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Red Screen While Playing Games: 13 Troubleshooting Tips and Tricks
13 min. read
Updated onOctober 30, 2024
updated onOctober 30, 2024
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If you’ve ever experienced a red screen while playing games on Windows PCs, try the troubleshooting ideas mentioned here.
I’ve reproduced various scenarios of the red screen of death (RSOD) when playing PC games to figure out the best DIY fixes. Read on for tried and tested resolutions below!
Red Screen While Playing Games – What Is It?
RSOD is arare critical errorthat could crash your Windows PC abruptly. Itusually happens during demanding processing taskslike playing high-end video games.
You might experience a few freezing screens during game playback, as well as static noise. Then, a solid red screen will appear with text on it. You can often find the error-causing hardware or software in the error message. Sometimes, the red screen will be empty.
However, in 90% of cases, the static noise won’t go away until you reboot.
Furthermore, two common causes of RSOD arehardware and software issues. Overheating of GPU, CPU, mainboard, failing graphics cards, or an unstable PSU can trigger it. On the software side, incompatible game streaming apps, incompatible game apps, outdated graphics drivers, and more, are the usual culprits.
How To Fix Red Screen While Playing Games
Different triggers of RSOD require custom troubleshooting. Otherwise, you’ll waste time fixing the issue and buy new hardware which might not be necessary.
Find below a curated list of troubleshooting ideas matching the root cause of this problem.
Steam App-Specific Troubleshooting
If you primarilyuse Steam to get game apps or Steam Overlay for online gaming,try these troubleshooting ideas first. They should help when you see RSOD for many titles, including:
If you haven’t restarted the Steam app for a few days, you might lack the necessary updates. So, close the app and run it again. Steam will automatically perform an update check with the server. If there are any, it’ll ask your permission to download and install them.
If you’re getting the red screen while playing games from Steam, reboot the PC.
Then, open the Steam app and go to theLibrary tab. You should see all the games there. Click on a title and if there are any pending updates, you’ll see anUpdatebutton instead of the Install button.
Some game titles might start updating automatically when you go to the Library tab. You’ll see a small progress bar underneath its thumbnail or display image.
When you install a game through Steam, you can launch it either using thedesktop iconor from theSteam Library>game app thumbnail.
If you repeatedly face the RSOD issue with Steam games,don’t use the desktop EXE fileto launch it. Instead,run the app from theSteam Library.
You might use the Steam Overlay interface when playing games for features like a web browser, chat, the friends list, in-game DLC purchasing, and more.
However,new titles often need some time to become fully compatiblewith this in-game user interface. Some might even show an RSOD when there’s too much activity in the Steam Overlay.
Don’t start the game immediately after the RSOD. Instead, do the following:
Run the PC Game in Windowed Mode
Some titles might not be compatible with running in the full-screen mode in your current PC setup. If that’s the case, you should:
Restart the game and see if the RSOD comes back or not.
Switch to Compatibility Mode
Did you recently upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 or Windows 10 to Windows 11 and see the RSOD error?
Often, dated game apps become incompatible as Microsoft publishes a new operating system. If you try to run them, you might get an RSOD.
Here’s how you can try and find out if the game app is compatible:
Once you set a compatibility mode for the game, Windows will always use the same configuration to launch and run it.
Reduce the In-game Graphics Settings
You’re probably using the default game graphics settings. This is usually the maximum quality setting which requires more CPU, GPU, and Memory resources. You could try to use a lower configuration to reduce the load on your hardware.
Disable CrossFire for GPUs
Were you using AMD CrossFire or NVIDIA SLI to link multiple GPUs in the same PC during the RSOD error?
It’s highly likely that the game app doesn’t support CrossFire or SLI yet. For example, Plants vs. Zombies didn’t support this until the developer released a patch.
Disable Stereoscopic 3D in NVIDIA GPUs
Close the NVIDIA Control Panel, relaunch the game, and check if the RSOD issue persists.
Set GPU to Balanced Performance Mode
If you use an NVIDIA GPU and keep facing a red screen while playing games, try these steps:
Switch the Display Output Ports
Check the display output cable technology you’re using. You’ll find it at the back of the CPU case.
Find out if you’re using a VGA, DVI, Display Port, or HDMI port.
If you’re using a Display Port, change that to HDMI and try playing the game again.
Switch to DirectX 9.0
The reason behind the RSOD might be forced DirectX 12.0-based rendering instead of DirectX 9.0. Either the game app or the hardware doesn’t support forced DirectX 12.0. So, you need to change the game rendering technology to DirectX 9.0 by following any of these methods:
If the game doesn’t offer a visual interface to switch to DirectX 9.0, you can try editing its INI file. Here’s how:
Update the GPU Drivers
Ensure you’re using the latest GPU drivers by following any of these methods:
Alternatively, you can update any drivers, regardless of the GPU manufacturer, with the help of professional tools like for examplePC HelpSoft Driver Updater.
Ensure Enough Ventilation in the PC Case
Windows often shows aBSODor RSOD for highly critical issues, likesystem overheating.
So, you should check that the CPU, RAM, GPU, SSD, and the Mainboard aren’t heating extensively. You canuse theHWiNFO appto monitor the idle and in-game temperatureof these crucial hardware components.
Find below the average optimal temperatures for various hardware:
You might want to open the PC case cover andclean the heat sink fans using a soft paintbrush or compressed air can.Also, check if any heat sink fan isn’t working on your PC. If you find any, replace those to increase airflow in the system.
Disable GPU Overclocking
Your GPU might be approaching its replacement threshold. If you’re overclocking it, stop doing that now by following these steps:
If the game app runs smoothly after disabling overclocking, reduce its graphics settings to enhance its performance.
RSOD with GPU overclocking also indicates that it’s time toreplace the dated graphics card with a new onefor gaming.
Reseat PC Hardware
Is your PC not booting up to the Desktop or Home Screen after a sudden RSOD event? Give the following steps a try:
If you can power on the PC with a GPU, apply the other troubleshooting methods mentioned earlier to reduce the graphics card’s resource load. Then, try to play the game again.
Though the error might worry you if you see it for the first time, it’s easily fixable. So far, you’ve learned all the proven methods to resolve the red screen while playing games. If you encounter ablue screen, I’ve got you covered as well.
We also have a guide on how to deal withred tint on a laptop screen, so don’t miss it.
Have you tried these troubleshooting tips? Feel free to share your experience and suggestions below!
More about the topics:gaming,windows 10,Windows 11
Vlad Turiceanu
Windows Editor
Passionate about technology,Windows, and everything that has a power button, he spent most of his time developing new skills and learning more about the tech world.
Coming from a solid background in PC building and software development, with a complete expertise in touch-based devices, he is constantly keeping an eye out for the latest and greatest!
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Vlad Turiceanu
Windows Editor
Coming from a solid background in PC building and software development, he’s a Windows 11 Privacy & Security expert.
