SRTT Common Fixes Guide

This guide covers all of the common fixes for SRTT. I'd advise trying everything here before posting in the forums, otherwise you'll most likely be told to do the things in this guide anyway.
It's designed to compliment Der Hexer's General Help and Troubleshooting Saints Row: The Third , by going through solutions a little slower.
I hope you find it useful.

Crash Diagnosis

• 1. Check your event viewer

  
  This will help you find out which files caused the crash. Go to:
  
  Control Panel >> Administrative Tools >> Event Viewer >> Windows Logs >> Application.
  
  This opens a list of everything eventful an application has done. Now find a report about SRTT crashing and post the contents to the forums – it’s easiest if you use the “Find” feature. Whilst waiting for a reply, google the file(s) involved to see what part of your system they belong to.
  
  
  

• 2. Check your hardware meets the minimum system requirements:

  
  Scroll to bottom of this link SR3 Requirements for SR3’s system requirements.
  
  You can find your system specifications by:
  
  • Searching and running “dxdiag”
    
  • or by Searching and running “msinfo32”

Problem: Crashes

• 1. Verify integrity of game cache

  
  Go to: Steam >> Library >> Right click on SRTT >> Properties >> Local files >> Click “Verify Integrity of Game Cache”
  
  This makes Steam check that all the game files are there and where they should be. It’s a painless and quick thing to do.
  
  

• 2. Update your display driver

  
  Do this manually, windows often doesn’t find the most up-to-date driver for you.
  First find out what graphics hardware and driver you have.
  Search for “dxdiag” in you start menu search bar, and run it. This compiles a report of all your main hardware. Go to the Display tab of this report and write down the name of your Graphics hardware, e.g. Intel(R) HD 3000 graphics. Then write down your driver version, e.g. 9.17.10.3062.
  Now go to your graphics hardware manufacturer’s website, listed below:
  
  
  • INTEL: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx
    
  • AMD: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx
    
  • NVIDIA: http://www.nvidia.co.uk/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-uk
  
  Enter your hardware and software specifications as required by the website and search for drivers for your graphics hardware. If the version of the newest driver is higher than the version of your driver (which you wrote down earlier), then download it (make sure you download the .exe driver, not the .zip driver).
  
  Now you just have to install it. Double click the driver and follow the setup wizard through. During a normal installation, your screen will go black temporarily. Your screen resolution may also change and your computer will probably need restarting.
  
  Alternative way to install: This is useful if your laptop manufacturer (not your Graphics manufacturer) uses customised drivers, such as Toshiba.
  
  Go to: Control Panel >> Device Manager .
  
  Now, Click the + next to “Display adapters”, right click on your graphics hardware and click “Update Driver Software”. Now click “Browse my Computer for driver software” and click “Browse” and then find the driver where you downloaded it. Make sure “Include subfolders” is ticked and click next. Now your driver should install normally as above.
  
  

• 3. Lower display settings (whilst out of game)

  
  The display.ini file holds all the display settings for your game and can be found here:
  
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Saints Row the Third
  
  Open this file and change preset to 5 and everything else to as low as possible, such that your settings are:
  
  ResolutionWidth = same as monitor
  ResolutionHeight = same as monitor
  RefreshRate = same as monitor (normally 60)
  MSAA_Level = 1
  Fullscreen = false
  DisplayIndex = 0
  VerifyResolution = true
  VSync = false
  Preset = 5
  AnisoLevel = 0
  LightingDetail = 1
  SSAO_Level = 0
  ShadowDetail = 0
  SceneDetail = 1
  Reflections = 0
  MotionBlur = false
  PostProcess = 0
  LetterboxEyefinity = true
  InputDeviceAutoDetect = true
  
  

• 4. Change GPU settings and turn off fancy stuff

  
  Right click on your desktop background and click on Graphics Properties . This opens your Graphics control panel, make sure every setting is set to “ Set by Application ” or “Performance ” mode where possible.

Problem: DX10 and 11 Crash

This problem is where the game will crash when starting up in DX10 & 11 mode, but not in DX9.

• Check your graphics card is compatible with DX10 and 11

  Search and run "dxdiag", go to the "Display" tab and look at what's next to DDI in the Driver box. If it's 9, then you graphics card isn't compatible with DX 10 or 11. If it's 10.1 or 11 then your graphics card does support DX 10 and/or 11 and so this isn't the problem.
  
  

• Repair DX 10 and 11

  Reinstall DX 10 and 11 - don't delete, just run the Direct X installer that came with the game, which is found here:
  
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Saints Row the Third\DirectX
  
  Run the file: "DXSETUP" to make sure your Direct X is installed properly.
  
  

• Nvidia graphics

  Nvidia graphics have a strange problem where third-party software, namely: EVGA Precision (303). will cause this problem. Your event viewer will have a report from "Windows error reporting" about your SRTT application hanging (AppHang)
  The solution is to update EVGA precision to version 421.

Problem: Black Game Screen

This problem is almost definitely related to your Graphics software. Either your graphics software isn’t handling the game’s graphics correctly (most common problem) or your graphics hardware is too strained by the game.

• 1. Update display drivers:

  This is your best shot at making your graphics software work with the game.
  See crashes section, section 2.
  
  

• 2. Turn down game settings:

  This will make the game easier on your graphics hardware.
  See crashes section, section 3.
  
  

• 3. Set GPU to performance:

  This will make your graphics hardware work it’s hardest, at the expense of power efficiency.
  See crashes section, section 4.

Problem: Low FPS/lag/stuttering

To find out what the problem or performance bottleneck is, try each one of the following individually and note if anything improves. (Note: everything that is unexplained below has been explained in the crashes section – please look there for information on how to do it)

• 1. Lower game settings

• 2. Close all background applications

• 3. (Laptops only) Set Battery usage to performance:

  Left click on your battery icon, in your systems tray (bottom right of windows) and set your power plan to “performance”.
  

• 4. Check hardware

• 5. Change GPU settings

• 6. Update/change display driver

• 7. Scan for viruses and malware:

  Do full scans with every anti-virus and anti-malware software you own.
  

• 8. Update BIOS:

  BIOS stands for “Basic Input and Output System” and it is incredibly important to your system, so naturally updating it is dangerous. I’d only advise doing it after you’ve tried everything else.
  Your current BIOS version can be found in “dxdiag”, under the “System” tab, e.g. mine is “Ver: AMI APTIO 1.50”.
  BIOS updates can be found on your motherboard manufacturer’s website, or laptop manufacturer website.

If 1, 5 or 6 improve your fps then your problem is graphics related. Try all of them together and maybe lower games resolution. Failing that, consider investing in a new GPU.
If 2 or 3 improve your fps then your problem is CPU related. Try them altogether. If it still doesn’t improve enough then the bad news is that you probably need a new CPU to run the game.
If 7 fixes the problem, then take note of what viruses/malware you had and google them. You may need to change some passwords and maybe even cancel your debit/credit card. (it’s always worth scanning for viruses and malware again, to make sure they’re gone.)

External controllers & Uncommon Devices

SRTT is notorious for not playing nicely with external devices, e.g. the Mad Catz Xbox controller has been known to cause very low FPS.
Other external controllers have also caused the running backwards bug - where your character just starts running backwards as soon as you finish a mission or in some cases start the game.

I'd advise disconnecting all external controllers.

Japanese keyboards have also been found to cause crashes. The crash report (from windows event viewer) could include:
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\IME\shared\imetip.dll
The solution to this is to set the keyboard to English layout - not Japanese layout.

Problem: Still Doesn't Work!

Make your own thread in the forums and please mention everything you’ve done here and your computer specs, so we don’t waste time making you repeat things.

Credits

Huge thank you to Der Hexer for all the help and for being a legend!
Thank you Seilan for solving the DX 10 and 11 crash with EVGA precision!
Thank you to Buizel for solving the Mad Catz Xbox controller problem!
Thank you to Threepw00d for solving the Japanese keyboard problem!
Thank you to Cruinne for posting this guide to people!

[DarlingBench]

@Natzki i have the same problem man........

[El_Kisco]

All of the above listed, fundamentally did not help. I think it is necessary to reinstall, solely because of her, the entire system to a new one.

[Number 1 Dodogama fan]

Having performance issues on a ryzen 5 1400, rtx 2060 on an m.2 ssd on arch linux(game has offical support) have all drivers updated and on performance,
plz help

[Natzki]

Every 15 seconds my fps goes to 1fps and the after 3 seconds it goes back on 120 :/

[Project_Eradication]

dx9 will crash when i open it (cuz thats what i always play it on). can you fix this problem?

[Eixes]

Hi i have this problem: Yesterday i was playing SRTT on ultra setting and everything was ok. I wanted to play again today, but the game couldn't run even on the lowest settings. Some help, please :D. In addition some light changes appear, things go black for a moment and than to normal while i move.

[khtur112233]

ty

[MaggieSummers]

having trouble getting saints row 3 to run at all, i have the dx11 version on windows ten, I have tried everything on this thread, any ideas what to do next?

[Jackie-Jacky Jack]

mine is directx 12.can it work??

[Garrison]

so can i use -dxlevel