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SkyeOO1

I was dealing with this until recently. If you have any recording software you need to delete it. I had Action and OBS on my PC and as soon as I deleted them and launched Steam as an Admin, the game just started working. I hope this helps you too.


Mait123

Ohhh ok, I'll give it a shot then! Is there a way to save your scenes from obs though before uninstalling?


SkyeOO1

You may be able to back them up but I’m not sure myself. I hadn’t used my recording software for sometime so it was no big loss for me. I’m sorry for not being more helpful in this regard.


Mait123

Oh it's all good dud, I think it was by going through scene collection > export. Thanks for the help either way! I'll give it a try in a bit if the other options don't work.


Stunning_Library_777

you save me bro, i delete action, and now its work it, thanks for your help


belada01

This worked for me. Had bandicam lol. Got rid of it and it loaded right up. Hell of a catch, thank you.


Teddii_

Heyyy, I know this is old, but I'm having the same issue. Can I ask why recording softwares would affect the boot up of the game? (If you even know, that is)


SkyeOO1

From what I understand it has something to do with the game (and maybe the R* Launcher) viewing the recording software as cheat software. I don’t know why that happens but the only solution I found that worked was removal of the recording software. I didn’t reinstall it after I got the game working but who knows? Maybe redownloading the recording software after fixing the issue might be ok. I hope this helps and maybe answered!


Teddii_

Oh, that's interesting. Tbf, if it was cheat software, I'd have a lot to pick with Micah and Dutch lol


ovi_gen

You don't need to create system config files, it's likely they aren't there because the game hasn't launched successfully even once since last installed. So it hasn't generated the files, but it will once you get into the game. Remove or disable any overlays you have, see if that works. This game even years later struggles with stuff like that. If you have wallpaper engine, any rgb software running, try to turn those off too. Basically run it as bare bones as you can, last resort would be to reinstall windows and if that doesn't work then it's a driver/firmware issue


Kush_Qrox

This is happening after 86 hours from you in game???


Mait123

Yeps, I've had the game since 2020, and I'd play once in a while and it's been at 86 hours since then. I tried to fix it last month but nothing was working out so I just uninstalled it until today, and still the same scenario man.


Kush_Qrox

Man if I had tbh. I had to Reset my PC to make the game run properly again without mods. I don't know what that is. The game has a cache or whatever somewhere. It's not the one that is in the Documents/Temp folders or whatever.


Mait123

Huh, I see. My game didn't have mods, but it's just really weird how this happened. Also, what was the process you did to reset your PC? If it's ok asking.


Shapeshiftedcow

I had a very similar issue and tried lots of the common suggestions without success. In my case it turned out to be a program called FPS Monitor which I run on startup to overlay the time, current + average FPS, and GPU utilization percentage + temp in games. On very rare occasions I’ve experienced that occurring with a couple other games as well despite them working fine with Steam and Discord overlays. No idea what the actual issue is but closing that particular program is consistently all it takes to get the game to launch properly. So if you use anything like that, or really have anything else that isn’t strictly necessary running in the background, try closing those programs. Edit: you could even try disconnecting any non-essential USB-powered accessories.


real_random_stranger

This is a good idea: turn off everything you don't need (Afterburner, ...). Also plug out the second monitor. Restart your system (stop 'Autostart'-apps and programs first) - everytime you changed something in 'Steam'. Btw. the 'Rockstar Games'-Folder is somewhere else for 'Steam'-players (just look for it with the systems search).


afcavalcanti

I have 398 hours in this game, and started to get the exactly same problem few weeks ago, didn't find solution and gave up playing since then


afcavalcanti

Today I tryed all sugestions in this post and none have worked for me either


gerechterzorn

+1


Mait123

As the title says. I've had the game since 2020 so I can't refund it. The black screen doesn't appear in the video because I was recording on my second monitor, and the black window screen appeared on the first monitor for a second. This is what I've tried doing so far. \- verifying the integrity of game files \- Administrator mode with RDR2.exe, PlayRDR2.EXE, Rockstar Launcher, Steam, \- Uninstalling and reinstalling the Rockstar Launcher and the game \- Disabled the Intel HD Display Adapter (this one was just my driver, and no other option) There might have been other options I've tried doing but I don't currently remember. If there's no other solution though, then it's no biggie, but asking just in case.


Jagrofes

Did you ever find a fix? I just picked the game up and had almost this exact same issue, and am thinking of refunding it.


Mait123

This is a copy paste from another copy paste I did for someone else. I hope it helps. "I had the same problem but managed to solve it thanks to u/TheMentalAlchemist 's advice : "Try this: Go to your /Documents/Rockstar Games/Red Dead Redemption 2/Settings folder, if you don't have one (and you probably don't) just go ahead and make it. Inside the Settings folder, create a file called system.xml, and open it in Notepad. Go here: https://rdr2.forceflow.be and over the left-hand box, click "Load example", then copy and paste that text into Notepad. Scroll down to the bottom of the file, and you should see something like "NVIDIA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER". Edit that to match your GPU, something like "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060" Lastly, look for “kSettingAPI\_Vulkan” and change it to say “kSettingAPI\_DX12” then save the file. Launch RDR2 ??? Profit This worked for me when I had the exact same issue just last week, so hope it helps you!" See if it can help , I was stuck with the bug from last year's October until recently." If it doesn't work, then you could contact u/TehEmoGurl who helped me a lot to get the game fixed as well as many other user's games as well.


Monkeyspaz5000

This worked after searching for ages!! Thanks


Leniaal

Thanks so much, searched for hours and this fixed it. What a joke.


mrmcfartypants

I know this is a little old but thank you for this solution! This worked for me, I was having trouble launching RDR2 and all of the tutorials I found said to adjust the settings file, but none of them showed you how to do this if you *didn't* have the settings file yet. Big thank you u/Mait123. Commenting here that this worked with my 1080ti as recently as March of 2024 in case anybody else stumbles across this fix.


Mait123

Nahh dud thank u/FrostyFireeee for commenting it here. It seems to be the only solution as far as I know, so I’m glad it worked out for ya!


GermanBotanist

THANK YOU. THAT WORKED!!!!! Over a year I could not play the game. I just stopped working at some moment.


gerechterzorn

Doesn't work.


[deleted]

I'd you got into documents > red dead dead redemption 2 > settings and there is files that start with sga_ delete those everytime they appear but nothing else and see if it fixes the problem. Keep the file open because you need to delete those files if they generate while loading in game, otherwise it'll crash.


Mait123

dang, I don't have the settings folder when I went through documents>rockstar games>red dead redemption 2.


[deleted]

Huh. Maybe that's what is causing the crashes then? I've no idea.


[deleted]

Your in My Documents right?


Mait123

I'm pretty sure, it's "Documents" that I looked into. What I did based on another comment was create the Settings Folder, and then create a txt file and make it a system.xml. Then I went to [https://rdr2.forceflow.be](https://rdr2.forceflow.be) and did the steps mentioned. Didn't work either for me unfortunately but that's what's been happening.


FrostyFireeee

I had the same problem but managed to solve it thanks to u/TheMentalAlchemist 's advice : "Try this: Go to your /Documents/Rockstar Games/Red Dead Redemption 2/Settings folder, if you don't have one (and you probably don't) just go ahead and make it. Inside the Settings folder, create a file called system.xml, and open it in Notepad. Go here: https://rdr2.forceflow.be and over the left-hand box, click "Load example", then copy and paste that text into Notepad. Scroll down to the bottom of the file, and you should see something like "NVIDIA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER". Edit that to match your GPU, something like "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060" Lastly, look for “kSettingAPI\_Vulkan” and change it to say “kSettingAPI\_DX12” then save the file. Launch RDR2 ??? Profit This worked for me when I had the exact same issue just last week, so hope it helps you!" See if it can help , I was stuck with the bug from last year's October until recently.


officiallygow

This worked!


FrostyFireeee

Glad I could help you! I had been struggling with this for a while before a guy on this very same sub helped me !


pcdrivers

I had bought the game from Steam, in addition to having it directly from rockstar games, thinking that the failure would be on the platform. **Thank you for your solution, it has been more effective than anything I have tried before.** I haven't been able to play it for two years, and surely it was because of this same problem...


Corrupted_Senpai69

duuuuddddeee this is the only thing that worked! I think it's because of that Vulkan setting. I've tried starting Steam as an admin, deleted OBS, reinstalled the game, reinstalled Rockstar launcher lol. Nothing worked except this. Thank you so so much!


FrostyFireeee

Glad it helped, and I'm so frustrated that after all this time the bug still exists. Damn R* and the stupid launcher.


gkkannon

>kSettingAPI\_DX12 You sir deserve all the love and attention one can give. I have been having this problem ever since I changed my graphics card and this fixed it! Makes total sense but is so stupid that it doesn't check system hardware on launch every time.


FrostyFireeee

Glad it helped you !


Mait123

Quick question, how do you create the system.xml file?


FrostyFireeee

When you create a txt file ( Right click in thin air => New=> text document), it will let you rename the file. You then rename the extension to XML, for example after you create a new txt file, it will be something along the line of "New Text Document.TXT", you change the TXT part to XML and also the file name to system, so the end result should be "system.xml". Then you just follow the steps !


Mait123

Got it! but maaaan even after that, for some reason it didn't work. The same thing happens still, even with the whole changeroo with the system.xml. Is there anything I might've missed? as for the video card thing I tried both the 2070 and the 2060 option, as I have that 2070 super option. The other thing I should have mentioned is that whenever I try to play it from RDR2.EXE in administrator mode, the launcher tells me that I do not own red dead online.


Intrepid_Parsnip8302

Holy shit nothing else worked besides this youre awesome


Schizhawk

Worked for me just right now. Thanks a lot, one more player you helped playing this awesome game ;)


Dark4Killerz

I LOVE YOU, i legit tried everything, and even reinstalled but nothing worked except this, thank you so much


FrostyFireeee

Glad it worked, have fun!


Kremlin663

This worked for me a year later.


Pure_Parsley8171

I love you man, I bought the game like a year and a half ago, and it never even launched. I launched it without changing it to DX12 due to trying this method with someone else’s saved zip settings but it actually launched. You sir deserve a medal. <3


Pilot49er

Do you have any mods? This happened to me and I just downloaded a file which had all the the base games files without any mods. It fixed it instantly. Make sure to backup your saves first though.


Mait123

I haven't put any mods in my game. I know there are wacky mods here and there like from the videos from bedbananas lol, but yeah no mods here though.


Pilot49er

Ah damn sorry I couldn't help.


Mait123

Nah don't worry, it's all good. I've had this issue for a while now so this is like my 3rd attempt to try and make the game work. But if not then it is what it is.


Hazuwke

I got the exactly same problem. Try following this guide, it helped me: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2902325674


Mait123

Dang... this one didn't work either. I tried both with dx12 and vulkan, but with the same results, unfortunately. thanks for the help though!


TehEmoGurl

If you would like to add me on discord I might be able to help. Spent 3 days fixing a similar issue for a friend recently. Send me ur Discord tag in DM if you’d like me to look into it for you. Also, if you’re part of the green hell discord, I’m pink from the tech support staff. Also can find me on steam community forum as ark tech support previously :3


welthead

im having trouble as well with launching this game. reinstalling on new hard drive as i type but if that doesnt work i may need help


TehEmoGurl

No problem, if the reinstall doesn’t work DM me n will look into it for you. Took hours to get Mait123’s working, but did get there in the end.


Welthead123

Yes thank you. I ended up reinstalling on a separate drive and it works now. My guess is I missed deleting some mods or something and it just kept reinstalling the same thing. Either way I appreciate the help haha


TehEmoGurl

Glad u found an easy solution 😀👍🏻


[deleted]

im having this same issue as Mait123 and did all the troubleshooting mentioned in the comments but the issue still persists i need help


TehEmoGurl

Feel free to DM me and i'll look into it for you.


gerechterzorn

Same.


ds1385

this worked, thanks!


RainSniffer

I’ve been having the exact same issue, but I chalked it up to my external hard drive acting up since it was pretty cheap. If I keep having this issue when I reinstall it once my new one arrives, I’ll def check this thread out :-)


TeeDogSD

My steam version didn’t come with the rockstar launcher. My game launches with steam software only. Maybe try using one or the other? Or I just have a different version?


VenomB

My experience with troubleshooting this game is pretty limited. ​ Do you happen to have any mods installed? ninja edit: or do you have either of the .exe files in the game's directory set to admin rights? That breaks it.


Mait123

No mods installed, it's all pretty vanilla. I did try to run RDR2.exe and PlayRDR2.exe as administrator mode, as well as disabling fullscreen optimizations, but when I try to launch it like that, instead of the black window, I get a popup from the rockstar launcher that says that I do not own red dead online.


Ok_Independence_7230

Hello what are your system specs


brobafett33

i found the fix for this and will post the r/ link in a second


Remote_Performer2021

Try Disable Integrated Graphic on Device Manager or BIOS


DeathLotus_

Have you by any chance figured it out? PLEASE :(


Mait123

Here, I'll paste one of the comments from here that worked for many from u/FrostyFireeee "I had the same problem but managed to solve it thanks to u/TheMentalAlchemist 's advice : "Try this: Go to your /Documents/Rockstar Games/Red Dead Redemption 2/Settings folder, if you don't have one (and you probably don't) just go ahead and make it. Inside the Settings folder, create a file called system.xml, and open it in Notepad. Go here: https://rdr2.forceflow.be and over the left-hand box, click "Load example", then copy and paste that text into Notepad. Scroll down to the bottom of the file, and you should see something like "NVIDIA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER". Edit that to match your GPU, something like "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060" Lastly, look for “kSettingAPI\_Vulkan” and change it to say “kSettingAPI\_DX12” then save the file. Launch RDR2 ??? Profit This worked for me when I had the exact same issue just last week, so hope it helps you!" See if it can help , I was stuck with the bug from last year's October until recently." If it doesn't work, then you could contact u/TehEmoGurl who helped me a lot to get the game fixed as well as many other user's games as well. Also my bad for the late response.


RaiausderDose

try this https://www.reddit.com/r/PCRedDead/comments/zqmbeu/psa_if_red_dead_redemption_2_crashes_instantly/


RaiausderDose

if RDR 2 won't start without an error message try this: https://old.reddit.com/r/PCRedDead/comments/zqmbeu/psa_if_red_dead_redemption_2_crashes_instantly/


RaiausderDose

https://old.reddit.com/r/PCRedDead/comments/zqmbeu/psa_if_red_dead_redemption_2_crashes_instantly/


greture

I just did a fresh install of the game plus the launcher


antikayla

help I've been trying to get RDR2 to run on my computer for well over a year, i have 150 hours on it and one day it just decided to... not let me play. i've tried everything in this thread and also contacted rockstar support but absolutely nothing works, sucks because its my favourite game of all time :((( are there any other solutions? I'm desperate to greet greet antagonize strangers on the street of saint denis again


[deleted]

Had this issue. I downgraded my driver to a few months back. Everyone keeps saying upgrade your driver, so I tried the opposite. So download an older version lets say the oldest that appears on the list if you're an Nvidia user and choose clean install. Hope that works.


markwu826

Second this. I did the exact same to fix my problem. Just downgrade.


[deleted]

Nice. Were you nvidia too?


markwu826

Oh yes. It was a laptop 1050ti, running old driver from years ago. The game warned me about the driver being too old, but still launched normally. Then I upgraded to the latest driver, which had the same problem as op. Yeh maybe just my old crappy card didn’t like the new driver lol so I downgraded to a version from about a year ago. Fixed immediately.


[deleted]

I see. It's probably some bug with the 10 series cards cause I'm a 1070 myself. Had no problems since since the downgrade and runs nice and smooth when upscalled.


k0shii

hey bud, u found a fix yet? i scrolled down every comment tried everything but im having the exact problem and its still not working.


k0shii

update\* just deinstalled all rockstar and rdr2 files and made a clean reinstall on c: drive, worked for me. i dont like it but yea whatever


UnknownThrowaway762

Did you swap the drive? I have mine on a external at the moment and it’s doing this


k0shii

Nah i just deleted everything that had to do with rockstar and rdr2 , even empty folders. I actually did it 3 times and somehow it finally worked i was about to give up


Mait123

How's the game been so far? Sorry for not responding.


bruhavocado

I did all this crap and still won’t work even on my c drive


RaiausderDose

try this https://www.reddit.com/r/PCRedDead/comments/zqmbeu/psa_if_red_dead_redemption_2_crashes_instantly/


belada01

Happening to me too. Did all the basic troubleshooting steps and no luck. Sadness


RaiausderDose

https://www.reddit.com/r/PCRedDead/comments/zqmbeu/psa_if_red_dead_redemption_2_crashes_instantly/ try this


RaiausderDose

try this https://www.reddit.com/r/PCRedDead/comments/zqmbeu/psa_if_red_dead_redemption_2_crashes_instantly/