Many Red Dead Redemption 2 players have posted on forums about RDR2 crashing to the desktop whenever they play it on PCs. Although this crashing to the desktop is quite random, many players have reported Red Dead Redemption 2 regularly crashes within 10-30 minutes of playing time. One player said this on Steam, “My game (RDR2) crashes every 20 minutes, I can’t finish one mission even, game’s just closing.” This is how you can fix Red Dead Redemption 2 crashing to the desktop on PCs.
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Add the Graphics Tools Feature
The Graphics Tool is an optional Windows feature for performing graphics diagnostics and creating debug devices for Direct3D. Adding this feature can fix regular RDR2 crashing issues. You can add that optional feature like this.
- Activate the tool for finding files by pressing the Windows logo + S hotkey.
- Enter optional features into the Type here to search box.
- Click Manage optional features.
- Next, click Add a feature in the Windows 10 Settings app. Windows 11 users must click View features.
- Input graphics tool in the search box.
The Graphics Tools feature
- Click Install to add the feature.
Set a DirectX 12 Graphics API Settings
DirectX 12 and Vulkan are two alternative graphical API settings for Red Dead Redemption 2. Players confirm in forum posts that switching from Vulkan to DirectX 12 has fixed their RDR2 crashing woes. This is how you select the DirectX 12 API setting in Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Start your Red Dead Redemption 2 game.
- Click Settings > Graphics in Red Dead Redemption 2.
- Next, click the locked Advanced Graphics Setting to unlock it.
- Select DirectX 12 for the Graphics API setting.
The Graphics API setting
- Click Apply Changes to set the new option.
Install DirectX Components
Some Red Dead Redemption 2 players confirm installing DirectX components can fix RDR2 crashing on the desktop. You can install missing runtime libraries by downloading and running a DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer. These are the steps for installing DirectX components.
- Go to Microsoft’s download page for the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer.
- Click Download to obtain the DirectX package.
The DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer
- Go into File Explorer (Hold the Windows logo key and press E) to open the folder that includes the downloaded dxwebsetup file.
- Double-click the dxwebsetup file.
- Select the I accept agreement option.
- Click Next to proceed, and uncheck the box for the optional Bing toolbar if you don’t want that software.
The DirectX installer
- Press Next to install components.
I also recommend updating Windows 11/10 for the purpose to update DirectX. You can do this by installing all available patch updates for Windows via Settings. Microsoft’s Update Windows page provides step-by-step instructions for updating the platform.
Run the Vulkan Diagnostics Tool
Incompatible or broken Vulkan layers can cause RDR2 crashing issues. Vulkan Diagnostics is a utility with which users can fix Vulkan issues. Try troubleshooting Red Dead Redemption 2 with the Vulkan Diagnostics Tool like this.
- Open this Vulkan Diagnostics download page.
- Next, click the VkDiag.exe file.
- Double-click the Vkdiag.exe file in whatever folder it downloaded.
The Vulkan Diagnostics Tool
- If the Vulkan Diagnostics Tool detects some issues, click the Disable incompatible Vulkan layers option and wait for the utility to apply fixes.
Verify Game Files for Red Dead Redemption 2
Corrupted game files could be causing the regular RDR2 crashing on your PC. To check if that’s the case, try repairing Red Dead Redemption 2’s files by running a verification scan. These Epic Games and Steam support pages tell you how players can repair games’ files with those gaming clients.
The Verify button
Disable Backgrounds Apps & Services by Clean Booting
Applying a clean boot disables third-party apps and services that start with Windows on your PC. This potential resolution for regular RDR2 crashing might prevent certain programs or services from conflicting with Red Dead Redemption 2 after restarting your PC. Microsoft’s guide to clean booting takes you through all the steps for clean-booting a Windows 11/10 PC.
The Services tab in MSConfig
Other Possible Ways to Fix RDR2 Crashing on Windows PCs
The possible solutions above aren’t the only ways to fix regular in-game RDR2 crashing. If more potential fixes are needed, try applying these troubleshooting methods.
- Install the latest driver for your PC’s graphics adapter card (GPU).
- Scan the Windows files by executing an SFC command as covered on this Microsoft System File Checker page.
- Set Red Dead Redemption 2 to run with a higher priority by right-clicking its process on the Details tab in Task Manager and selecting Set priority > High.
- Uninstall and reinstall your Red Dead Redemption 2 game.
- Delete everything in the temporary data folder at AppData > Local > Temp.
Try applying all the potential solutions above for regular RDR2 crashing before contacting Rockstar’s help service. There’s a pretty good chance one or more of those possible fixes will at least greatly reduce the regularity of the Red Dead Redemption 2 game crashing on your PC. However, you can contact Rockstar’s support about the issue from this help page if further resolutions are needed.
