Arma 3 keeps closing to the desktop unexpectedly? If you’re experiencing this frustrating issue, take a deep breath and try the solutions below.
Fixes to try:
You may not have to try them all; just work your way down the list until you find the one that works for you.
- Meet the minimum system requirements
- Run your game as an administrator
- End unnecessary programs
- Update your graphics driver
- Change your PC power settings
- Launch Arma 3 with the malloc=system command
- Reinstall the BattlEye service
- Reinstall your game and/or Steam
Fix 1: Meet the minimum system requirements
The minimum computer specs need to be met to run Arma 3 properly. Here are the minimum requirements to play Arma 3:
| OS: | Windows 7 SP1 (64bit) |
| Memory: | 4 GB RAM |
| Graphics: | NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT / AMD Radeon HD 5670 / Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 512 MB VRAM |
| DirectX: | 10 |
| Storage : | 32 GB free space |
If you’re running an especially old version of Windows, or your graphics card is a couple of generations too far back, then you’ve probably found your problem. In this case, you’ll need to play the game on another computer.
If you’re not so familiar with installed hardware on your PC, follow the instructions below to check them:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time to invoke the Run dialog.
2) Type dxdiag and click OK.
3) Check your Operating System, Processor, Memory and DirectX Version.
4) Click the Display tab, and then check your graphics card’s information.
Make sure your computer meets the minimum specs, then read on and check the fix, below.
Fix 2: Run your game as an administrator
Arma 3 crashing issues might occur when it fails to access critical game files or folders under the stander user account. To see if that’s the core issue, try running Steam as an administrator, then launch your game from Steam. Here is how to do it:
1) Exit Steam.
2) Right-click the Steam icon on your desktop and select Properties.
3) Click the Compatibility tab and check the box next to Run this program as an administrator. Then, click OK.
4) Relaunch Steam and Arma 3 to test your issue.
You can hopefully play Arma 3 without crashing now. If the problem still exists, then go ahead with the fix below.
Fix 3: End unnecessary programs
Running multiple applications at the same time takes up resources and can make Arma 3 crash or freeze. So, you should turn off extraneous software while gaming. Here is how to do it:
If you’re on Windows 7…
1) Right-click your taskbar and select Start Task Manager.
2) Click the Processes tab. Then, check your current CPU and memory usage to see what processes are consuming your resources most.
3) Right-click the resource-consuming process and select End Process Tree.
Try relaunching Arma 3 to see if this has resolved your issue. If this didn’t help, try Fix4.
If you’re on Windows 8 or 10…
1) Right-click your taskbar and select Task Manager.
2) Check your current CPU and memory usage to see what processes are consuming your resources most.
3) Right-click the resource-consuming process and select End task.
Try launching Arma 3 to see if it works properly now. If the crash error still happens, go ahead with the fix below.
Fix 4: Update your graphics driver
One of the most common causes of the Arma 3 crashing issue is an outdated graphics driver. To keep your game running correctly, it’s essential that you have the latest correct graphics driver at all times.
There are two ways you can update your graphics drivers:
Option 1 – Manually – You’ll need some computer skills and patience to update your driver this way, because you need to find exactly the right the driver online, download it and install it step by step.
OR
Option 2 – Automatically (Recommended) – This is the quickest and easiest option. It’s all done with just a couple of mouse clicks – easy even if you’re a computer newbie.
Option 1 – Download and install the driver manually
The manufacturer of your graphics card keeps updating the driver. To get them, you need to go to the manufacturer’s website, find the driver corresponding with your specific flavor of Windows version (for example, Windows 32 bit) and download the driver manually.
Once you’ve downloaded the correct driver for your system, double-click on the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver.
Option 2 – Automatically update your graphics driver
If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your graphics driver manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.
Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct driver for it. 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.
You can update your driver automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks:
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 (you can do this with the FREE version).
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.)
Fix 5: Change your PC power plan
By default, the power plan on all computers is set to Balanced to save energy. So, your computer sometimes will slow down automatically and cause Arma 3 crashing issue.
If that’s the problem for you, setting the power plan to High Performance should fix it. Note that Under High Performance mode, your PC will generate more heat. Follow the instructions below:
1) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type control. Then, click Control panel.
2) Under View by, click Large icons.
3) Select Power Options.
4) Select High Performance.
Restart your computer and Arma 3 to see if this worked for you. If your problem persists, try the fix below.
Fix 6: Launch Arma 3 with the malloc=system command
Another solution to the crashing issue is to custom the Memory Allocator on Arma 3. Many players fix their issue by launching Arma 3 with the malloc=system command. Here is how to do it:
1) Run Steam.
2) Click LIBRARY.
3) Right-click Arma 3 and select Properties.
4) Click SET LAUNCH OPTIONS.
5) Remove any launch options currently shown.
6) Type -malloc=system and click OK.
7) Restart Arma 3 to see this helped.
If this didn’t work for you, you’ll need to reopen the launch Options box and clear the launch option. Then, try the fix, below.
Fix 7: Reinstall BattlEye service
In some cases, the Arma 3 crash is related to the anti-cheat service BattlEye error. If that’s the problem for you, reinstalling BattlEye should be able to fix it. Follow the instructions below:
1) Exit Steam.
2) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and E at the same time.
3) Click the View tab, then check the box next to Hidden items.
3) Paste C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Arma 3 on the address bar, then press Enter on your keyboard.
4) Delete the BattlEye folder.
5) Go to the following directories to delete the BattlEye folder and the BEClient.dll.
- Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\, and delete the BattlEye folder.
- Go to C:\Users\YOUR_WINDOWS_USER_NAME\AppData\Local\Arma 3\BattlEye\, and delete BEClient.dll.
6) Run Steam.
7) Click LIBRARY.
8) Right-click Arma 3 and select Properties.
9) Click the LOCAL FILES tab, then click VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES.
Wait for the scans to be complete, then relaunch Arma 3 to reinstall BattlEye. If the game still crashes, try the next fix.
Fix 8: Reinstall Arma 3 and/or Steam
If none of the fixes above worked for you, reinstalling your game and/or Steam is very likely the solution to your problem. Here is how to do it:
Reinstall Arma 3
1) Run Steam.
2) Click LIBRARY.
3) Right-click Arma 3 and select Uninstall.
4) Click DELETE.
5) Relaunch Steam to download and reinstall Arma 3.
Try launching Arma 3 again. If your problem still exists, try the fix below.
Reinstall Steam
1) Right-click the Steam icon and select Open file location.
2) Right-click the steamapps folder and select Copy. Then, place the copy in another location to back it up.
3) On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and type control. Then, click Control Panel.
4) Under View by, select Category. Then, select Uninstall a program.
5) Right-click Steam, and then click Uninstall. Then, wait for the process to be complete.
6) Download and install Steam.
7) Right-click the Steam icon and select Open file location.
8) Move the backup steamapps folder you create before to your current directory location.
9) Restart Arma 3 to test your problem.
Hopefully, this article helped in resolving your issue! If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.