7 Ways to Fix Regular In-Game Grand Theft Auto 5 Crashing on Windows PCs

Many players report random Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing issues on troubleshooting forums. For example, one GTA V player’s Steam forum post says, “GTA V random crashing… This happens at different times, but usually when I am in the middle of heists or jobs my GTA freezes, and I have to close it with Task Manager.” This crashing regularly crashes GTA V when players are playing it, making the game unplayable for some. This is how you can fix regular in-game Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing on Windows PCs.

Verify (Repair) GTA 5’s Files

Game file corruption could be causing the Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing on your PC. You can’t afford to rule out that possibility because it’s a common cause of crashing issues. To remedy this, try verifying GTA V with Steam, Epic Games, or the Rockstar Launcher as covered on these help pages:

• Verify with Steam
• Verify with Rockstar Games Launcher
• Verify with Epic Games Launcher

The Verify integrity of game files button

Apply a Clean Boot

Setting Windows to clean boot will disable third-party programs and services automatically starting during the startup. Applying this potential solution might disable problematic background programs causing crashing issues. Clean booting will also optimize system resources, such as RAM, for GTA 5 by disabling superfluous background apps. To apply this possible solution, follow the steps on this Microsoft help page.

The Services tab

Copy and Paste the D3d9.dll File

Some players say they’ve fixed Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing by copying and pasting the d3d9.dll file into the GTAV directory, a slightly unconventional potential solution. D3d9.dll is a file for DirectX 9 within the System32 folder. This is how you can copy and paste that file into the GTAV folder.

1. Activate the search box with the Windows logo + S keyboard shortcut.
2. Type d3d9.dll into the search box.
3. Right-click d3d9.dll file in the search results and select Open file location.
4. Next, right-click the d3d9.dll file to select Copy.
   
   

   The d3d9.dll file

5. Open the GTAV installation folder.
6. Right-click inside the GTAV folder and select Paste.
7. Try running Grand Theft Auto V.

If this doesn’t work, it’s also recommended to copy and paste the dinput8.dll file into the GTAV folder. You can do this in the same way as for the d3d9.dll file. Enter the dinput8.dll file name into the Windows search tool and select to open its folder from there.

Run GTA 5 as an Administrator

1. Open File Explorer to access the GTAV folder.
2. Right-click the GTA5 file and select its Properties option.
3. Click Compatibility and Run this program as an administrator to select that setting.
   
   

   The Compatibility tab

4. Next, press Apply to save the new settings configuration.
5. Click on the OK option.

Lower GTA 5’s Graphical Settings

Playing games at higher graphical settings can cause them to crash, especially on lower-specification PCs. This is because higher settings place a bigger workload on your PC, with a greater system resource allocation required. So, try lowering GTA 5’s graphical settings like this.

1. Start a GTA 5 game on your PC.
2. Press the Esc key.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Select the Graphics tab.
5. Then set the graphical quality settings for texture, shader, shadow, reflection, particles, grass, and water lower. For example, select Low for those options if set to Normal.
   
   

   The graphics settings in Grand Theft Auto V

6. It’s also recommended that you turn on the VSync setting.

Delete the Rockstar Games Data Folder

Players confirm deleting the Rockstar Games data folder can fix Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing on Windows PCs. That cache data folder gets recreated when you play GTA V again. These are the steps for deleting the Rockstar Games folder.

1. Press Run’s Windows logo + R key combination.
2. Input %localappdata% and click OK in Run.
3. Right-click Rockstar Games in the Local folder and select Delete.
   
   

   The Rockstar Games folder

Reinstall Rockstar Games Launcher and Social Club

Finally, try reinstalling Rockstar Games Launcher and Social Club to fix Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing if nothing else works. You can reinstall those apps like this.

1. Open the Run dialog.
2. Enter appwiz.cpl and click OK.
   
   

   The Programs and Features Control Panel applet

3. Right-click Rockstar Games Social Club and select Uninstall.
4. Repeat the previous step for Rockstar Games Launcher.
5. Click Download for Windows on this Rockstar Games Launcher page.
6. Double-click the downloaded Rockstar-Games-Launcher.exe file to reinstall the launcher, which will also install the Rockstar Games Social Club app.

Other Possible Ways to Fix Grand Theft Auto 5 Crashing

There are myriad potential causes for Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing, and the potential fixes above won’t necessarily address them all. These are some additional potential ways to fix GTA 5 crashing on your PC:

• Download and install the latest NVIDIA or AMD graphics card for your GPU.
• Extend the page file (virtual memory) allocation on your PC via the Virtual Memory window.
• Select to run GTA V in compatibility mode for Windows 8 or 7 from the Compatibility tab.
• Install the latest updates for GTA V. You can do this by selecting the Always Keep this game updated option for Grand Theft Auto 5 in Steam.
• Reset your Windows PC via Settings. You will need to reinstall GTA V and other software after resetting your PC.

Although there are few, if any, guaranteed ways to fix Grand Theft Auto 5 crashing, the potential resolutions above are worth trying. Applying some of those potential fixes might at least considerably reduce the regularity of the GTA V crashing on your PC. You can also submit a help ticket to R support for further potential fixes by clicking Contact Us on this Rockstar page.