Game won't load, but also won't stop...

[Fab Lil Jedi]

Hey all, sorry if this is a repeat discussion but I didn't see it. I saw lots of folks with problems launching the game and various fixes, and that's great, but mine won't launch, but now is stuck in the "stopping" state. Even if I force Steam closed, force all rockstar apps closed, close everything via task manager, even after shutting down my PC and leaving it off overnight, when I turn it back on and open things back up, RDR2 is still "stopping". Because of this, none of the fixes work because they read RDR2 as open so I can make no changes to any files or install locations etc. Anyone else run into this?

Everything is up to date on my rig, except maybe the rockstar launcher, but it won't let me update it because RDR2 is running............

[Bonus!]

there are plenty of fixes for this on youtube, although Rockstar should have fixed this over a year ago, if you go on youtube there should be a not-so-long-nor-difficult tutorial that will guide you through. Although I have to say the game refusing to shut down is new, but maybe try reinstalling the game as much as that sucks?

[Fab Lil Jedi]

Originally posted by Bonus!:

there are plenty of fixes for this on youtube, although Rockstar should have fixed this over a year ago, if you go on youtube there should be a not-so-long-nor-difficult tutorial that will guide you through. Although I have to say the game refusing to shut down is new, but maybe try reinstalling the game as much as that sucks?

So my apologies, perhaps my original post wasn’t clear enough. But that is exactly my point, the game not stopping part is where I am stuck.

I see that the failure to launch part is common, and I found all the fixes you mention are out there (as I mentioned in my post) and they seem easy enough to implement, but none of them work with the game “running”. I can’t edit files of the game, and I can’t uninstall/reinstall. I was able to verify files, but that did nothing…I was going to try uninstall/reinstall if rockstar launcher etc too, but same thing, that can’t be done while RDR2 is “running.

So my question is, has anyone encountered this and how do I get the game to stop, when even having my pc powered off for 10+ hours didn’t work…

[Fab Lil Jedi]

As an update, I couldn’t log out, but forced a log out via the app, then I made a dummy account and signed in to it. Then signed back in to my main account, and RDR2 is still “running”

[DargonBlak]

What is telling you that RDR2 is still "running" ? How are you verifying this ?

And i am guessing you've already reset ur PC and verified your installation ?

Do you have admin access ?

Tell us what hoops you've already tried and tested so we know what not to suggest

effectively, you have a software or hardware problem specific to your system, and it is not common - updating OS / drivers and re-verifying installation fixes most of these

and since it's specific to ur system, ur hardware & OS specs will matter when looking for a solution if the general updating and verifying procedure doesn't fix the problem

[Fab Lil Jedi]

Originally posted by DargonBlak:

What is telling you that RDR2 is still "running" ? How are you verifying this ?

And i am guessing you've already reset ur PC and verified your installation ?

Do you have admin access ?

Tell us what hoops you've already tried and tested so we know what not to suggest

effectively, you have a software or hardware problem specific to your system, and it is not common - updating OS / drivers and re-verifying installation fixes most of these

and since it's specific to ur system, ur hardware & OS specs will matter when looking for a solution if the general updating and verifying procedure doesn't fix the problem

So I'm being told the game is running when I try to update the game, or change file names or locations (as suggested in a lot of the online solutions). Also, the steam library says "running" or "stopping" next to RDR2. Further, I can not update anything related to the game or its files, because when I do, I get the prompt saying the game is running, or open, so I need to close it before I try to update or make changes.

I have reset my PC, and I verified game file integrity, but that is all I can do because anything else tells me I need to close the game first, which I seemingly simply can't do.

I have checked that Windows is up to date, and my graphics drivers are up to date as well.

AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics 3.80 Ghz
32.0 GB
64-bit system
Windows 11
OS Build 22631.4169

[Draekus2]

have you tried stopping it in Task Manager ?

[Fab Lil Jedi]

Originally posted by Draekus2:

have you tried stopping it in Task Manager ?

Yes, and it either simply doesn't appear in the task manager list (under any heading) or when I click "end task" nothing happens. And even when it isn't in the task manager list, when I try to uninstall or edit files, I get the prompt that it is still running and needs to be closed before I can edit.

[Vulgar Saint]

Might try to boot in Safe Mode? No expert here by any means but I think Safe Mode just starts up the OS and what else is needed for the PC to function. If that's the case then RDR2 should not be running. I'd go for a full uninstall of all things RDR2 including any files and the Rockstar launcher. Search for them with File Explorer after uninstall.

I could be completely wrong here. Probably am but it's what I would try. If anyone else could speak on this method I'd be quite interested myself.

[Draekus2]

good call on booting into Safe Mode.

[Fab Lil Jedi]

Originally posted by Vulgar Saint:

Might try to boot in Safe Mode? No expert here by any means but I think Safe Mode just starts up the OS and what else is needed for the PC to function. If that's the case then RDR2 should not be running. I'd go for a full uninstall of all things RDR2 including any files and the Rockstar launcher. Search for them with File Explorer after uninstall.

I could be completely wrong here. Probably am but it's what I would try. If anyone else could speak on this method I'd be quite interested myself.

Originally posted by Draekus2:

good call on booting into Safe Mode.

Agreed, I can't believe I hadn't thought of this earlier. I did the safe boot, and deleted RDR2 successfully. As soon as I rebooted normally, I was able to update the rockstar launcher/social club, and Steam is updating RDR2. Its a colossal file, as we're all aware, so it'll take a bit, and I will report back. But so far, this is progress!

[Fab Lil Jedi]

It worked! You are all gentlemen and scholars, especially Vulgar Saint, I owe you a beer sir. Now granted I wish I hadn't had to spend all day reinstalling, but whatever, silly cowboy fix, here I come lol

[Fab Lil Jedi]

Well, disregard, it did not work, it just looked like it was gonna work, but after 20 minutes of loading screen, gave me an error saying it couldn't contact the rockstar servers, then went right back to "Running"/"Stopping" indefinitely. At least the safe mode reboot thing breaks the endless "running" or "stopping" status though. I now have a ticket in with both steam and rockstar cause this is just f#*ked. I just wanted a bit of cowboy shenanagins and I've been fighting IT battles for a day and a half now...

[Vulgar Saint]

Dang! Close but not a total fix :(

That's a crazy problem to have. Almost sounds like you've got malware that's corrupting the script. Might try running the free version of Malwarebytes. Get it from their website. Been using them for about 15 years now and I trust it completely. They don't scan for virus' but rather things like Trojans, keyloggers etc. The free version won't remove what it finds if it finds anything but will quarantine it so it can't operate. Worth a try.

[Fab Lil Jedi]

Originally posted by Fab Lil Jedi:

Well, disregard, it did not work, it just looked like it was gonna work, but after 20 minutes of loading screen, gave me an error saying it couldn't contact the rockstar servers, then went right back to "Running"/"Stopping" indefinitely. At least the safe mode reboot thing breaks the endless "running" or "stopping" status though. I now have a ticket in with both steam and rockstar cause this is just f#*ked. I just wanted a bit of cowboy shenanagins and I've been fighting IT battles for a day and a half now...

so as an update, both Steam and Rockstar essentially responded with, "it sounds broken, and we have no specific fix for you. Have you tried looking around the internet for a fix?"

[Stranger]

I have the exact same damn problem right now. Annoying how unhelpful the replies are. I literally can't do nothing.