Why Does Phasmophobia Keep Crashing

Phasmophobia crashes often stem from outdated graphics drivers, insufficient system resources (RAM or VRAM), corrupted game files, conflicting software, or overheating issues. This guide will walk you through identifying the cause and implementing solutions to get you back to ghost hunting.

Identifying the Crash: Common Causes and Error Messages

Before diving into fixes, understanding why Phasmophobia might be crashing is helpful. Error messages (if any) can give valuable clues.

1. Outdated or Corrupted Graphics Drivers

This is a frequent offender. Graphics drivers are the software that allows your GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) to communicate with the game. Outdated or corrupted drivers can lead to instability and crashes.

Symptoms: Frequent crashes, particularly during graphically intensive scenes. Error messages like “DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG” or “Graphics driver crashed” are strong indicators.
Impact: Affects the game’s stability, especially on higher graphical settings.

2. Insufficient System Resources

Phasmophobia requires adequate system resources. If your CPU, RAM (Random Access Memory), or GPU (specifically VRAM - Video RAM) struggle to keep up, crashes are likely.

Symptoms: Stuttering, low frame rates (FPS), and crashes, especially during hunts or when multiple players are present.
Impact: Creates bottlenecks, leading to instability and potential data loss if a crash occurs mid-game.

3. Corrupted Game Files

During download, installation, or even gameplay, game files can become corrupted, leading to unpredictable behavior, including crashes.

Symptoms: Random crashes, often accompanied by error messages related to specific files (e.g., a DLL file).
Impact: Prevents the game from accessing necessary data, resulting in a forced shutdown.

4. Software Conflicts

Other programs running in the background can sometimes conflict with Phasmophobia. This is particularly common with overlays, antivirus software, or other games using similar libraries.

Symptoms: Crashes that occur seemingly at random, potentially after launching a specific application or after a certain amount of play time.
Impact: Interferes with Phasmophobia’s operations, causing instability.

5. Overheating

If your CPU or GPU is overheating, it can lead to system instability and crashes. This is more common on older hardware or in poorly ventilated PCs.

Symptoms: The game might run fine initially but then gradually become more unstable before crashing. You might also notice your PC’s fans running loudly.
Impact: Puts stress on hardware, potentially leading to permanent damage if left unchecked.

Solutions: Fixing Phasmophobia Crashes

Safety First: Before making any hardware changes, ensure your computer is powered off and unplugged.

1. Update Your Graphics Drivers

This is the first thing you should try!

Steps:
- Identify your GPU: Press Windows Key + R, type dxdiag, and press Enter. Note the “Name” under the “Display” tab.
- Visit the manufacturer’s website:
  - Nvidia: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/drivers/
  - AMD: https://www.amd.com/en/support
- Download and install the latest drivers specifically for your GPU. Choose the “Clean Install” option if available.

2. Verify Game File Integrity

Steam has a built-in tool to check for and repair corrupted game files.

Steps:
- Right-click on Phasmophobia in your Steam library.
- Select “Properties.”
- Go to the “Local Files” tab.
- Click “Verify integrity of game files…”
- Steam will download and replace any corrupted files.

3. Close Unnecessary Background Applications

Free up system resources by closing programs you’re not actively using.

Steps:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
- Under the “Processes” tab, identify programs using significant CPU or memory.
- Close any unnecessary applications. Pay special attention to overlays (Discord, Steam), antivirus software, and resource-intensive programs.

4. Lower Graphics Settings

Reduce the strain on your GPU by lowering the graphics settings in Phasmophobia.

Steps:
- Launch Phasmophobia.
- Go to “Options” > “Graphics.”
- Reduce settings like “Resolution,” “Shadow Quality,” “Texture Quality,” and “Effects Quality.”
- Disable “Anti-Aliasing” and “Ambient Occlusion.”

5. Check Your System Temperatures

Monitor your CPU and GPU temperatures while playing Phasmophobia. Tools like MSI Afterburner or HWMonitor can help.

Steps:
- Download and install a temperature monitoring tool.
- Launch the tool and start Phasmophobia.
- Monitor the temperatures of your CPU and GPU while playing.
- If temperatures consistently exceed 80-90°C, you may have an overheating issue. Consider improving airflow in your PC case or reapplying thermal paste to your CPU and GPU coolers.

6. Update Windows

An outdated Windows version can sometimes lead to incompatibility issues.

Steps:
- Go to “Settings” > “Update & Security” > “Windows Update.”
- Click “Check for updates” and install any available updates.

7. Reinstall Phasmophobia

As a last resort, try reinstalling Phasmophobia.

Steps:
- Uninstall Phasmophobia from Steam.
- Delete any remaining files in the Phasmophobia installation directory.
- Reinstall Phasmophobia from Steam.

8. Check the Event Viewer

Windows Event Viewer can provide error logs and debugging information related to crashes.

Steps:
- Search for “Event Viewer” in the Windows search bar.
- Navigate to “Windows Logs” > “Application.”
- Look for error events that correspond to the time of the Phasmophobia crashes. The details of these events may contain clues to the cause of the issue.

By following these steps, you should be able to diagnose and fix most Phasmophobia crashing issues. Remember to test each solution individually to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. Good luck, and happy hunting!

Frequently Asked Questions