If you are experiencing crashing in Hogwarts Legacy, this guide will help you.
Hogwarts Legacy, the highly anticipated action role-playing game set in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, is now available in early access. However, many players have reported that the game is plagued by crashing and stuttering issues, ruining the immersive experience.
In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide on how to fix crashing in Hogwarts Legacy and ensure a smooth and seamless gaming experience.
How to fix Hogwarts Legacy crashing on startup
If Hogwarts Legacy is crashing for you while "preparing shaders" or "compiling shaders," giving you an "out of video memory" error, we have some troubleshooting steps to help you get back up and running.
Here are the steps you need to take to fix Hogwarts Legacy crashing on startup:
- Go to
C:\Users\{user}\AppData\Local\Hogwarts Legacy\Saved\Config\WindowsNoEditor, and then go down to the resolution and change it to 720x1080. Afterwards, restart your PC. - Navigate to Control Panel > Power Options and select Power Saver. This will allow the shaders process to complete and the game to boot. Once you are in the game, return to the Power Options and select your high or ultimate performance option.
- Make sure none of your hardware is overclocked.
- Try manually updating the graphics drivers through the Nvidia website. If you use AMD, you can check for updates here. If you are on NVIDIA, go here. And for Intel, click here.
Typically, the "Out of video memory" error means your graphics card does not have enough memory to run the game. But in this case, it could also be due to overclocked hardware or an outdated graphics card.
How to fix Hogwarts Legacy crashing during gameplay
As players navigate through the beautifully rendered halls of Hogwarts, attend lessons, and cast spells, crashes can break the immersion and leave players frustrated. Luckily, there are a lot of potentially helpful steps you can take to eliminate crashes.
Before you get into the troubleshooting tips, we recommend you look at the Hogwarts Legacy PC requirements to ensure your system is up to the task. Because Hogwarts Legacy is a very demanding game and if you don't have one of the best gaming PCs, you might run into issues.
So, here are our suggestions to fix crashing in Hogwarts Legacy.
Update graphics drivers and OS
Outdated drivers and operating systems can cause compatibility issues with video games and result in crashes.
If the drivers are outdated, they may not be optimized to work with the latest hardware or software updates, leading to performance issues. Similarly, outdated operating systems may not have the necessary features or updates to run a game properly, causing crashes or performance issues.
So we recommend you update both drivers and the operating system to prevent these compatibility issues. If you use AMD, you can check for updates here. If you are on NVIDIA, go here. And for Intel, click here.
Verify the integrity of game files
Corrupted game files can cause crashing in video games as they can interfere with the game's ability to run properly.
The game files contain important data and assets that are necessary for the game to function properly. If these files become corrupted, the game may not be able to access or read them correctly, leading to issues such as freezes, crashes, and other performance issues.
To resolve this issue, players can try verifying the game files, or installing a fresh copy of the game if necessary.
Change in-game graphics settings
High in-game graphics settings can cause crashing in video games as they can put a significant strain on a computer's hardware and system resources.
For example, high-resolution textures, complex lighting, and other advanced graphical features can consume a large amount of video memory and processing power. If your computer doesn't have enough memory or the appropriate graphics card to handle these features, the game may become unstable and crash.
Players can try lowering the graphics settings or adjusting other in-game settings to prevent this issue, such as reducing the resolution or turning off specific visual effects. We recommend you try switching between different graphics modes to find the best one for your setup.
Other possible fixes
In case none of the above solutions works for you, we have some additional fixes that you can try to resolve crashing issues in Hogwarts Legacy.
The below fixes don't apply to you if you are playing Hogwarts Legacy on Steam Deck. You can use the best Hogwarts Legacy settings for Steam Deck to ensure a smooth and seamless gaming experience.
- Disable third-party software: Close all other applications to resolve software conflicts and free up resources. This includes any Overlay programs and antivirus software you may be running.
- Disable overclocking: Set your components to factory default speeds to resolve crashes due to overclocking.
- Check for hardware issues: Issues with your computer's hardware, such as a failing hard drive or a damaged graphics card, can cause crashes. Checking for hardware issues and repairing or replacing faulty components can help resolve this issue.
- Install the game on your SSD: Installing a game on a solid-state drive (SSD) can potentially reduce the likelihood of crashes as SSDs offer faster read and write speeds compared to HDDs.
Also, it's always a good idea to check the game's technical support or official forums for any known solutions. Since the game has been released only recently, we couldn't find any proven solutions in the official forums.
We will update this guide if we stumble upon any working solutions.
If all else fails, contact WB Games
Bugs in the game code can cause crashing in video games as they can interfere with the normal functioning of the game.
A bug is an error or flaw in the game's programming that can cause unexpected behaviour or errors in the game. Bugs can occur for various reasons, including programming mistakes, poor quality assurance, or compatibility issues with different hardware or software configurations.
Players may need to contact the developer (WB Games) if they are experiencing crashes or other issues caused by bugs in the game code. This can help the developer identify the issue and work on a solution.
Why is Hogwarts Legacy crashing?
If you are experiencing Hogwarts Legacy crashing, rest assured that this isn't an issue that's exclusive to you, or even to this game. Recently, we've seen popular titles such as Modern Warfare 2 and Dreamlight Valley crash on several players' machines.
In Hogwarts Legacy crashing typically happens following the game’s seizure warning and after accepting its licence agreement. It could also happen during the unpacking process - while "preparing shaders" or "compiling shaders."
Here are some possible reasons for crashes in Hogwarts Legacy:
- Outdated game versions or outdated graphics card drivers
- Insufficient system requirements or hardware compatibility issues
- Corrupted game files or missing game components
- Conflicts with other software or antivirus programs
- Overloading the system with too many programs running in the background
- Overheating or power supply issues with the computer
- Bug or glitch in the game itself
- Antivirus or firewall blocking the game.
Whatever the cause is, you can fix Hogwarts Legacy crashing by verifying the game files, updating your graphics card and OS, changing the in-game graphics settings, or disabling third-party software.
The good news is that developer Portkey Games is now investigating the Hogwarts Legacy crashing issue (you can track its progress here and here). It’s likely that these problems will be resolved via a patch on the global release date.
We can hope the potential patch includes fixes for other bugs and issues in the games such as stuttering and the blue character bug. Perhaps the money glitch will also be fixed with the day 1 patch, so we recommend you take advantage of it right now.