Now that Portal 2 has been finally launched, we had some time to test it and noticed that the game is not an error-free one and it has various problems like game crashes, freezes or black screen problems. In this article, I will try to help you solve all this problems and enjoy the game as it should be: error free. So here is how to fix Portal 2 Crashes, Freezes and Black screen problems.
I. How to fix Portal 2 Crashes
1. Make sure that the installation is not corrupted (validate the install). If everything is OK, try turning off your firewall and/or antivirus since apparently Portal 2 doesn’t like them too much. Alternately, you could try to add the game to the exceptions list.
2. Sometimes, having the latest video card drivers installed might not be the best idea. Some users have reported that downgrading their drivers to the previous version did the trick and fixed the game!
3. Here is another trick that you can try if the previous two ones have failed: run the game as an administator: go to C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\portal 2, and right click on Portal 2.exe then select “Run as Administrator”.
4. Try running the game in Windows XP compatibility mode.
II. How to fix Portal 2 Freezes
1. As in the previous case, make sure to verify the game’s cache for a complete installation.
2. Create a backup of your Steam installation directory (you must exit Steam before this) and uninstall it, then install Steam again. Then, log in and start it – the download of the game should begin. Cancel it, exit steam and copy the already installed Portal 2 folder from your backup to the new one. Run the game and encounter no more freezes!
III. How to fix Portal 2 Black Screen
Especially if you’re trying to run the game on a laptop with an nVidia graphic card, open your nVidia control panel and add the Portal 2 exe file to the nVidia GPU. Alternately, you can change the game’s resolution.
Do you have any other tips and tricks to solve the Portal 2 crashes and freezes? Are you having a different problem? Let us know in the comment section below!