How to fix constant crashes in Death Stranding?

No one wants to feel the frustration that comes with random crashes, especially in a game that doesn’t come cheap – such as Death Stranding. However, the bitter truth is that crashes do happen for one reason or the other. If you’re experiencing this problem, you won’t have to endure the annoyance for too long as we’ve prepared a list of things that you can do to resolve it.

Can your computer run Death Stranding?

If your system does not meet the minimum requirements of the game, you have no choice but to endure the numerous issues that you’ll face. The only fix that makes sense in this situation is upgrading the components that are below par or using a different computer to play the game. If you haven’t checked your system’s specs to confirm that it’s equipped to run Death Stranding yet, we’re giving you the opportunity to do that now. You don’t have to leave this web page. The game’s system requirements are laid out below, and you’ll find a guide that will show you how to check your system’s specifications.

How to make Death Stranding start?

Minimum requirements of Death Stranding

Operating System: Windows 10

Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200; Intel Core i5-3470

System Memory: 8 GB of RAM

Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 560 4 GB; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3 GB

DirectX: Version 12

Storage: 80 GB of available space

Sound Card: DirectX-compatible

Recommended requirements of Death Stranding

Operating System: Windows 10

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770; AMD Ryzen 5 1600

System Memory: 8 GB of RAM

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB; AMD Radeon RX 590

DirectX: Version 12

Storage: 80 GB of available space

Sound Card: DirectX-compatible

The requirements above clearly tell you that the game needs all the firepower it can get to run properly. If your system specs fall below the recommended requirements but are close to the minimum requirements, then the crashing issue might be a result of running the game at settings that are too much for your PC.

Follow the steps below to check your PC’s specifications:

1. Press the Windows logo key or click on the Start button.
2. When the Start menu opens, click on the gear icon to open Settings. If you want to launch the Settings app faster, press and hold the Windows logo key, then tap the I key.
3. After the home page of the Settings app shows up, click on the System icon.
4. Once the System page surfaces, scroll down to the end of the left pane and click on About.
5. Head over to the right pane and navigate to Device Specifications to check whether your system type is 64-bit or 32-bit. This is where you’ll also check your CPU’s make and model and your RAM size.
6. To check how much free storage space you have, follow these steps:

• Summon a File Explorer window by right-clicking on the Start button and selecting File Explorer.
• Once the File Explorer window opens, navigate to the left pane and click on This PC.
• Next, switch to the right pane and check the free storage space of your drives under “Devices and Drives.”

7. Follow the steps below to check the details of your graphics card:

• Open the Settings app and click on System.
• Once the System page opens, stay on the Display interface.
• Navigate to the bottom of the window and click on the Advanced Display Settings link.
• Once the Advanced Display Settings screen appears, click on the link that reads, “Display adapter properties for Display 1.”
• You’ll now see a dialog window where you’ll find the details of the card under the Adapter tab.

Install the latest version of your GPU driver

Even if you use an RTX 2080, the device will not perform well without a good driver. Problematic drivers are mostly the cause of crashing problems. Try updating your driver and check if that resolves the problem. There are different ways to perform the update, from running the Windows Update utility to using dedicated software. We’ll be walking you through how to use these tools.

Run Windows Update

The Windows Update utility downloads and installs driver updates whenever Microsoft publishes them. What’s better than getting your driver update directly from Microsoft, especially with a tool as easy to use as Windows Update? The only catch here is that Microsoft often delays the rollout process and it might not support your GPU. That said, running Windows Update will still do your PC a lot of good as other important software components will be updated.

Follow the steps below to run the utility:

1. Open the search utility beside the Start button. You can do that by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the taskbar or by using the Windows + S keyboard combo.
2. After the search bar appears, type “update” (no quotes) into the text field, and then click on “Check for updates” in the results.
3. The Windows Update tab of the Settings application will now appear.
4. If you have pending updates, the utility will begin to download them automatically. Sometimes, though, you’ll have to click on the Download Now button to kick-start the process.
5. After the tool downloads the updates, grant it permission to restart your PC and install them by clicking on the Restart Now button.
6. Your computer might reboot several times during the installation process.
7. Once the updates are installed and your system boots up normally, run Death Stranding to check if the crashing problem has been resolved.

Use dedicated software

If you’re looking for a program that will do everything for you, go for Auslogics Driver Updater. The tool checks for driver issues and resolves them automatically. If there are outdated or damaged drivers on your computer, it will notify you after performing one of its regular scans and will then allow you to download and install their updates with ease.

Using the program means that you won’t have to worry about any device driver on your system, not just your graphics card driver.

Use the Device Manager

The Device Manager has always been the main tool for updating device drivers. While programs like Auslogics Driver Updater are already way ahead of it in terms of reliability and ease, it does serve its purpose at times. For instance, it helps users update their graphics drivers without issues. If you don’t know your way around the Device Manager, here’s what you need to do:

1. Right-click the Start button and click on Device Manager in the Power User menu.
2. After the Device Manager opens, expand Display Adapters.
3. Right-click your graphics card and click on Update Driver.
4. Now, click on “Search automatically for updated driver software” after the Update Driver window appears.
5. Windows will now search for the most recent version of your display card’s driver online and automatically download and install it.
6. After the process completes, restart your PC and check for the crashing issue in Death Stranding.

Disable overclocking programs

If you use an overclocking program, such as AMD Overdrive or Riva Tuner, you will do well to turn it off and revert to your computer’s default frequency. You could be sacrificing uninterrupted gameplay for improved performance. If your processor and GPU can’t handle the game at their normal frequencies, you should reduce the in-game graphics settings.

Run the game as an administrator

Without certain system resources, the game may encounter problems. You need to grant it admin privileges to prompt Windows to allow it to access these resources. We’ll be showing you how to do that. Before you start, though, make sure your current user account is an administrator account.

Now, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. From the Power User menu, click on File Explorer.
3. You can also use the Windows + E keyboard shortcut to open the File Explorer quickly.
4. Once the File Explorer window appears, go to the left side and click on This PC.
5. Head over to the right pane, go to the Devices and Drives section, and then double-click the C drive.
6. After the drive opens, go to the Program Files (x86) folder.
7. Next, open the Epic Games folder.
8. In the Epic Games folder, locate your game’s installation directory and open it.
9. Note that the Epic Games Launcher could also be in the Program Files folder on your C drive.
10. If you installed the game or the Epic Games Launcher in a custom directory and can’t find the installation folder, then you have to follow these steps to create a shortcut for the game:

• Run the Epic Games Launcher.
• After its window appears, go to the Library section and locate Death Stranding.
• Once you see the game, click on it.
• After that, click on the three dots close to its Launch button.
• From the context menu that shows up, click on Create a Shortcut.

If you installed the game via Steam, follow these steps to summon its folder:

• Launch the Steam client.
• After Steam opens, find your way to the top of the window, navigate below the menu tab, and then click on Library.
• Once the list of your games appears, head to Death Stranding and right-click it.
• From the context menu, click on Properties.
• Now, go to the right side of the window and click on Local Files.
• Click on the button that reads, “Browse Local Files” under the Local Files tab, and the game’s folder should appear.

11. Now, right-click on the game’s EXE file or shortcut, then click on Properties.
12. After the Properties dialog window shows up, move over to the Compatibility tab.
13. Next, go to the “Run this program as an administrator” checkbox and mark it.
14. Click on the OK button, then run the game to check for the problem.

Repair broken game files

Check for faulty or missing files and replace them using the Steam client or Epic Games Launcher, depending on the platform you use. We’ll be showing how to repair game files with both programs.

>Use the Epic Games Launcher:

1. Open the Epic Games Launcher.
2. Go to your Library and switch to the Death Stranding’s tab once the app opens.
3. Click on the three dots beside the game’s title and select Verify from the context menu.
4. The client will now begin to scan the game’s files on your system. Any file that doesn’t match its updated version on the Epic Games launcher servers will be replaced automatically.
5. Once the process is complete, restart the client and launch Death Stranding to check if the problem has been resolved.

Use Steam:

1. Launch the Steam client.
2. After the app shows up, navigate to the top of the window and select Library.
3. Once the list of games attached to your Steam account appears, go to Death Stranding, right-click it, and then select Properties.
4. Navigate to the Properties page in the right pane, and then switch to the Local Files tab.
5. Click on “Verify integrity of game files”.
6. The client will now begin the verification process. Your game’s files will be scanned and compared with those on Steam’s servers. Any missing or corrupt file will be replaced automatically.
7. After the process is complete, launch Death Stranding and check for the crashing issue.

Prevent your antivirus program from blocking Death Stranding

Add Death Stranding to your antivirus program’s whitelist. Doing that will prevent the protection program from blocking the game’s files. The Whitelist option is mainly for BitDefender. In most other programs, you will have to add the game as an exclusion or exception. You have to check for a guide on the website of your antivirus program’s developer if you don’t know what to do.

For the Virus & Threat Protection tool in Windows’ native security application, you’ll be adding the game as an exclusion. The steps below will show you how to do that if you rely on the program for your system’s protection:

1. Press the Windows and I keys together to launch the Settings application.
2. After Settings shows up, go to the bottom of its home screen and click on Update & Security.
3. After the Update & Security interface appears, head to the left pane and click on Windows Security.
4. Next, go to the right pane and click on Virus & Threat Protection under the Protection Areas section.
5. The Virus & Threat Protection interface will now appear.
6. Scroll down to the Virus & Threat Protection Settings section and click on Manage Settings.
7. After the Virus & Threat Protection Settings page appears, scroll down and click on “Add or remove exclusions” under the Exclusions section.
8. Once you see the Exclusions screen, click on “Add an exclusion,” and then choose Folder from the context menu.
9. Next, navigate to the installation folder of Death Stranding and select it.
10. Launch the game and check for the crashing problem.

Get rid of temporary files

Temporary files might look harmless since they’re useless data that no application has any need for. However, they can cause serious problems, especially when they clog up your disk or interfere with the game’s attempt to access its own temporary files.

If you don’t want junk files to bother you, download and install Auslogics BoostSpeed. The program will remove files that are no longer needed by your computer and also get rid of damaged registry keys without interrupting anything.

Make sure the game runs on your dedicated card

As you’ve seen in the system requirements, Death Stranding needs at least 3GB of video RAM to run properly. Integrated cards don’t always come with that much memory. So, if you have a system that comes with an integrated and dedicated card, force Death Stranding to run on the dedicated one. In many cases, your computer might be making automatic switches between the cards, causing the game to unexpectedly crash.

You can use the Settings application, AMD Radeon Settings, and the NVIDIA Control Panel to apply this fix. If you don’t know what to do, we’ll guide you.

Use the Settings App:

1. Launch the Settings application by right-clicking the Start button and selecting Settings or by pressing Windows + I.
2. Click on the System label after the home screen of the app shows up.
3. Once the System interface appears, scroll down to the bottom of the Display tab and click on Graphics Settings.
4. After the Graphics Settings screen opens, click on the Browse button in the “Choose an app to set preference” drop-down menu.
5. Once you see the Open dialog window, navigate to the installation folder of Death Stranding.
6. Locate the game’s EXE file, click on it, and then click on the Add button.
7. Once you’re back on the Graphics Settings screen, you should see the game; click on it, then click on the Options button.
8. After you see the Graphics Specifications dialog, click on the radio button for High Performance, and then click Save.
9. The game will now be forced to run on your dedicated display card whenever you launch it.

Use AMD Radeon Settings:

1. Tap the Windows and S keys together or click on the magnifying glass icon in the taskbar.
2. Once you see the search bar, type “AMD” (without the quotes), and then click on AMD Radeon Settings in the search results list.
3. When the program shows up, navigate to the top-right corner of its interface and click on System.
4. Head to the top-left corner of the next screen and click on Switchable Graphics.
5. You’ll now be taken to the Running Applications view.
6. Locate Death Stranding and change its Switchable Graphics mode to High Performance.
7. If Death Stranding doesn’t show up in the Running Applications view, head to the top-left corner of the window and click on Running Applications, then click on Browse.
8. Navigate to the game’s installation folder and select its EXE file.
9. Now, change the Switchable Graphics mode for the game to High Performance once it shows up in the window.

Use the NVIDIA Control Panel:

1. Right-click on the empty surface of your Desktop and click on NVIDIA Control Panel in the context menu.
2. Once the application appears, go to the left pane, click on the plus (+) sign beside the 3D Settings drop-down, and then click on Manage 3D Settings.
3. Move over to the right pane of the window.
4. Stay under the Global Settings tab and click on the “High performance NVIDIA processor” option under Preferred Graphics Processor.
5. Head over to the Program Settings tab.
6. Click on the Add button beside the “Select a Program to Customize” drop-down.
7. In the dialog that comes up, find your way to the installation folder of Death Stranding, and then double-click its EXE file.
8. Next, navigate to the “Select the preferred graphics processor for this program” drop-down menu and click on “High-performance NVIDIA processor.”
9. Click on the Apply button and launch the game to check if the issue persists.

Conclusion:

You should now be able to play the game without problems. If the issue persists, then you have to contact the game’s support center or wait till the developers release a fix.