A working fix for failure to launch/game is already running Issue

[HOUSER]

I've decided to make a post to help anyone who is having issues with launching the game especially if you are getting an error that says "game is already running." or "Do not have access/privilages" error messages.

This fix will definatly work but don't blame me if it doesn't work for you because our systems might be different, or you might be having a different issue that is causing a failure to launch the game. Just read the steps carefully and try it again until you get it right.

This is a pretty difficult issue to solve. I'm just going to let you know step by step everything I did to get it to work after hours and hours of trial and error.

Hopefully I can save you some heartache if you are having the same problems I had. You may not have to do every single step to fix your game but I'm going to include everything so I can be thorough. If you do it ALL then it will fix your game and allow the game to launch.

This was done on a Dell Inspirion 3847 running windows 8.1 with a NVidia GT 1030 video card and an Intel i5-4440 3.1ghz CPU. If you have a system like this then make sure that integrated graphics are disabled (I don't think its possible to play this game with integrated graphics, you will have to google that elsewhere if this is applicable to you)

1. Completely Uninstall Red Dead Redemption 2 from steam
2. Completely Uninstall Rockstar Games Social Club
3. Completely Uninstall Rockstar Games Launcher
4. Reinstall Red Dead Redemption 2 with STEAM. This will reinstall Rockstar Launcher and Social Club
5. Go to C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/SteamApps/common/Red Dead Redemption 2
6. Right click "RDR2" - Click "Properties" - Click "Compatibility" tab - Check mark "Run this program as administrator" and click "Apply"
7. Right click "PlayRDR2" - Click "Properties" - Click "Compatibility" tab - Check mark "Run this program as administrator" and click "Apply"
8. Go to C:/Program Files/Rockstar Games/Social Club
9. Right click "SocialClubHelper" - Click "Properties" - Click "Compatibility" tab - Check mark "Run this program as administrator" and click "Apply"
10. Go to C:/Program Files/Rockstar Games/Launcher
11. Right click "RockstarSteamHelper" - Click "Properties" - Click "Compatibility" tab - Check mark "Run this program as administrator" and click "Apply"
12. Right click "RockstarService" - Click "Properties" - Click "Compatibility" tab - Check mark "Run this program as administrator" and click "Apply"
13. Right click "LauncherPatcher" - Click "Properties" - Click "Compatibility" tab - Check mark "Run this program as administrator" and click "Apply"
14. Right click "Launcher" - Click "Properties" - Click "Compatibility" tab - Check mark "Run this program as administrator" and click "Apply"
15. (Important) COMPLETELY CLOSE STEAM
16. Go to C:/Program Files/Rockstar Games/Launcher
17. Run "Launcher" application
18. Goto "My library" if launcher is running and click "Red Dead Online"
19. Click the big button that says "PLAY ON STEAM" and steam will open automatically
20. Log into steam with your username and password
21. The big button on the Rockstar Games Launcher should now say "LOADING"
22. Wait.........
23. If you have the pop up that says "Windows 7 Alert: This version of windows is no longer supported by Red Dead Redemption 2. Performance and stability of Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead online may be affected." then press "Continue"
24. Kick some ass baby!!!

****Optional Fixes (I don't know if these are useful but worth a try if not working*****
- Go to Steam games list - Right Click Red Dead Redemption 2 - Click "Properties" - Click "Launch options" - type -ignorepipelinecache
- Go to "Nvidia Control Panel" - Click "Program Settings" Tab - Click "Select a program to customize" drop down menu - Select "Red Dead Redemption 2" - Click "Shader Cache" - Set "Shader Cache" to "Off"

I really hope this saves even 1 person from going insane trying to get this game to launch. This fix works guaranteed so if it doesn't work for you then go back down the list and try again or try the "Optional Fixes" because you may have missed an important step. Remember to make sure STEAM is CLOSED before you click the Big Button on the rock star launcher to "PLAY ON STEAM" that is the MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!!

HAPPY GAMING BABY!!!!! WOOOOOOO!!!!!

[Mr Cazador]

many steps but I'll try, I'll be back soon xd

[RavenAUS]

This solved my issue -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKCvbHvc7_g

[HOUSER]

Its not as bad as it looks I just wanted to be thorough, its exactly what I did to get mine working main thing is to make sure everything has proper admin privilages and steam is not conflicting with rockstar launcher - most important step is probably make sure that steam is closed before trying to load the game with the rockstar launcher - uninstalling is just to make sure to set up a starting point so that everything is controlled and installed because some people may have messed with a lot of settings and made things worse

[HOUSER]

or try that video I didn't do any of that but it might work for you, whatever works... like I say if I can help even one person fix it like I was able to then good because I was about to go insane trying to figure this out, this game is really cool and its expensive so I want people to be able to play it... this really should have been ironed out by steam and rockstar for a game that cost over 300 million dollars to create

[Mr Cazador]

technically something was solved but even so I got to the point that it only loads and enters for a second and closes for no reason, I already uninstalled it and configured the compatibility but the fix didn't go that far :/

[HOUSER]

It loaded into the game and then crashed? Did it make it to the red rockstar games logo? Did it give you an error message? Make sure that if you have an integrated graphics card that its disabled, and if you have a dual monitor set up try disabling one of the monitors and using a single monitor setup. This could also be caused by corrupted system files, a bad install, or possibly your system doesn't meet minimum system requirements, make sure to add the rockstar launcher, the rockstar socialclubhelper, "rdr2" and "playrdr2" as exceptions in any antivirus you have such as windows defender or avast/AVG. You could also try going to c:/Users/*your pc username*/Documents/Rockstar Games and then deleting the file that says "system.xml" then go into steam library right click on red dead redemption 2 and click properties - go to local files and click the button that says "verify integrity of game files..." allow that to run, then close out steam completely and try to run the game again from the rockstar games launcher. It did seem to launch tho so now it seems like it is a graphics issue, in the steam properties for red dead redemption 2 you can goto "General" and go to "Launch options" and add the line "-ignorepipelinecache" without the quotes into the text box - you could also try (if you have an nvidia card) going into nvidia control panel go to "manage 3d settings" click the "program settings" tab - click the drop down menu and choose red dead redemption 2 - scroll down to "shader cache" and set it to "off"

[HOUSER]

Originally posted by RavenAUS:

This solved my issue -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKCvbHvc7_g

You could also try this video that was posted and see if that works for you

[landrux]

HOW DO WE GET A REFUND FOR A GAME THIS DEFECTIVE ?

IF YOU CANNOT EVEN GET IT TO RUN - THAT IS A FATAL BUG

I installed RDR2 newly on a new computer (DL and ran GTA5 with little problem) its in Win10 with good hardware : I7 12700K

RDR2 RAN THE FIRST TIME OK AFTER DL & INSTALL BUT BETWEEN GIVING UP A DOZEN TIMES with "ALERT" QUIT , it has managed to run successfully only 3 times (1 hr playtrime total) with NO changes to any settings (no permissioins for admn or anything else being tweaked)

Someone else somewhere said its a Race Condition that the CPU is too fast (that from 2 years ago)

IS ROCKSTAR going to fix this issue ??

HOW DO WE GET A REFUND WHEN WE BOUGHT IT ON STEAM ????


.

[HOUSER]

Originally posted by landrux:

HOW DO WE GET A REFUND FOR A GAME THIS DEFECTIVE ?

IF YOU CANNOT EVEN GET IT TO RUN - THAT IS A FATAL BUG

I installed RDR2 newly on a new computer (DL and ran GTA5 with little problem) its in Win10 with good hardware : I7 12700K

RDR2 RAN THE FIRST TIME OK AFTER DL & INSTALL BUT BETWEEN GIVING UP A DOZEN TIMES with "ALERT" QUIT , it has managed to run successfully only 3 times (1 hr playtrime total) with NO changes to any settings (no permissioins for admn or anything else being tweaked)

Someone else somewhere said its a Race Condition that the CPU is too fast (that from 2 years ago)

IS ROCKSTAR going to fix this issue ??

HOW DO WE GET A REFUND WHEN WE BOUGHT IT ON STEAM ????


.

All PCs have different hardware and settings so the game not being able to run may not have to do with the game at all, but instead with your PC. Have you tried to read what the "ALERT QUIT" says? What is the error message that it gives you? This could give you an idea as to what is causing the problem and it sounds like it is some type of graphics or memory issue. You said you have windows 10 and an I7 12700k but does your system have a video card? If your running the game without a video card then your system is probably using the integrated graphics chip within the CPU.

Integrated Graphics is just not enough to really run this game, it means that the video will run off the CPU and it will slow down your CPUs performance, hog memory, use up extra VRAM and it just wont work well if it even works at all. Even with the best integrated graphics chips you wont be able to play RDR2 other than on the lowest possible settings. If you haven't changed any settings then most likely you are not running the game on the lowest possible settings. The integrated graphics chip in the CPU that you speak of is Intel UHD 770 and it will barely play RDR2 at the lowest settings at 720p.

That doesn't take into account what you may be running in the background on your system, the configuration of your system, the amount of memory you have, or really anything. All we know is that you have windows 10 and an i7-12700k, but a PC is more than just an operating system and a CPU. You have to factor in all of your components.

It doesn't sound like you have tried any recommended fix at all but just keep trying to play the game hoping that somehow it will magically change and just plain work for you. That's just not reality. Sometimes it takes a little bit of work and effort to get what you want. You need to do a little bit of research to figure out what exactly the problem is, and how to fix it. There is almost always a fix, failure to launch is probably the most common problem in this game. Its a 300-500 million dollar game, its complex and its trying to run on a near infinite variety of PC and software configurations. It isn't perfect but nothing is so you just have to deal with it if you want to play or stay angry at it if you don't.

If your PC doesn't have a video card then you need to get one or you wont be able to play this game well. If it does have a video card then tell us what it is, tell us the amount of memory you have and your other system specs, and tell us what this "ALERT Quit" error actually says so we can figure out what it is trying to tell you and maybe someone here can help you finally fix the problem.

[AmEg]

This damn bug is annoying me so bad. I LITERALLY SEARCHED THIS IN GOOGLE AND THE FIRST THING THAT I SAW WAS "game is already running gta 5 and red dead redemption 2 getting this error every 2 days". THAT'S LITERALLY MY PROBLEM, EVERY SINGLE TIME I VERIFY THE GAME FILES AND IT WORKS FOR MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF 2 DAYS. Then this damn "game is already running" shows up and I have to do that again. Btw this video didn't fixed it for me

[maldorf]

Bump. This video is well done, this might help some of you. Houser's solution might also work.
Ive been having a different bug with this game. Mine launches just fine, but when I try to load a save off the menu to start the game, it crashes just as the screen is supposed to come up. Thats after the 4 pictures are displayed. There are others having my bug.
It really seems that ROckstar did not do a good job with the PC release. Ive not ever had issues this bad with any PC game ive owned, and i have 435 games on Steam it says. Ive been pc gaming since the mid 80s. This game takes the cake.
Its a shame too because this game is incredible so far, when I can get it to load.