Fix Fallout 4 freezing on Windows 10
One of the games that still reigns among gamers is the Fallout series. However, one of the terms related to playing online is the Fallout 4 stuttering and freezing problem. Many reports claim that the Fallout 4 freezing and freezing problem and the search for a Fallout 4 freezing fix is ongoing. This article is a guide to fixing a stuttering problem.
How to fix Fallout 4 freezing on Windows 10
This section lists all the possible causes of Fallout 4 freezing on your PC.
- background applications. Applications running in the background may cause a delay in using the Fallout 4 game file.
- Outdated graphics driver. An outdated graphics driver on your PC may cause a lag in the use of Fallout 4 games as they may not support the files.
- PC performance is not optimal. If the PC specifications required to play Fallout 4 are not optimal on your PC, you may experience a stuttering issue.
- Permission conflict. If the resolution on your PC doesn't match Fallout 4's fullscreen, you may see lag.
- Incompatibility - if Fallout 4 is not compatible with your version of Windows; you may experience stuttering and freezing issues.
- FPS is set to 60 in a Fallout 4 game. If FPS or FPS is set to 60 in a Fallout 4 game, you may experience an issue due to the fast loading of the game file.
- V-sync is enabled in Fallout 4. You must have V-sync enabled or V-sync enabled in Fallout 4 and you may experience stuttering in the game.
Method 1: Basic Troubleshooting Methods
The first approach to troubleshooting the Fallout 4 freezing problem should be to try the basic troubleshooting methods outlined in this section.
1. End background processes
If you have a lot of memory-intensive apps running in the background, you may experience Fallout 4 stuttering and freezing issues. To fix this problem, read the article on how to end a task in Windows 10.
2. Update your GPU drivers
Because Fallout 4 is a game that requires an updated GPU driver, you need to make sure your graphics driver is up to date. Use the link provided here to update the Intel Graphics driver on your PC to resolve an outdated or corrupted GPU driver issue.
The following methods will allow you to understand the basic PC requirements and help you modify them to fix the Fallout 4 freezing problem.
3. Check system specifications
The system specifications of your PC must meet the minimum basic system requirements to use Fallout 4. You can check the system specifications of your Windows 10 PC using the link provided here.
The main system requirements for installing Fallout 4 are listed below:
- Operating System: Windows 7/8/10 (requires 64-bit)
- GPU Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz/AMD Phenom II X4 945 3.0GHz or equivalent
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 550 Ti 2GB/AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB or equivalent
You can either try updating Windows or you can try installing Fallout 4 on another PC with the listed requirements.
4. Manage storage space
If the amount of memory available on your PC is less than the basic requirements, you may not be able to use Fallout 4 without any stuttering issues. The minimum space requirements are as follows:
- Required Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Storage space: 30 GB free space
To solve the storage problem, you can use the link to manage storage on your PC.
5. Update BIOS (not recommended)
BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System and is the basic firmware of your computer. You can try updating the BIOS on your PC using the link provided here.
Note. It is recommended that you back up all your data and then try updating your BIOS, as you may lock up your computer in the process.
Method 2: Open Fallout 4 in Windowed Mode
In most cases, Fallout 4 stuttering and freezing issues occur when you use the game in full screen mode. To avoid this issue, you can try using the game in windowed mode by following these steps.
1. Press the Windows key, type Steam and click Open.
2. Go to the LIBRARY tab in the top menu, right-click on the Fallout 4 game and select the Properties option.
3. Then, on the General tab, go to the LAUNCH OPTIONS section.
4. Enter --windowed-noborder in the text box and click OK to save your changes.
Note 1. Set the game resolution as your PC resolution to avoid display conflicts.
Note 2: You can also select Windowed Mode and Borderless options in the window.
5. Open the Fallout 4 game from the LIBRARY tab in the Steam app and check if you can play the game in windowed mode.
Method 3: Change the screen resolution
Sometimes running the Fallout 4 app in borderless mode can cause Fallout 4 to freeze. If this is the case, you can try changing the PC resolution and then launching the Fallout 4 app in the interface with the changed resolution.
1. Press Windows Key + I at the same time to open Settings.
2. Click "System" in the displayed menu to open the system information window.
3. Click the "Screen" tab on the left pane of the window and change the resolution under "Screen Resolution" to change the resolution of your PC.
Method 4: Change compatibility settings
One of the reasons for Fallout 4 freezes is the compatibility of the game and the Windows operating system. You can try running Fallout 4 in compatibility mode to fix this issue.
1. In the Windows search bar, search for Fallout 4 and click the "Open file location" option on the right side of the window.
2. Right-click the Fallout 4 executable and select Properties from the list.
3. Click the Compatibility tab in the Properties window and select the Run this program in compatibility mode for option under Compatibility Mode.
4. Click the "Apply" button and then the "OK" button to run Fallout 4 in compatibility mode.
Method 5: Verify the integrity of the game files (on Steam)
If the Fallout 4 game is missing or corrupted in the Steam app, you may be experiencing Fallout 4 freezing issue. In order to fix the game file, you need to verify the integrity of the Fallout 4 game in the Steam app. The link provided here will take you to an article on the method to verify the integrity of game files in the Steam application.
Method 6: Update Fallout 4 Game
If your Fallout 4 game is out of date, you may be experiencing in-game lag issues. You need to update the game to the latest version to resolve this issue.
1. Download the latest Fallout game from Steam.
2. Install the latest Fallout game and run the executable on your PC.
3. Press the Windows key, press the power button and select the Restart option to restart your computer.
Method 7: Edit Game Files
The methods in this section will help you modify certain entries in the Fallout 4 game file and fix lag issues when using the Fallout 4 game.
Step I: Change Game Mode and Resolution
This method will help you change game mode and resolution in Fallout 4 game, and fix Fallout 4 freezing issue.
1. Press the Windows + E keys at the same time to open File Explorer.
2. Navigate to the Fallout4 folder following the location path: This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Users > Lenov0 > Documents > My Games > Fallout4.
3. Select and right-click the Fallout4Prefs.ini file, hover over the Open With option in the list, and click the Notepad option in the adjacent menu that appears.
4. In the editor file, edit and customize the entries in the file to change the game mode and resolution of the Fallout 4 application.
bMaximizeWindow= 1bBorderless= 1 Full Screen= 0 W= 1440 H= 900 iSize W= 1440 iSize H= 900
Note. If you can't find an entry, you can press Ctrl+F and search for entries to find the entries in the file.
5. Press the Ctrl + S keys at the same time to save the file, close the file and enter the Fallout 4 application to check if the problem is resolved.
Step II: Adjust the frame rate in the game
The FPS in Fallout 4 game is set to 60 and this is causing the Fallout 4 stuttering issue. You can try adjusting the Fallout 4 game file frame rate to fix this issue.
1. Press the Windows + E keys at the same time to open File Explorer on your PC.
2. Navigate to the Fallout4 folder following the location path: This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Users > Lenov0 > Documents > My Games > Fallout4.
3. Select and right-click the Fallout4Prefs.ini file, hover over the Open With option in the list, and click the Notepad option in the adjacent menu that appears.
4. Change the entry for the game frame rate to iFPSClamp= 58.
Note. If you can't find an entry, you can press Ctrl+F and search for entries to find the entries in the file.
5. Press the Ctrl + S keys at the same time to save the file, close the file and enter the Fallout 4 application to check if the problem is resolved.
Method 8: Frame Rate Limiting
Another way to change the FPS in a Fallout 4 game file is to use any third party software to limit the frame rate below the screen refresh rate.
- AMD graphics card. If you are using an AMD graphics card, you can use third party Radeon Chill software to limit the FPS generation.
- NVIDIA graphics card. You can use NVIDIA graphics card drivers to limit frames per second below the display refresh rate.
Method 9: Change graphics card settings
If you are using an NVIDIA graphics card, you can try changing the settings in the Control Panel to fix the Fallout 4 freezing issue.
1. Right-click any empty space on the desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel from the menu.
2. On the left side of the window, expand the 3D Settings option and click the Manage 3D Settings option in the list.
3. Go to the "Program Settings" tab and select "Fallout 4" in the "Select a program to configure" section.
Note. If you can't find the Fallout 4 app in the drop-down menu, click the Add button, find and select the Fallout 4 executable.
4. In the power management mode feature, change the setting to Prefer maximum performance.
5. Set Triple Buffering to On and Max Preprocessed Frames to 1 in Settings.
6. Finally, launch the Fallout 4 game after changing the settings in the Control Panel.
Method 10: Set up the vertical sync feature
The use of vertical sync or vertical sync is intended to limit the frame rate and prevent screen tearing while using the app. This will help you keep the frame rate of the game in sync with the refresh rate of the game display. The V-Sync feature can be modified to fix latency issues when using a Fallout 4 game file.
Option I: NVIDIA Control Panel
Here's a method to change the V-Sync feature to fix the Fallout 4 stuck issue in the NVIDIA Control Panel.
1. Launch the NVIDIA Control Panel window.
2. On the left side of the window, expand the 3D Settings option and click the Manage 3D Settings option in the list.
3. Go to the "Global settings" tab and select "Fallout 4" in the "Select a program to configure" section.
Note. If you can't find the Fallout 4 app in the drop-down menu, click the Add button, find and select the Fallout 4 executable.
4. Select the "V-Sync" function from the list and set this function to "Adaptive" in the "Settings" section.
Option II: From the AMD Radeon Control Panel
If you are using an AMD Radeon graphics card, you may be able to fix the lag issue in Fallout 4 by following these steps.
1. Open the RadeonTMPRO official website in your default web browser and click the DOWNLOAD button to install the software.
2. Launch the Radeon Pro software, go to the Tweaks tab and enable dynamic v-sync in the v-sync control options in the software.
Option III: Customize the Fallout 4 file
This option will allow you to manually tweak the V-Sync feature in the game file to fix Fallout 4 stuttering and freezing issues.
1. Press the Windows + E keys at the same time to open File Explorer on your PC.
2. Navigate to the Fallout4 folder following the location path: This PC > Local Disk (C:) > Users > Lenov0 > Documents > My Games > Fallout4.
3. Select and right-click the Fallout4Prefs.ini file, hover over the Open With option in the list, and click the Notepad option in the adjacent menu that appears.
4. In the editor file, modify and adjust the entries in the file to change the FPS value. Set iPresentInterval = 0.
Note 1: If you can't find an entry, you can press Ctrl + F at the same time and search for entries to find the entries in the file.
Note 2: If the iPresentInterval entry is set to 1, the FPS limit in the game cannot be removed.
5. Press Ctrl + S at the same time to save the file, close the file, and log into the Fallout 4 application to see if the Fallout 4 stuttering and freezing issue has been resolved.
Method 11: Use the Sprint Stutter Fix Mod
Instead of using mods, you can try to apply specially designed mods in Fallout 4 game. The Sprint stutter fix mod, developed on the basis of Nexus mods, will make your gameplay smoother. This fixes weapon crashes and high FPS crashes in the game, and with it, you can fix Fallout 4 freezing issue.
Method 12: Contact Bethesda Official Support
If none of the methods can fix your Fallout 4 game issue, you can try contacting Bethesda Official Support for help. Contact them with a problem and you will find solutions to the problem in the near future.
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The article deals with the problem of Fallout 4 stuttering and freezes. If you find Fallout 4 freezes on your PC, you can use the methods given here as a guide to fix Fallout 4 freezes. Leave your suggestions and questions about this topic in the comments section.