It’s frustrating when you experience performance or stability problems during gameplay. Recently, many Grand Theft Auto V (GTA5) players have reported the game freezing issue.
Although it’s hard to detect the cause of this issue because of the number of unique hardware and software settings players have, there are a few solutions you can try to rule out common problems.
You may not have to try them all. Just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick for you.
- Update your graphics driver
- End unnecessary programs
- Verify your game files
- Adjust your virtual memory
- Reinstall your game
- Check for Windows updates
Fix 1: Update your graphics driver
Your graphics card (GPU) is the most important component when it comes to determining gaming performance. If you’re using an outdated graphics driver, or the driver is corrupted, you’re likely to encounter game issues. So, make sure your graphics driver is updated.
If you’re not comfortable playing with device drivers, we recommend using Driver Easy. Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct driver for you.
You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.
1) Download and install Driver Easy.
2) Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
3) Click the Update button next to the graphics driver to automatically download the correct version of that driver, then you can manually install it.
Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. (This requires the Pro version which comes with full support and a 30-day money back guarantee. You’ll be prompted to upgrade when you click Update All.)
4) Relaunch GTA5 to test your issue.
If your issue continues to occur, then move on to the next fix, below.
Fix 2: End unnecessary programs
If you’re running multiple programs at the same time while gaming, that could cause your PC to overload and make your game freeze.
To see if that’s the cause of the GTA5 freezing problem, follow the instructions below:
1) Right-click your taskbar and select Task Manager.
2) Right-click the programs you want to close and select End Task. Specifically, if you have the Riva Statistics software or MSI Afterburner, try turning them off when you’re gaming to see if the issue persists.
3) Restart GTA5 to see if this fixed your issue.
If it didn’t, read on and try Fix 3.
Fix 3: Verify your game files
This issue might happen when one or more GTA5 files on your PC are corrupt or missing. If you’re playing the game on Steam, follow the instructions below to verify your game files:
1) Run Steam.
2) Click LIBRARY. Then, right-click Grand Theft Auto V and select Properties.
3) Click the LOCAL FILES tab, then click VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES.
4) Relaunch GTA5 to test your issue.
If your game still won’t run correctly, then go ahead with the next fix, below.
Fix 4: Adjust your virtual memory
Virtual memory is basically an extension of your computer’s physical memory. It is a combination of RAM and a portion of your hard drive. If your computer runs out of RAM when running GTAV, Windows will dip into virtual memory for temporary file storage.
If you don’t have enough virtual memory to save temporary files, that can cause your game to freeze.
If that’s the problem for you, increasing your virtual memory can fix it. Here is how to do it:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type advanced system settings. Then click View advanced system settings.
2) Click Settings.
3) Click the Advanced tab, and then click Change.
4) Uncheck the box next to Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
5) Click your C drive.
6) Click the option button next to Custom size, and then type 4096 in the text box next to Initial size (MB) and Maximum size (MB).
7) Click Set, then OK.
8) Restart your computer and your game.
If your issue still exists, don’t fret. Read on and try the next fix.
Fix 5: Reinstall your game
You may run into the GTA5 freezing issue when the game program is not properly installed on your PC. To fix it, you’ll need to reinstall the game. Here is how to do it:
1) Run Steam.
2) Right-click Grand Theft Auto V then click Manage > Uninstall.
3) Click Uninstall.
4) Restart your computer.
5) Reinstall the game on your PC, then restart the game.
If the issue continues to occur, go to the next solution.
Fix 6: Check for Windows updates
In some cases, this issue is triggered by out-of-date and incompatible Windows components. Try installing all the new Windows updates to see if this fixes your issue. Follow the instructions below:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key. Then, type windows update and select Windows Update settings.
2) Click Check for updates, and then wait for Windows to download and install the updates automatically.
3) Restart your computer and your game.
Hopefully, this article helped. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions, or if you managed to fix this issue in some other way. I would love your thoughts!