Insufficient Memory to Start Game – Please close some applications and restart the game
PC10 – Unable to retrieve D3D Device – Please reboot your machine or reinstall your display driver
TF10 – Unable to write to disk – Please restart the game
WS20 – InitWinSock failed – Please re-boot your system and/or re-install the game
WS30 – InitWinSock failed – Please re-boot your system and/or re-install the game
woot for me its not the temperature because my videocard (8600gt with large heatsink) only reaches up to 64 degree celcius (evening around 3pm). well what i experienced is when i finished the game the game does not crash allready. also anotehr experience was when i end the explorer.exe it prolongs the playing time hehe.
well for my brother temperature does affect the performance, he is using geforce 9500gt from inno3d (small heatsink:( )
well to summarize everything get a new processor and make sure that ur videocard has a large heatsink,, or we may follow the advice of villo
I have ended the gta IV twice and I had to reinstall my windows, after doing it em unable to copy my savegames, it says unable to load check your hard disk ………. please can anyone help me ? I am not willing to play it the third time, it burns me out !!! please tell me if there’s a way to it !!
I have ended the gta IV twice and I had to reinstall my windows, after doing it em unable to copy my savegames, it says unable to load check your hard disk ………. please can anyone help me ? I am not willing to play it the third time, it burns me out !!! please tell me if there’s a way to it !!
maybe your installing in another platform>? (like from xp to vista) if thats the case i think that the directory will be changed hehe.
btw cheers to gta patch 1.3 it fixed all the crashes and what do you know i can even play it in my laptop without crashing:D
Hey guys I downloaded a file named tweak.rar one called maintanence updtate for gta4 pc also and a visual settings.dat file all available from google or torrents, it enambles you to take off vsync and hi def then the game runs sooo smoothly belive me!! it totaly flips it round with the added option to take of vsync and hi def, give ita try still looks reasnable aswell :)
i get a problem like this, i can load the menu, change the graphics etc. but when i load, just as i am about to go into the game it stops and goes to the desktop, doesnt even say i crashes or anything! really annoying, i recently updated my graphics cards drivers to the newest ones then it started to hepen, i will try defregging my hard drive (2tbs) and if it still downt work im going to have to roll back the drives.
Sorry to say, Rockstar u have disappointed big time…………..I have 1 GB graphics of Nvidia 9800 GT plus core2 quad and 2 GB RAM, still it says that ran out of video memory even if the usage was displayed as 337/997 MB in the settings after keeping the settings at minimum………….also, repeated crashes have left me frustrated as this THE game that i had hoped to play on my new PC……….well Rockstar plz get GTA PC version back on track
well try playing saintsrow 2 it will leave you in reaaallll frustration promise. btw I am not disapointed with rockstar because after having a patch it even runs on my laptop with smooth framerates. unlike SR2 which still have stuttering framerates even with the patch and even in my pc
gta4 is a very good game but i dont know how to load the saved file
it always appears loading failed
Hmmm ..My game never crashed no bugs..Nothing..But when i wanted some nice looking mods it started crashing all the time…Name of the error is sma 60 or something like that.I follow steps on Some web site so my game become modable but again and again,again crash.So if you have any ideas help me:)
I dont have any errors that crash my computer.My problems is:When I instaled GTA IV for first time it works fine.No errors,no performance problems etc.Now when I instaled game again I cant play it like before cuz it looks like my PC is very low performance for this game.when I put 800×600 and all details OFF or LOW game is laging.Same thing is happening on 1600×1050 resoulution.I even took my PC in service and they told my PC is crap for this game.I have Amd athlon x2 64 dual core 6000+ 3.0 Ghz working 4 GB ram 8800 GT Nvidia 512 mb 256 bit.I think this config is good for some optimal playing but I cant play it like before.If some can help me to fix this problem pls send me Email with Answer on VUCKO90@GMAIL.COM
WALEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED….
how did u end the game twice….
cud u giime any additional files u might have added..
like patchs n all….
PLEASE….
anyone else who ended the game on XP SP3……
my mail. acid_ius@hotmail.com.
This piece of hardware looks mean, thanks for the review.
GTA IV crashes because it was a direct port of the console versions instead of being built from the ground up specificalllly for the PC. This is why even those of us with a Quadcore experience shitty framerates, lagging and random crashing.
Rockstar has become lazy opting to go the easy way out of dumping console games directly onto the PC. Bully Scholarshit edition is another fine example of this laziness.
Dont get me started on the Bloatware that is Rockstar Games Social Club, the reliance on SecuROM, and Microsoft Games for Windows Live.
Once Rockstar teamed up witht he guys who brought us the Blue Screen and Red Ring of Death it was all over. Fuck Microsoft, and fuck Rockstar for taking the lasy way out.
Despite the latest GTA IV patch 1.0.4.0 its still broken and will randomly crash thanks to memory leaks. Running this game requires you to cross your fingers that it wont crash on startup, hang on the load screen, or just randomly crash during gameplay.
Now the’yve announced Ballad of Gay Tony and Lost and The Damned for PC Coming in March, i wonder if Rockstar will even address these issues or make a halfassed attempt to gloss it over.
Rockstar please when you make GTA 5 keep Games for windows live out of the equation. Get rid of the stupid social club. Microsoft is epic fail.