101: fixing any game issues

the game doesn't work right? try that ~huge~ troubleshooting guide

legend

two golden rules:

• never try more than one thing at a time
  
• remember what you have done and how it was before

▷ run <<command>>	- use Windows's Run dialog to execute a <<command>> OPEN IMAGE	press WindowsKey [en.wikipedia.org] + R; a "Run" dialog shall appear type <<command>> in it ➞ press Enter more info [en.wikipedia.org]
<<game-config>>	- the file where game stores its settings OPEN IMAGE	use pcgamingwiki [www.pcgamingwiki.com] to find where game stores its settings and saves
<<game-path>>	- the location of game files (where Steam have installed the game) OPEN IMAGE	open "Library" in Steam-Client right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." open the "Local Files" tab ➞ "Browse Local Files"
<<game-exe>>	- the executable file (*.exe) that launches the game OPEN IMAGE	start the game ➞ ALT+TAB back to the desktop open Task Manager (CTRL+SHIFT+ESC) ➔ open "Processes" tab find the game's process ➔ right-click ➞ "Open File Location" in newly opened folder find the file with the same name as the process above
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

basics

➤ restart the game

as stupid as it sounds, but it may actually work - who knows what developers were thinking when they came up with the game code?

➤ restart Steam-client

maybe the issue is caused by Steam itself and will be resolved on its own?

➤ shutdown your PC

yes, shutdown it, not just restart

if you have Windows 10 then you need few extra steps to truely shutdown it

• ▷ run cmd
  
• in Command Line execute:
  

  shutdown /s /f /t 0

➤ check the PCGamingWiki

PCGamingWiki[www.pcgamingwiki.com] it is a huge wiki-project that helps to deal with various PC games' issues. it might be that your problem for a specific game is already covered here

install required software

before downloading anything check the folder:

...Steam\steamapps\common\Steamworks Shared\_CommonRedist\

- you may find some installers for software below in that folder

➤ install Microsoft Visual C++ 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019

it is highly recommended to uninstall all previously installed Microsoft Visual C++, reload PC and install them fresh

variant #1: download all-in-one installer (non-official)

	for 32-bit (x86) OS	for 64-bit (x64) OS
Microsoft Visual 2005-2019	Download x86 [drive.google.com]	Download x86-64 [drive.google.com]

variant #2: ...or download and install them one by one. all Microsoft distros are mirrored on my Gdrive[drive.google.com]

	for 32-bit (x86) OS	for 64-bit (x64) OS INSTALL ALL 32-BIT FILES FIRST
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005	Download x86 [www.microsoft.com] ("vcredist_x86")	Download x64 [www.microsoft.com] ("vcredist_x64")
Microsoft Visual C++ 2008	Download x86 [www.microsoft.com]	Download x64 [www.microsoft.com]
Microsoft Visual C++ 2010	Download x86 [www.microsoft.com]	Download x64 [www.microsoft.com]
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012	Download x86 [www.microsoft.com] ("vcredist_x86")	Download x86 [www.microsoft.com] ("vcredist_x86")
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013	Download x86 [www.microsoft.com] ("vcredist_x86")	Download x64 [www.microsoft.com] ("vcredist_x64")
Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2017-2019	Download x86 [aka.ms]	Download x64 [aka.ms]

➤ install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, 4.0, 4.8

➤ install Microsoft DirectX 9

➤ install Microsoft XNA Framework 4.0

➤ install Creative Technology OpenAL 1.1 (aka 2.0.7.0)

➤ install Nvidia PhysX

➤ install K-Lite Codec Pack

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5	Download [dotnet.microsoft.com]	includes .NET Framework 2.0, 3.0
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0	Download [dotnet.microsoft.com]
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8	Download [dotnet.microsoft.com]	includes .NET Framework 4.5, 4.6, 4.7
Microsoft DirectX 9	Downloadr [www.microsoft.com]	DirectX 10+ is included with Windows 7-10 and you don't need to install it separately
Microsoft XNA Framework 4.0	Download [www.microsoft.com]
Nvidia PhysX	Download [www.nvidia.com]	install it even if you have AMD videocard. as far as I am aware, the only game that has issue with Nvidia PhysX being used on AMD videocard is Tribes: Ascend . in case you are going to play that game you need to uninstall Nvidia PhysX from AMD videocard
Nvidia PhysX Legacy	Download [www.nvidia.com]	Legacy version is needed for some games released in 2005-2008
Creative Technology OpenAL 1.1 (aka 2.0.7.0)	Download [www.openal.org]
K-Lite Codec Pack	Download [www.codecguide.com]	it is a bunch of audio and video codecs. if you don't need a separate video player - Media Player Classic [en.wikipedia.org] , then download a "Basic"-version, otherwise a "Standard"-version; during installation skip all advanced stuff, you don't need them

Windows updates and fixes

in order to check what Windows Updates you have installed and uninstall them:

• ▷ run appwiz.cpl
  
• click "View installed updates" on the left
  
• use the search bar to filter through installed updates
  

➤ install updates and fixes for Windows 10

version	at least Windows 10 1809 ( October 2018 Update )	it is a bare minimum required to play the games. some titles refuse to work on the previous versions (for instance, Red Dead Redemption 2 ); obviously you can install the more recent and current Windows 10 version
official updates	instruction [support.microsoft.com]
KB4522741 Update for Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 & 4.8	download [www.catalog.update.microsoft.com]	for Windows 10 1903+ only; fixes an issue with OS mouse cursor being over the game

➤ install updates and fixes for Windows 7

Service Pack 1	download [www.microsoft.com]
non-official Update Pack	download [update7.simplix.info]	it has the most important (stable and handpicked) updates for Windows 7, without any pro-Windows 10 bloats, telemetry and other Microsoft's shady tricks
KB2600217 Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4	download [www.catalog.update.microsoft.com]
uninstall KB2670838 Update		it messes with some DirectX 10/11 games

➤ install updates and fixes for Windows XP

Service Pack 3	download [download.windowsupdate.com]
non-official Update Pack (ENG OS)	download [ryanvm.net]
non-official Update Pack (RUS OS)	download [simplix.info]
KB2600217 Update for Microsoft .NET Framework 4	download [www.catalog.update.microsoft.com]
KB893803-v2-x86Windows Installer 3.1 Redistributable	download [www.microsoft.com]
WMFDist11-WindowsXP-X86-ENU (Windows Media Format 11)	download [www.mediamonkey.com]	you need that to play some in-game cutscenes & videos
AMD CPU Driver (amdcpusetup)	download [drive.google.com]	it fixes the issues with the old dual core AMD processors not working right under Windows XP
uninstall KB2803821 Update		because of it, the in-game cutscenes & videos are played with a top half of image being cropped

➤ if you have 32-bit Windows, then increase user address space

32-bit Windows doesn't allow a single program to utilize more than 2GB RAM (commonly crashing them with "Out of memory" error); the fix below removes that restriction

• ▷ run cmd

RAM	Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10	Windows XP (only works if Windows XP is the first OS in a bootlist)
4 GB	type bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 3072	type bootcfg /raw "/3GB /userva=3072" /A /ID 1
3.5 - 4 GB	type bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 2560	type bootcfg /raw "/3GB /userva=2560" /A /ID 1
3 - 3.5 GB	type bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 2048	type bootcfg /raw "/3GB /userva=2048" /A /ID 1

• restart

problematic software, antiviruses

if you are unsure about whether to disable/uninstall a certain software, then consult Should I Remove It[shouldiremoveit.com] or PC Decrapifier[pcdecrapifier.com] services

➤ disable (or uninstall) third-party software known to cause issues

those software are the common culprits in causing various issues in the games. try to disable them, or if you don't need them then uninstall. or better yet, disable every single software during troubleshooting just to be sure

• when disabling software, ensure that it is completely gone, not just minimised in tray (or whatever). various overlays are known to do that, like MSI Afterburner
  
• some software, like Citrix, are known to cause troubles even if they are not launched

overlays, wrappers:	bloatware:	devices, gamepads:
RivaTuner MSI Afterburner GeForce Experience RadeonPro Reshade SweetFX Special K Nvidia HairWorks AMD Gaming Evolved EVGA Precision X Gigabyte OC Guru overlay TexMod Medal.TV (Plays.TV) VirtuMVP	from the following vendors: Gigabyte ASUS MSI ASRock EVGA Intel Acer HP Lenova Dell Sony Toshiba Fujitsu	Logitech SetPoint Logitech Gaming Software Razer Synapse Razer Chroma MotionInJoy CL Eye Driver X-Mouse Button Control vJoy Virtual Joytick
recording:	screenshot:	audio:
XSplit Open Broadcaster Software FRAPS Bandicam DxTory	ShareX Greenshot Lightshot Snagit	Nahimic Sound Audio Xonar Audio Center Unimodem Half-Duplex Audio
messengers:	communication:	misc:
Skype Telegram Signal Hangouts Slack Tox	Discord Twitch App TeamSpeak Ventrilo Mumble GameVox Raptr (RIP)	TeamViewer Citrix Synergy Lavasoft Web Companion Actual Multiple Monitors LucidVirtu LucidLogix f.lux Punto Switcher

➤ disable anti-virus, anti-malware and other security software during the play

all those security software not only use your PC's resources and throttle a gameplay, but also mess with games themselves with the false positive detections. nothing will happen with your PC while you are playing the game

➤ uninstall all security software

yes.
instead of relying on a non-perfect piece of software, which is hogging your PC resources, adds another layer of vulnerabilities, has either hit-or-miss or overprotective detection ratio, yields the stream of TLS errors, installs bloatwares, and plain spies on you and phones home - just delete all that junk and learn more about alternative solutions and advocate yourself a reasonable and skeptical approach for managing your PC

• use open-source software
  
• consider every single e-mail (or message) as a spam and don't click any link, open any attachments and be cautious
  
• use VirusTotal[www.virustotal.com] to check a single file for viruses
  
• use Sandboxie[www.sandboxie.com] or VirtualBox[www.virtualbox.org] to open suspicious file in the secured environment without being compromised
  
• use simplewall[github.com] to monitor your incoming/outcoming network traffic and manage apps' access to internet
  
• use Dr.Web's CureIt[free.drweb.com], or AVZ[z-oleg.com], or ComboFix[www.bleepingcomputer.com] for ad-hoc scanning

Games for Windows Live (GFWL)

Games for Windows LIVE (GFWL) was shutdown by its developers long time ago, however some games are still need it to run properly and, usually, throw errors like "res = 1, err = 0x0000007e" ("res = 1, err = 0x00000012") or "Error WS10" if there is an issue with GFWL

➤ check is there an anti-GFWL patch for the game

it may happen that game has a community-made patch that removes GFWL dependency; for example Resident Evil 5, by default, requires GFWL, but with the patch below no longer needs it:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1533171339

➤ try to use generic "xlive.dll" file

download a generic[drive.google.com] (fake) "xlive.dll" file and put it near <<game-exe>. if one didn't work, try another one

➤ install Games for Windows Live

if you absolutely must install GFWL, then do it in a proper way:

• uninstall "Microsoft Games for Windows Live" & "Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace"
  
• restart
  
• download GFWL setup files[drive.google.com]
  
• right-click on "gfwlivesetup.exe" ➞ "Properties" ➞ "Compatibility" tab ➞ select "Windows 7" & "Run this program as an administrator"
  
• install "gfwlivesetup.exe"
  
• restart

Steam

➤ check Steam is not down

if Steam is down, your multiplayer (and some singleplayer) games might be too. check steamstat service[steamstat.us] to see is Steam is doing well

remember, Steam is down for maintenance every Tuesday (19:00 in UTC-5 , 00:00 in UTC-0, 03:00 in UTC+3, 09:00 in UTC+9)

➤ launch the game from Library, not from desktop shortcut

desktop shortcuts might be bugged, always launch the game from Steam-Client's Library

➤ use only ASCII-symbols in your Steam name

some game just cannot stand various non-ASCII symbols (like 漢字, ℈ℊℌ, ⼰⼱⼲, 🌷🥥🍙 etc ). try to use only english letters and numbers

➤ verify the integrity of game files

it will ensure that game's files are alright and not-broken

• open "Library" in Steam-Client
  
• right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "Local Files" ➞ "Verify integrity of game files..."
  

➤ disable Steam Overlay

while being convenient, Steam Overlay does mess with some games, videocard drivers and software (any overlays mess with your games, no excuses)

disable Steam Overlay for a SPECIFIC game	disable Steam Overlay for ALL games
open "Library" in Steam-Client right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "General" toggle off "Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game"	in Steam-Client click on "Steam" link on top-left corner ➞ "Settings" ➞ "In-game" toggle off "Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game"

➤ disable Steam Cloud sync

some games have tremendous issues with Steam Cloud (for instance, Titan Quest: Anniversary Edition, Spyro Reignited Trilogy). you can use Steam RemoteStorage link to check what games have been using Steam Cloud and to manually download save-files. for manually managing your save-files you can use GameSave Manager[www.gamesave-manager.com]

disable Steam Cloud for a SPECIFIC game	disable Steam Cloud for ALL games
open "Library" in Steam-Client right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "General" toggle off "Enable Steam Cloud synchronization for..."	in Steam-Client click on "Steam" link on top-left corner ➞ "Settings" ➞ "Cloud" toggle off "Enable Steam Cloud synchronization for applications which support it"

➤ clear game's Launch Options

Launch Options allows to run a game with the specific parameters, some of which are useful, while other may mess with a game. if you unaware what those parameters are, then remove all of them

• open "Library" in Steam-Client
  
• right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "General" ➞ remove everything from "Launch Options"
  

➤ use Launch Options to run game in windowed mode

if you cannot start the game, and you believe in might be because of wrong resolution or an issue with fullscreen mode, then try Steam launch options. maybe game supports one?

• open "Library" in Steam-Client
  
• right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "General"
  
• use the following Launch Options:
  

  -windowed -window -borderless

➤ change game language to English

some games may have the issues when being switched to other language but English, mostly on trying to enable Workshop items

• open "Library" in Steam-Client
  
• right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "Language" ➞ "English"
  

➤ check game for the available beta

game may have beta versions available for opt-in; in such betas various issues might be resolved or fixed (sometimes in trade off stability). some betas, tho, may downgrade your game, for example "public_beta" for Titan Quest Anniversary Edition will downgrade your game to "non-Anniversary Edition"

• open "Library" in Steam-Client
  
• right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "Betas" (if there is no such tab, then game has no betas)
  
• either select the beta from a dropdown list, or first type-in an unlock code for this beta and select it then
  

➤ toggle Steam between offline/online modes

don't confuse: there is your account's offline/online status and Steam-Client offline/online status - they are separate things

• in Steam-Client click on "Steam" link in upper-left corner ➞ "Go offline..." (or "Go online...")
  

➤ set the right Download Region

it may happen to normalize various games' online features

• in Steam-Client click on "Steam" link in upper-left corner ➞ "Settings" ➞ "Downloads"
  
• set "Download Region" to whatever location is close to you
  

➤ run Steam as an administrator and ensure no compatibility modes set

running Steam itself as an administrator may fix various permission-based issues (all games will be launched as an administrator); as for compatibility modes - you don't need them at all, they only mess with your games

• close Steam
  
• open <<Steam-path>> ➞ right-click on Steam.exe ➞ "Properties" ➞ "Compatibility" tab
  
• select "Run this program as an administrator" compatibility option
  
• ensure that not a single compatibility mode is enabled
  

➤ unsubscribe from Workshop items

it may happen that some Workshop items mess with the game; in that case unsubscribe from the items for that game

• in Steam-Client go to your profile ➞ "Workshop Items" ➞ "Subscribed Items"
  
• unsubscribe from the items that may cause issues (or, better, unsubscribe from all items)
  

➤ delete "appcache" folder, "ClientRegistry.blob" files, and settings

it will clean-up your Steam installment and ensure that there is no issues here. and, yes, Steam doesn't use "ClientRegistry.blob" files for at least 6+ years, but they still may cause issues here and there

• close Steam
  
• open <<Steam-path>> ➞ delete "appcache" folder
  
• search inside <<Steam-path>> for "ClientRegistry.blob" files ➞ delete them all
  
• ▷ run steam://flushconfig
  
• launch Steam ➞ re-login into your Steam account

➤ delete game's userdata folder

game stores its settings and saves in userdata folder. it may happen that this folder became corrupted or broken and maybe manual deleting of it will fix the things

• close Steam
  
• find APPID of game-in-question, use steamdb[steamdb.info]
  

• open <<Steam-path>> ➞ "userdata" ➞ your ID ➞ APPID
  
• delete that folder (make backup first)

run as an administrator, compatibility modes

➤ run the game program as an administrator

launching a game as an administrator can fix various ownership/permission issues that could have interfere with your games (usually with error messages: "Unhandled exception has occured", "Access to path is denied" or "StackHash")

• right-click on <<game-exe>> ➞ "Properties" ➞ "Compatibility" tab
  
• select "Run this program as an administrator" compatibility option
  

➤ run the game in previous Windows' compatibility mode

old games, that were released in times when Windows 7 was a brand new thing, have an issue running in a modern Windows. in that case try to launch them in compatibility mode

• right-click on <<game-exe>> ➞ "Properties" ➞ "Compatibility" tab ➞ "Run this program in compatibility mode for"
  
• change between various OS, try to launch game with "Windows 7" and "Windows XP" first, then try with others
  

➤ run the game with other compatibility mode

other compatibility modes are not useful as thing above, but still, might give a shot with a certain game's issue

• "Run in 640x480 screen resolution", "Run in 256 colors", "Reduced color mode" - those options are, mostly, useful for the games released in DOS/Windows 95 -era. in modern games they could be useful, for example if you managed to set a wrong resolution and has no way to turn it back. in that case you can launch the game in 640x480 resolution, change the resolution to whatever you need, and then toggle that compatibility mode off. that works, for example, with Hacknet or Syberia
  
• "Disable fullscreen optimizations" - those optimizations allow overlays to easily inject themselves into the games (and collect/display needed info). Windows 10 is using that for Xbox GameBar
  
• "Disable display scaling on high DPI settings", "Change high DPI settings" - those options change how games react to high DPI being set in your OS. mostly, games are trying to scale their viewport and fonts appropriately, but in some cases it leads to issues. for Windows 10-1703 use the options "Override high DPI scaling behavior" and "Scaling performed by Application"
  
• "Disable visual themes", "Disable desktop composition" - those options allow to disable Aero (Windows 7) or MetroUI (Windows 8.1 and Windows 10) whenever you play that game
  

➤ how to disable desktop composition in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10?

by default, user cannot disable visual themes and desktop composition in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 (because Microsoft thinks for us); in order to actually disable them for a specific game:

• ▷ run regedit
  
• open

  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers

• create a new string with the full path to <<game-exe>>
  
• set its valuedata to
  

  ~ DISABLETHEMES DISABLEDWM

  

in-game fixes (1)

➤ change in-game screen mode

try to launch the game in various screen modes: "fullscreen", "windowed", "borderless windowed fullscreen". with the help of DxWnd[sourceforge.net] you launch the game in windowed mode even if the game doesn't natively support it

➤ change in-game resolution

try to launch the game in various resolution options; definitely try the lower ones first

➤ ALT+TAB back and fourth

maybe the in-game render is temporary halted and you need to manually refresh

➤ switch between various render-APIs

if the game does support that, then try out to change between: "DirectX 12", "DirectX 11", "DirectX 10", "DirectX 9", "OpenGL" or "Vulkan"

➤ switch between various audio-APIs

if the game does support that, then try out to change between: "OpenAL" or "DirectSound"

➤ lower down the video options

revert all graphical options to the lowest or disable them. your main priorities are: "anti-aliasing", "shadows", "shaders", "level of details (LOD)", "texture quality" and "texture filtering"

➤ check log-file

lots of games store a log-file with the details about the last game launch, and maybe reading that log-file could help you to understand the issue better. look inside <<game-path>> for any files with the name "log" or ".log" extension

➤ things to do with the savefiles

• try to load the previous savefile, maybe the current savefile is busted?
  
• try to delete the latest or all savefiles, maybe that is culprit?

➤ manually edit or delete the config-file (if game has one)

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find a config-file (it usually has *.cfg, *.ini or *.txt extension, and has a name "config", "settings", "display" or is named after the game)
  
• open a config-file with any text-editor (Notepad++[notepad-plus-plus.org] is great)
  
• try to manually edit in god-knows-what way: reduce the graphics, resolution, switch to windowed mode...
  
• if nothing helped, then try to delete a config-file
  
• config-file's format varies from game to game:
  

➤ don't use non-ASCII symbols in a profile name or a password

if the game allows to set a profile name or password, then ensure that use are using only English letters and numbers; also ensure those entries are not long

➤ rename game's *.exe

there is a chance that after doing that, Steam will not recognize the game (no achievements and no friend invites) or will not launch it all; rename the file back to revert all negative changes

➤ if game is a 32-bit application, then allow it more RAM access

32-bit applications cannot access more than 4GB RAM on 64-bit OS. the fix below lifts that limitation

• download Large Address Aware software[www.techpowerup.com]
  
• select <<game-exe>> you want to modify (or drag and drop) ➞ toggle on checkbox
  
• click "commit changes" button
  

➤ fix problematic DLLs

it may happen that game is using DLLs that either no longer work right in current Windows or require some specific APIs that are not available

• look inside <<game-path>> for the following DLLs:
  
  • d3d8.dll
    
  • d3d9.dll
    
  • d3d10.dll
    
  • d3d10_1.dll
    
  • d3d10core.dll

  • d3d11.dll
    
  • dinput8.dll
    
  • ddraw.dll
    
  • dxgi.dll
    
  • eax.dll

  • binkW32.dll
    
  • openGLDrv.dll
    
  • rlmfc.dll
    
  • winmm.dll
• if there any, then replace with fixed one from this repository[drive.google.com]

➤ delete problematic DLLs

• look inside <<game-path>> and delete the following DLLs:
  
  • d3d8.dll
    
  • d3d9.dll
    
  • d3d10.dll
    
  • d3d10_1.dll
    
  • d3d10core.dll

  • d3d11.dll
    
  • dinput8.dll
    
  • ddraw.dll
    
  • dxgi.dll
    
  • eax.dll

  • binkW32.dll
    
  • openGLDrv.dll
    
  • rlmfc.dll
    
  • winmm.dll

  • atigktxx.dll
    
  • atiags.dll
    
  • msvcp120.dll
    
  • msvcp120d.dll
    
  • msvcr120.dll

  • opengl32.dll
    
  • openAL32.dll
    
  • wrap_oal.dll
    
  • VSFilter.dll
    
  • xinput1_1.dll

➤ fix for dlumd32.dll error

• install DisplayLink driver[www.displaylink.com]

➤ fix for "Failed to find Steam", "Failed to detect Steam", "Problem starting up Steam" errors

• <<Steam-path>> ➞ copy "Steam.dll" file
  
• paste that file next to <<game-exe>>
  
• if there is a "system" folder in <<game-path>>, then copy "Steam.dll" here also

➤ increase performance of DirectX 8 games in Windows 8/10

• download DirectX 8 to DirectX 9 wrapper[github.com]
  
• place "d3d8.dll" next to <<game-exe>>

➤ fix for PunkBuster games

PunkBuster is anti-cheat software that is being used in various games; its old version has lots of issues so update to the latest one

• uninstall PunkBuster
  
• download and install the current one from the official site[www.punkbuster.com]

➤ if you use Special K and Steam Achievements do not appear

• open "Documents" ➞ "My Mods" ➞ "SpecialK" ➞ "Global" ➞ "achievements.ini"
  
• add "FetchFriendStats=false" line at the end of the file

in-game fixes (2)

➤ edit hosts file

some games are constantly connect to the servers, which were shutdown a time ago, which cause freezing and stutter

• ▷ run %WINDIR%\System32\drivers\etc
  
• open "hosts" file with any text editor
  
• for Saints Row III / IV, add the following lines at the end
  

  127.0.0.1 sr3.hydra.agoragames.com
  

• for Assassin's Creed, add the following lines at the end
  

  216.98.48.18 127.0.0.1
  216.98.48.53 127.0.0.1
  216.98.48.57 127.0.0.1
  216.98.48.133 127.0.0.1
  216.98.48.134 127.0.0.1
  

• for Battlefield 1942, add the following lines at the end
  

  109.71.69.254 master.gamespy.com
  

• for Battlefield Vietnam, add the following lines at the end
  

  65.112.87.186 bfvietnam.available.gamespy.com
  65.112.87.186 bfvietnam.master.gamespy.com
  65.112.87.186 bfvietnam.ms0.gamespy.com
  

• for Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, add the following lines at the end
  

  127.0.0.1 greconawf.available.gamespy.com
  127.0.0.1 key.gamespy.com
  127.0.0.1 greconawf.ms0.gamespy.com
  

• for Star Wars Republic Commando, add the following lines at the end
  

  65.112.87.186 swrcommando.ms1.gamespy.com
  65.112.87.186 swrcommando.ms2.gamespy.com
  65.112.87.186 swrcommando.ms3.gamespy.com
  65.112.87.186 swrcommando.available.gamespy.com
  65.112.87.186 swrcommando.master.gamespy.com
  

• for Anno 2070, add the following lines at the end
  

  208.111.149.181 static3.cdn.ubi.com
  69.28.187.16 static11.cdn.ubi.com
  

• if you cannot edit "hosts" file, then copy it to the desktop, edit here, and copy back into the original folder

➤ clear standby memory

standby memory is RAM section, where applications store their data until the next call; that buffer tends to overflow with the certain games

• download Intelligent Standby List Cleaner[www.wagnardsoft.com]
  
• click "Start"
  

➤ change CPU priority and core affinity for the game

you can manually change game CPU priority to make PC spend more resources on it, or assign a different number of CPU cores to process that game because some games work better with a single-core or dual-core CPU

• launch the game
  
• press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC
  
• open "Processes" tab

to change CPU priority:	to change Core affinity:
right-click on game process, select "Set Priority..." try to change to "Above Normal" first. "Realtime" is almost never a good option: it makes things too unstable if nothing helped, then revert back to "Normal"	right-click on game process, select "Set Affinity..." combinations you should try (if appropriate CPUx available in your system): only "CPU0", "CPU1", "CPU2" & "CPU3" only "CPU0" & "CPU1" only "CPU0" & "CPU2" only "CPU1" only "CPU0" if nothing helped, then revert everything back

➤ use Ordenador to boost in-game performance

Ordenador compresses and optimizes in-game textures, which helps both space-wise and vram-wise may. it may or may not help you. it may make game more responsive and stable, or fully broke it, or do absolutely nothing

according to author, it works with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Grand Theft Auto IV, Mount & Blade, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. according to users, it also works with Fallout 4, Kerbal Space Program, Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

• download Ordenador[www.nexusmods.com]
  
• launch it, select your game folder, start "optimizing"
  

integrated videocard

➤ do you have an integrated integrated?

if you have an integrated videocard, but don't have an external one, then don't expect a good performance in most of the games. integrated videocard resides inside CPU (GPU chip):

• in case of Intel CPU, then integrated videocard will be called Intel HD Graphics, Intel UHD Graphics or Intel Iris Graphics
  
• in case of AMD CPU, then integrated videocard will be called Radeon Vega, Radeon RX Vega, AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or being named after CPU's name

➤ disable integrated videocard if you have external one

games may mistakenly utilize an integrated videocard instead of external one - and that will lead to big performance issues

AMD videocard	Nvidia videocard
open AMD Radeon Software click "Preferences" at the bottom ➞ "Radeon Additional Settings" ➞ "Power" at the left ➞ "Switchable Graphics Application" change "Graphics Settings" for an application you need to "High performance"	open Nvidia Control Panel click "Manage 3D settings" ➞ "Global Settings" tab change "Preferred graphics processor" to "High-performance NVIDIA processor" ( not Auto-select! )

➤ use 3D-Analyze to trick game into running well

3D-Analyze is a software that mimics various videocard's features, and effectively tricks game into believing you have a certain videocard with a support of a certain feature (which is useful fo low-leveled integrated videocards)

• download 3D-Analyze[www.tommti-systems.de]
  
• click "Select" button and choose <<game-exe>>
  
• in the "Vendor ID" field type "4318"
  
• click "Run" button to start the game
  
• if it didn't work, then toggle on "emulate HW TnL caps" feature
  

➤ use "Balanced" 3D setting

if you have Intel HD Graphics integrated videocard, then use "Balanced" 3D setting (not "Performance"). it may help to fix "red dots on shadows" issue that plagued Intel HD Graphics videocards

• open Intel Graphics Control Panel
  
• General Settings ➞ 3D Setting ➞ "Balanced"

➤ ensure your integrated videocard support the required OpenGL version

OpenGL is a video/render API for producing graphics. some games require a specific minimum version of OpenGL and refuse to launch on anything lower. for example Haydee requires at least OpenGL 3.3. and will not work at all on Intel HD Graphics 2000/3000 (which supports only 3.1)

find more information about supported OpenGL here[www.intel.com]

Nvidia videocard, configuration

➤ configure Nvidia Control Panel settings

• open Nvidia Control Panel
  
• click "Manage 3D settings" ➞ "Global Settings" tab
  
• configure the options in the following way:

Image Sharpening: Off
Ambient Occlusion: Off
Anisotropic filtering: 16x (see #1)
Anti-aliasing FXAA: Off
Anti-aliasing Gamma Correction: On
Anti-aliasing Mode: Application-controlled
Anti-aliasing Setting: Application-controlled (greyed-out)
Anti-aliasing Transparency: Off
CUDA – GPUs: All
DSR Factors: Off
DSR Smoothness: Off (greyed-out)
Low Latency Mode: Off
Multi-Frame Sampled AA (MFAA): Off (see #2)
OpenGL rendering GPU: <<your videocard>>
Power Management Mode: Prefer Maximum Performance (see #3)
Shader Cache: Off (see #4)
Texture filtering Anisotropic sample optimization: Off (greyed-out)
Texture filtering Negative LOD BIAS: Clamp
Texture filtering Quality: High Quality
Texture filtering Trilinear Optimization: On (greyed-out)
Threaded optimization: Auto (see #5)
Triple buffering: Off
Vertical Sync: Off (see #6)
Virtual Reality pre-rendered frames: Use the 3D application setting

sidenotes:

• #1. today, "Anisotropic Filtering" is extremely easy on PC resources and even with 16x option you barely will see an impact on performance
  
• #2. "Multi-Frame Sampled AA (MFAA)" looks cool, yes, but causes flickering on textures and on geometric edges of 3D models
  
• #3. "Maximum performance" causes more noise, heat and power consumption, but has better performance than "Optimal Power"
  
• #4. "Shader Cache" allows games to store the cached assets on HHD with 1GB+ VRAm you barely need that option
  
• #5. "Threaded optimization" increases performance in some games (Grand Theft Auto V, PUBG, Inversion), but decreases in others (Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, Starbound)
  
• #6. "Vertical Sync: Fast" is known of being able to break lots of games

➤ ...if you have issues

in case of issues, edit Nvidia Control Panel settings accordingly. try a one change at the time and see how it works out

Anisotropic filtering: Application-controlled
Low Latency Mode: On
Shader Cache: On
Texture filtering Quality: Performance (or Off)
Threaded optimization: Off

➤ ...if you have micro-stuttering

• download Nvidia Profile Inspector[github.com]
  
• change value of "Maximum pre-rendered frames" to "1" (in "Sync and Refresh" group)
  

AMD videocard, configuration

➤ AMD Radeon Software settings

• open AMD Radeon Software
  
• open "Gaming" Tab ➞ "Global Graphics" tab
  
• configure all options in the following way:

Radeon Anti-Lag: Off
Radeon Chill: Off
Radeon Boost: Off (see #1)
Radeon Image Sharpening: Off
Radeon Enhanced Sync: Off
Wait for Vertical Refresh: Off
Anti-Aliasing: Use Application Settings
Anti-Aliasing Method: Multisampling Anti-Aliasing (MSAA)
Anti-Aliasing Transparency: Off (see #2)
Anti-Aliasing Samples: Off (see #2)
Morphological Filtering: Off
Anisotropic Filtering: Enabled
Anisotropic Filtering Level: 16x (see #3)
Texture Filtering Quality: Standard (see #4)
Surface Format Optimization: Off (see #5)
Tessellation Mode: Off
OpenGL Triple Buffering: Off
HBCC Memory Segment: Off (see #6)

sidenotes:

• #1. "Radeon Boost" degrades in-game graphics but greatly increases FPS (a tradeoff between quality and performance)
  
• #2. "Anti-Aliasing Transparency" and "Anti-Aliasing Samples" are very known culprits of various in-games issues
  
• #3. today, "Anisotropic Filtering" is extremely easy on PC resources and even with 16x option you barely will see an impact on performance
  
• #4. "Texture Filtering Quality: Standard" has issues with some games
  
• #5. "Surface Format Optimization: Off" makes some games to work better, while other games will work worse; it is really hit-or-miss
  
• #6. "HBCC Memory Segment" relocates part of RAM to VRAM, which causes various performance effects. consider that option only if you have 8GB+ RAM

➤ ...if you have issues

in case of issues, edit AMD Radeon Software settings accordingly. try a one change at the time and see how it works out

Anisotropic Filtering Level: Off 
Radeon Boost: 95%
Texture Filtering Quality: Performance
Surface Format Optimization: On 

videocard & monitor

➤ if you have multi-monitor setup, then disable all but one monitor

some games just can't stand multi-monitor setups, especially if the monitors are connected to the different videocards or have some complicated cable connections

➤ connect your monitor via a different port (VGA / HDMI / DVI)

a monitor could be connected to a videocard (or to a motherboard) via VGA, HDMI or DVI cable. some games do have the issues with one of those ports; for example, Resident Evil 5 is notoriously known for not-working correctly when videocard-monitor are connected via DVI cable

➤ set your monitor refresh rate to 60Hz (if you have 60Hz+ monitor, especially if 240Hz)

some games just cannot handle high refresh rate and it leads to the issues. you probably may also need to cap in-game FPS (see below)

AMD videocard:	Nvidia videocard:
open AMD Radeon Software open "Display" Tab ➞ "+Create" next to the "Custom Resolutions" ➞ "Refresh Rate" ➞ 60Hz	open Nvidia Control Panel "Change Resolution" ➞ "Refresh Rate" ➞ 60Hz

➤ cap (limit) in-game FPS

capped FPS may improve a performance in a lot of titles, for example, Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, is infamously known for being broken on 60+ FPS
try the following FPS: 30, 48, 60, 75, 90, 120, 144 and 165

• check the in-game graphics settings, it might be an option to limit FPS here:
  

• if there is no such option, then
  

  AMD videocard:	Nvidia videocard:	Special K wrapper:
  open AMD Radeon Software open "Gaming" Tab open "Global Graphics" tab find "Radeon Chill" change its value with desired FPS	download Nvidia Profile Inspector [github.com] find "Frame Rate Limiter" (in "Sync and Refresh" group) change its value with desired FPS click "apply changes"	copy "SpecialK32.dll" to the <<game-path>> rename "SpecialK32.dll" to "d3d9.dll" start the game and exit open d3d9.ini in the <<game-path>> replace "TargetFPS=0.0" with "TargetFPS=<<desired_fps>>" replace "RefreshRate=-1" with "RefreshRate=0"

➤ ...if you have tearing or rainbow-like artifacts

AMD videocard:	Nvidia videocard:
open AMD Radeon Software use the following settings: Radeon Anti-Lag: On Radeon Enhanced Sync: On OpenGL Triple Buffering: On or Radeon Anti-Lag: On Radeon Enhanced Sync: Off Wait for Vertical Refresh: Always On OpenGL Triple Buffering: On	open Nvidia Control Panel use the following settings: Vertical Sync: On (or Fast) Triple buffering: On

➤ disable Nvidia SLI / AMD Crossfire (dual GPU mode)

if you have 2+ videocards paired in SLI/Crossfire, then try to disable that feature and leave a single videocard only

AMD videocard:	Nvidia videocard:
click a gear-icon at the right ➞ "Graphics" tab disable "AMD Crossfire" in "Advanced" group	open Nvidia Control Panel click "Configure SLI, PhysX" ➞ "Disable SLI"

➤ reinstall videocard drivers

maybe your current videocard drivers are broken, flopped or were installed wrong?

• AMD official site[amd.com]
  
• Nvidia official site[nvidia.com]
  
• for AMD integrated videocards[amd.com] (see "Processors with Graphics")
  
• for Intel integrated videocards[downloadcenter.intel.com] (see "Graphics for Intel Processors")

➤ ...if there is no drivers for your videocard

in that case you have OEM/vendor-locked videocard (mostly true for the notebooks/laptops)

• get the drivers from your PC developer's site (for example, Lenovo G700 notebook's videocard drivers can be downloaded from the Lenovo official site[pcsupport.lenovo.com]);
  
• get the drivers from the DVD/CD that came together with your PC (with other motherboards's drivers and utilities)

➤ completely wipe videocard drivers and reinstall them anew

after reinstalling (or updating) videocard drivers there might be some leftovers that lead to issues

• download your videocard drivers. but don't install them
  
• download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU)[www.wagnardsoft.com]
  
• launch DDU ➞ "Options" ➞ set everything as on picture below (recommended values)
  
• select videocard vendor at the right ➞ "clean and restart mode"
  
• wait until DDU finished its job ➞ restart
  
• install downloaded videocard drivers

file-path, partitions, file-system

➤ uninstall game and delete all leftover folders

in may happen that something wrong with installation itself, but maybe reinstalling will fix that issue

• open "Library" in Steam-Client
  
• right-click on the game ➞ "Properties..." ➞ "Local Files" tab ➞ "Uninstall Game"
  
• open <<Steam-path>> ➞ "steamapps" ➞ "common" ➞ delete a folder with the game (if any left)
  
• reinstall the game
  

➤ if game is installed on external USB HDD, then reinstall it on internal one

external USB HDDs have worse performance than internal HDDs and it may be a culprit of the issues

➤ reinstall game on SSD disk

SSDs have way better performance than HDDs and reinstalling game on it may gradually mitigate various issues. no, your SSD will not die off faster because of it, don't believe various myths

➤ reinstall game on "C://"

some games don't like being installed on partition like "H://" , "S://" or anything like that: reinstall them on partition "C://" (right into the root) to ensure that everything is okay

➤ ensure <<game-path>> is valid

<<game-path>> is where you have installed the game - double-check that this file-path:

• ...is on the partition with < 3TB of total space
  
• ...is short as possible (preferably < 150 symbols)
  
• ...contains only english letters and numbers (no punctuation or spaces), for example
  

  C:\Games\Steam\ 	<-- GOOD
  C:\My Games\Steam\ 	<-- BAD (space may lead to issues)
  C:\!games\Steam\ 	<-- BAD (punctuations may lead to issues)
  C:\Игры\Steam\ 		<-- BAD (cyrillic symbols may lead to issues)
  C:\ビッグ\Steam\ 	<-- BAD (any non-ASCII symbols may lead to issues)
  

➤ rename <<game-path>>

some symbols in <<game-path>> may lead to issues on some OS/setups; in that case you have to rename it. I use game F.E.A.R. 3 as an example,

• close Steam
  
• find APPID of game-in-question, use steamdb[steamdb.info]
  

• open <<Steam-path>> ➞ "steamapps" ➞ "common"
  
• rename the game folder in something more safe ("F.E.A.R. 3" ➞ "FEAR3")
  
• open <<Steam-path>> ➞ "steamapps"
  
• find "appmanifest" file with APPID in it (for F.E.A.R. 3 ➞ "appmanifest_21100.acf")
  
• go to the line where it says: "installdir" and change it to whatever folder your renamed to

➤ check there is no partition "A://" and "B://" in your OS

usually Windows prevents this, because historically labels "A://" and "B://" are reserved for diskette devices (yeah, remember those?)

• ▷ run diskmgmt.msc
  
• right-click on a drive with "A://" or "B://" label ➞ "Change drive letter and paths" ➞ "Change"
  
• select another letter from a dropdown list
  

➤ ensure that there is a "C://" partition in your OS

some games cannot run correctly if there is no "C://" partition in OS. you don't need to actually have system files on that partition, just ensure that "C://" does exist on your PC

method #1 . rename (or create) a partition to "C://"	method #2 . plug-in a USB stick and name it "C://"
▷ run diskmgmt.msc right-click on a drive ➞ "Change drive letter and paths" ➞ "Add" select "C://" letter from a dropdown list or follow that guide [support.microsoft.com]	plug-in a USB stick if it didn't get a C:// label, then ▷ run diskmgmt.msc right-click on a USB stick ➞ "Change drive letter and paths" ➞ "Add" select "C://" letter from a dropdown list

➤ ensure there is no read-only limitations

"read-only" means that software (and games) cannot modify those files (or a whole folder), which, obviously, may lead to issues

• right click on a folder-in-question ➞ "Properties"
  
• toggle off "Read Only"
  

• it is completely okay if immediately after toggling off "Read Only" it will return back; don't mind it at all. your task is to switch off "Read Only" once for each folder and move on
  
• folders to check out:
  

  Steam
  C:\Users\<<Username>>\Documents
  C:\Users\<<Username>>\AppData
  <<game-config>>
  <<game-path>>
  

➤ use default Environment Variables folders

a huge chance is that you never ever heard of Environment Variables - and that's good. in case if you did heard of them and use some non-standard ones, then revert them back (or use hardlinks), because they may mess with the games. you can change them in:

• ▷ run systempropertiesadvanced
  
• click "Environment Variables" below
  
• some Environment Variables to check out:
  

  %PROFILESDIRECTORY% 		C:\Users
  %PUBLIC% 			C:\Users\Public
  %HOMEPATH% 			C:\Users\<Username>
  %USERPROFILE%			C:\Users\<Username
  %LOCALAPPDATA% 			C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local
  %APPDATA% 			C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming
  %TEMP% ( %TMP% )		C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Temp
  %ALLUSERSPROFILE% 		C:\ProgramData
  %PROGRAMDATA% 			C:\ProgramData
  %PROGRAMFILES% 			C:\Program Files
  %PROGRAMFILES(X86)% 		C:\Program Files (x86)
  %COMSPEC% 			C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe
  

➤ ensure "Documents" folder is located on C://

placing that folder on other partitions breaks some games

➤ defrag HDD and optimize SSD

defragmentation (defrag) is a process of rebulding and reallocation of files on a given drive, to make them be responded faster. SSDs don't need to be defraged, but they could be optimized (works only in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10)

• ▷ run dfrgui
  
• click "Optimize" for the System partition and where the games are located
  

➤ check the partitions for errors

partitions may have errors that prevent games from being worked correctly

• ▷ run cmd
  
• type chkdsk <<partition's letter>>: /f /r, for example
  

  chkdsk C: /f /r
  chkdsk D: /f /r

  

• check ALL partitions, not only those where games are installed
  
• some partitions may require to be dismounted first; be sure you don't use it right now and type Y
  
• some partitions may be scanned only after restart (during OS boot)

pagefile

a pagefile (paging file) is a special file on a drive, that enhances your RAM capacity (when it is out of room) and a storage where applications hold their assets for future requests

you MUST have pagefile regardless of how much RAM you have - no exception.
Windows was designed with pagefile in mind: any recommendation to disable it when you have 8/16/32 GB RAM are placebo

➤ what size should a pagefile be?

if have...	then a pagefile should be
< 4GB RAM	16,384+ MB
4 - 8 GB RAM	12,288+ MB
> 8 GB RAM	8,192+ MB

➤ where should a pagefile be located?

do you have SSD?	then pagefile should be located on SSD. no your SSD will not die off faster because of it , where did you hear that nonsense?
do you have 2+ HDDs and one of them is faster than the other one?	then pagefile should be located on the fastest HDD
do you have 2+ HDDs and they of the same speed?	then pagefile should be located on the HDD that is not used for games
do you have 1 HDD only?	well, then your options are quire limited, ain't it?

➤ set a proper size and location of pagefile

• ▷ run sysdm.cpl
  
• "Advanced" tab ➞ "Performance" group ➞ "Settings"
  
• "Advanced" tab ➞ "Change"
  
• uncheck "Automatically manage paging file size for all drives" (if enabled)
  
• set "No Paging file" for every disk/partition first
  
• for one specific disk select pagefile of "Custom Size" and type the same size in both fields
  

"High Performance" power plan, Core-parking

➤ activate "High Performance" power plan

by default, Windows is trying to optimize between a performance and a heat/noise/battery-life/energy-usage; such optimizations may cause stuttering and lags

• ▷ run powercfg.cpl
  
• select "High Performance" power plan
  

➤ tweak "High Performance" power plan

• ▷ run cmd
  

  unlock "Minimum processor state" option	type reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\893dee8e-2bef-41e0-89c6-b55d0929964c" /v Attributes /t REG_DWORD /d 2
  unlock "Maximum processor state" option	type reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\bc5038f7-23e0-4960-96da-33abaf5935ec" /v Attributes /t REG_DWORD /d 2

• ▷ run powercfg.cpl
  
• "Change plan settings" ➞ "Change advanced power settings"
  
• set options as following:
  

  Hard disk ➞ Turn off hard disk after:	Never
  Wireless adapter settings ➞ Power Saving Mode:	Maximum Performance
  USB settings ➞ USB selective suspend setting:	Disable
  Processor power management ➞ Minimum processor state:	99% (increases neat/noise/energy-usage) 0% (decreases neat/noise/energy-usage)
  Processor power management ➞ Maximum processor state:	99% (increases neat/noise/energy-usage) 90% (decreases neat/noise/energy-usage)

➤ disable a Core-parking feature

Core-parking temporarily suspends CPU cores to reduce heat/noise which may mess with the games. if you don't have an option to change it, then a Core-parking feature is not available for your CPU

• ▷ run cmd
  
  unlock "Core-parking control" option

  type reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\0cc5b647-c1df-4637-891a-dec35c318583" /v Attributes /t REG_DWORD /d 0
• ▷ run powercfg.cpl
  
• "Change plan settings" ➞ "Change advanced power settings"
  
• set options as following:
  
  Processor power management ➞ Processor Performance core parking min cores:

  100% (increases neat/noise/energy-usage)
  

➤ use a third-party software for advanced Core-parking control

there are tools that allow more advanced and deep control over a Core-parking

• download coderbag's Quick CPU[www.coderbag.com]
  
• or download bitsum's ParkControl[bitsum.com]

sound

sound options DO matter. wrong ones may affect the games and cause them to not work properly

➤ ensure the game's sound is not disabled OS-wise

• start the game ➞ ALT+TAB back
  
• double-click on speakers icon in the tray ➞ "mixer"
  
• scroll left/right until you find the game's icon
  
• ensure the volume is not set to minimum and is not mute
  

➤ configure audio output quality

• ▷ run mmsys.cpl
  
• if Windows report about interfering/conflicting settings and offer to disable them ➞ press OK
  
• double-click "Default device" ➞ "Advanced" tab
  
• change "default format" to:
  

  setting	best works with:
  16bit, 48000 Hz	universally the best option Grand Theft Auto V, Fallout 4, Doom, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, F1 2016
  16bit, 44100 Hz	for various games released in 2004-2005 Unreal Tournament 2004, Metal Gear Solid 2, Tales of Zestiria, Star Ocean: The Last Hope
  24bit, 48000 Hz	some tricky games Prototype, Team Sonic Racing, Sonic Generations, Q.U.B.E., Arcania: Gothic 4, Dead Rising 2, Call of Duty: World at War, Lego Harry Potter, Phantom Dust
  %%%%%%%%%

➤ disable HDMI audio & other unneeded audio output device

HDMI audio conducts an audio signal via monitor's speakers (if any); it is helpful, for example, if you have plugged a TV to videocard and would like to use TV's speakers. for most people that is not necessary and may cause the issues

• ▷ run mmsys.cpl
  
• find the output device with the name "Digital HDMI Audio" (or something like that)
  
• right-click on it ➞ "disable"
  
• do the same thing with other output device that you don't need
  

➤ configure audio output device

ensure that your output device is configured properly and, for example, headphones are not accidentally recognized as 7.1 audio system

• ▷ run mmsys.cpl
  
• double-click "Default device" ➞ "Configure"
  
• from the dropdown select an appropriate sound system
  
• click "Test" button to ensure everything works fine
  

➤ (Windows 10 / 8.1) disable Loudness Equalization (if game is too quite)

• ▷ run mmsys.cpl
  
• double-click "Default device" ➞ "Enhancements" tab
  
• disable "Loudness Equalization"
  

➤ enable Stereo Mix and disable other unneeded audio input device

it doesn't matter whether you have a mic or not - proceed with that instruction

• ▷ run mmsys.cpl
  
• open "Recording" tab
  
• right-click on the list and enable "Show Disabled Devices"
  
• "Stereo Mix" ➞ "Enable"
  
• right-click on other unneeded devices (other but a microphone) ➞ "Disable"
  

➤ disable exclusive control of your mic

• ▷ run mmsys.cpl
  
• open "Recording" tab ➞ double-click on a mic ➞ "Advanced" tab
  
• disable "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device"
  

➤ disable auto-adjusting of the volume

• ▷ run mmsys.cpl
  
• open "Communications" tab ➞ "Do nothing"
  

➤ fix halted audiosrv & audiobg services

those two services are the inner OS sub-processors for audio output; it may happen that they are stuck and you need to manually clean/restart them

• ▷ run cmd
  
• ▷ type net stop audiosrv
  
• ▷ type net stop AudioEndpointBuilder
  
• ▷ type net start audiosrv
  
• ▷ type net start AudioEndpointBuilder

Windows Security (Firewall, Defender, DEP)

➤ disable Windows Firewall

there is no reasons to keep your default Windows Firewall on, when lots of free and open-source alternatives are around, I do recommend simplewall. in Windows 10, Windows Firewall has a bad behavior to restart itself from time to time, especially after major Windows Update

• ▷ run cmd
  
• type netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off
  
• ▷ run services.msc
  
• "Windows Firewall" ➞ "Startup type: disabled" ➞ click "Stop" button
  
• restart

➤ disable Windows Security/Windows Defender

Windows Defender is a Microsoft' antivirus solution which bundles with any Windows. Windows Security is rebranded Windows Defender released on Windows 10-1709+. as with any other security-related software, consider to completely disable it

Windows Security	Windows Defender
▷ run cmd type reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SecurityHealthService" /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 4 type reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wscsvc" /v Start /t REG_DWORD /d 4 restart	▷ run services.msc "Windows Defender" service ➞ "Startup type: disabled" ➞ click "Stop" button restart

➤ add game into Windows Security/Windows Defender's exceptions

in case you didn't want to completely disable them, then at least add game into the exceptions

Windows Security	Windows Defender
▷ run control /name Microsoft.WindowsDefender "Virus & thread protection" ➞ "Manage settings" "Add or remove exclusions" set the exclusion to be a <<game-path>>	▷ run C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\msascui.exe "Tools" button at the top ➞ "Options" ➞ "Excluded Files and folders" ➞ "Add" set the exclusion to be a <<game-path>>

➤ (Windows 10-1709+) add game into the Control Flow Guard (CFG) & Mandatory ASLR's exception

Control Flow Guard and Mandatory ASLR are routine protection mechanisms that limit and track the behavior of applications. add the game-in-question into their exceptions to counter any interference

• ▷ run control /name Microsoft.WindowsDefender
  
• "App & browser control" ➞ "Exploit protection settings"
  
• "Program settings" ➞ "Add program to customize"
  
• set the exclusion to be a <<game-path>>
  
• in the dropdown disable "Control Flow Guard" and "Force randomization for images (Mandatory ASLR)"
  

➤ (Windows 10-1709+) disable Ransomware Protection

Ransomware Protection is another protection mechanism that causes issues with the games

• ▷ run control /name Microsoft.WindowsDefender
  
• "Virus & thread protection" ➞ "Manage ransomware protection"
  
• disable "Controlled folder access"
  

➤ configure Data Execution Prevention (DEP)

• ▷ run systempropertiesadvanced
  
• "Advanced" tab ➞ "Performance" group ➞ "Settings"
  
• "Data Execution Prevention" tab ➞ "Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only"
  

Windows Media Player

➤ install Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player, by default, is bundled with every Windows version, but is omitted in Windows N/KN editions and must be downloaded separately

• use that support page[support.microsoft.com] to learn about installing Windows Media Player on Windows N/KN editions

➤ enable Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player is a Windows's default video/audio player, and some game use it for a playback. in other words without it in-game audio/video may not work correctly

• ▷ run optionalfeatures
  
• "Media Features" ➞ enable the "Windows Media Player"
  
• restart
  

➤ associate .wmv files with Windows Media Player

• ▷ run control /name Microsoft.DefaultPrograms
  
• "set your default programs" ➞ "Windows Media Player" ➞ "choose defaults for this program"
  
• enable support for WMV extenstion
  

➤ disable hardware acceleration for Windows Media Player

• start Windows Media Player
  
• "Organize" ➞ "Options" ➞ "Performance" tab
  
• disable "Turn on DirectX Video Acceleration for WMV files"
  

Windows

➤ verify system files validity and identity

one or more system files (for example *.dll) might be broken and game doesn't work correctly; use Windows utilities to ensure that system files are fine and restore them in case of issues. you can find more info[support.microsoft.com] here

• ▷ run cmd
  
• type sfc /scannow
  
• type DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth (it will use Windows Update to verify your files)

➤ use English language for non-Unicode programs

• ▷ run intl.cpl
  
• "administrative" tab ➞ "current language for non-Unicode programs" ("change system locale...") ➞ "English"
  

➤ (Windows 8.1 & Windows 10) disable/uninstall Windows Game Bar (Xbox Game Bar, DVR)

that Windows feature is well-known for being a huge culprit in lots of game issues

disabling Windows Game Bar	deleting Windows Game Bar will delete all related Xbox services!
▷ run cmd type reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\GameDVR" /v AllowgameDVR /t REG_DWORD /d 0 type reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR" /v AppCaptureEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 type reg add "HKCU\System\GameConfigStore" /v GameDVR_Enabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 restart	▷ run powershell type Get-AppxPackage *xboxapp* | Remove-AppxPackage restart

➤ disable TabletInputService (Touch Keyboard and Handwriting Panel Helper)

for some reasons that process messes with a lot of games. if you don't have touch-screen devices connected to your PC, then you may permanently disable that service

disabling TabletInputService temporary (until restart)	disabling TabletInputService permanently
press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC "Services" tab ➞ "TabletInputService" service ➞ right-click ➞ "Stop Service"	▷ run services.msc "Tablet PC Input Service" ➞ "Startup type: disabled" ➞ click "Stop" button

➤ fix WmiPrvSE.exe process

for some reasons WmiPrvSE start using too much CPU, causing stuttering and a low performance in OS

• ▷ run cmd
  
• type winmgmt.exe /resetrepository
  
• type winmgmt.exe /resetrepository (yes, the second time, not a typo)
  
• type net stop "Windows Management Instrumentation"
  
• type lodctr /r
  
• type net start "Windows Management Instrumentation"
  
• press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC
  
• "Processes" tab ➞ "WmiPrvSE.exe" process ➞ right-click ➞ "End Process"
  
• ▷ run WmiPrvSE.exe
  
• restart

➤ disable/enable gameux.dll

whenever you install a new game, Windows adds it into Games Explorer application (if <<game-exe>>'s hash is in a database). each time you launch that game, Windows tries to download news and updates for it.

in early 2019 Microsoft shutdown all related servers and that feature was broken. disabling gameux.dll removes all communications with dead servers, which fixes various issues with 2000-2008 games (for example for Postal 2)

some games, however, DO rely on gameux.dll and will not work if it was disabled, for example Just Cause 2

• close Steam
  
• ▷ run cmd
  
• type reg add "HKCR\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\GameUX\ServiceLocation" /v Games /t REG_SZ /d localhost
  

  for 32-bit (x86) OS	for 64-bit (x64) OS
  disabling gameux.dll:	disabling gameux.dll:
  type takeown /f %windir%\syswow64\gameux.dll type cacls %windir%\syswow64\gameux.dll /E /P %username%:F type ren %windir%\syswow64\gameux.dll gameux.dll.backup	type takeown /f %windir%\system32\gameux.dll type cacls %windir%\system32\gameux.dll /E /P %username%:F type ren %windir%\system32\gameux.dll gameux.dll.backup
  enabling gameux.dll:	enabling gameux.dll:
  type ren %windir%\syswow64\gameux.dll.backup gameux.dll	type ren %windir%\system32\gameux.dll.backup gameux.dll

devices, gamepad, keyboard, mouse, USB

➤ disconnect all devices: gamepads, flash-drivers, external drivers, VR gear, etc

is might be that game issues are caused by an interfering device (for example, plugged gamepad can mess with an in-game camera)

• physically unplug all devices from your PC
  
• ▷ run joy.cpl, and ensure there is no devices connected to PC
  
• ▷ run bthprops.cpl ...ditto
  
• ▷ run control /name Microsoft.BiometricDevices ...ditto
  
• ▷ run control /name Microsoft.DevicesAndPrinters ...ditto

➤ if gamepad doesn't work, then plug it into a different USB port

if you have the issues with a gamepad, try to do that first

➤ disable any VR software

VR software postpones game's detection of actual gamepad and can mess with controllers enumeration. disable such software if game doesn't support VR mode

➤ learn more about DirectInput, XInput APIs and wrappers

there are two formats (APIs) of how gamepad can communicate with PC:

• DirectInput: mostly SonyPlaystation -like controllers
  
• XInput: mostly Xbox 360 -like controllers

game may support one API over the other. (for example, if you have DirectInput-gamepad and XInput-only-game, then the game will not recognize your gamepad correctly). some third-party gamepads have the button that toggles between those APIs (but not every gamepad has it)

the wrapper is a software that converts DirectInput-signal into XInput-signal and vice-versa, so they game could recognize the appropriate format. Steam-Client has in-built wrapper, called Steam Input, so ideally you should not use any other software; however for the sake of it, there are alternatives that may have way more options and control then Steam-Client:

DirectInput (gamepad) ➞ Xinput (game)	Xinput (gamepad) ➞ DirectInput (game)
DS4Window [github.com] x360ce [github.com] (if doesn't work correctly with a game, then disable all "game settings" but "64-bit v9.1, v1.1 and v1.2"	XInput Plus [sites.google.com] SCfix [ab1.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com] (unpack the files next to <<game-exe>>)

➤ enable/disable Steam Input for the game

"Steam Input" is a wrapper that converts DirectInput/XInput signal to ensure that the game will recognize gamepad right. it is a great feature, but it may not work right with some specific game. consider to enable/disable it ad hoc

• open "Library" in Steam-Client
  
• right-click on the game ➞ "Controller" ➞ "Enable Steam Input"/"Disable Steam Input"
  

➤ launch the game via Steam Big Picture mode

Steam Big Picture is a special mode that was to designed to play the games with a controller, while PC is connected to TV (coach mode). you don't need a TV to play the game in Steam Big Picture. try to launch the game in that mode and see if gamepad will work correctly

➤ remove unnecessary Steam Input's gamepads in Steam Big Picture mode

• open Steam Big Picture Mode
  
• "Settings" ➞ "Controller Settings"
  
• check/uncheck the appropriate entries for your gamepad
  

➤ double-check game keyboard binding if you have AZERTY / QZERTY / Colemak keyboard

some developers and games didn't think than much about non-QWERTY keyboard that may lead to issues with the games, because default binding is assigned according to QWERTY keyboard

➤ ensure your keyboard support ghosting

ghosting[en.wikipedia.org] is a keyboard feature to handle 3+ simultaneously pressed buttons. if your keyboard doesn't support it, then you may have the issues with controlling your character or whatever

use any online tools[drakeirving.github.io] to check keyboard inputs; press and hold "W", "A", "SHIFT" and "SPACE" at the same time and see if they are detected correctly

➤ disable Sticky Keys, Toggle Keys and Filter Keys

all three of them are Windows accessibility features to help people with motor disabilities to type easier on keyboard. it limits and changes the behavior of pressing the keyboard buttons and may mess with various games

• ▷ run control access.cpl
  
• "Make the Keyboard Easier to use"
  
• disable "Turn on Filter Keys"
  
• disable "Turn on Toggle Keys"
  
• disable "Turn on Filter Keys"
  

➤ disable mouse pointer trails

it might be useful for you, but it messes with in-game cursors

• ▷ run main.cpl
  
• "Pointer options" tab ➞ toggle "Display pointer trails" off
  

➤ use USBOblivion/USBDeview to clean all USBs entries from PC

it may happen that bad USB entries mess with your gamepad (or other device). cleaning them may fix all the issues
USBOblivion and USBDeview are the software that can do that job. USBOblivion is more user-friendly and USBDeview is much more advanced

USBOblivion (easier to use)	USBDeview (advanced)
download USBOblivion [sourceforge.net] disconnect all USB devices (apart from keyboard/mouse) "Do real clean" ➞ "Clean"	download USBDeview [www.nirsoft.net] disconnect all USB devices (apart from keyboard/mouse) right click on a USB entry ➞ "Uninstall Selected Device"

➤ fix failed "HID-compliant device" & "HID-compliant consumer control device"

some games have the issues if extra devices are enabled (not connected!) on PC

• ▷ run devmgmt.msc
  
• open "Human Interface Devices" group
  
• right-click on each "HID-compliant device" ➞ "Disable" (check that keyboard / mouse / gamepad work right)
  
• if it didn't help, do the same with "HID-compliant consumer control device"
  

CPU

➤ disable Spectre and Meltdown routines to increase CPU performance

you can increase CPU performance by disabling its protection mechanisms against Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities; it gives a small performance boost by trading off a vulnerability

• download InSpectre[www.grc.com]
  
• disable Spectre and Meltdown routines
  
• restart
  

➤ disable HPET routine to increase CPU performance

HPET is an inner CPU routine that provides stable, more accurate timing (making software more stable). you can disable it and make CPU to work more erratic - and *IN SOME CASES* it may increase performance

an excellent example of PC-shamanism or even, maybe, a placebo. some people claim it greatly helped them, some call it pointless; whatever - try that if you will

• ▷ run cmd
  
• to disable: type bcdedit /set useplatformclock true
  
• to enable: type bcdedit /deletevalue useplatformclock
  
• restart

game engine: Source

how to cap FPS?

• start the game with +fps_max <<value>> launch option, for example +fps_max 60

how to increase FPS (for example, in Counter-Strike: Global Offense)?

• start the game with -d3d9ex launch option

sidenote: on AMD GPU/CPU it *may* make things worse

how to change refresh rate?

• start the game with -refresh <<value>> launch option, for example -refresh 60

how to start the game in borderless fullscreen windowed mode?

• start the game with -windowed -noborder launch options

how to restore default settings?

• start the game with -autoconfig launch option

fix for "Out of thread ids" (MAX_THREADS_SUPPORTED) error?

• start the game with -threads 2 launch option

fix for screen flickering with white-and-grey

• start the game with +mat_hdr_level 0 launch option

fix for game launches in wrong resolution

• start the game with -width <<value>> -height <<value>> launch option, for example -width 1280 -height 1024
  
• open settings and change the resolution here
  
• remove said launch option

fix for game crashes on startup

• start the game with with one of the following launch option: -console, -dxlevel 95, -dxlevel 90, -dxlevel 80

how to open the console?

• launch the game
  
• find "Keyboard/Controls" control in "Settings"
  
• check "Enabled developer console"
  

• open the console with ~ button (to the left of "1")
  

• alternatively, you can start the game with -console launch option

if console doesn't open when you press ~ button

• start the game with -console launch option
  
• console should appear
  
• type the following command in console
  

  bind <<button>> toggleconsole

  for example
  

  bind ` toggleconsole

fix for pink-and-black checkerboard textures and large red ERROR signs

• verify the integrity of game files
  

fix for "AI disabled" error

• save
  
• restart the current map or chapter
  
• type in console sv_cheats 1 then ai_norebuildgraph 1 then ai_disable 1
  
• load
  
• type in console ai_resume
  
• save one more time
  
• either continue from the save or restart current level/map

fix for some level/map being too dark

• type in console mat_tonemapping_occlusion_use_stencil 1
  
  • if console reports such command does not exist, then open the file
    

    ...STEAM\userdata\<<SteamUserID>>\<<SteamGameID>>\local\cfg\video.txt

  • add "setting.mat_tonemapping_occlusion_use_stencil" "1" right at the end of the file, before the last brackets
    
  • save and set the file to read-only

fix for no subtitles

• type in console cc_lang english (or whatever language you need)

fix for bad performance (or black screen) on Intel GMA 4000-4500 videocards (X/M/MHD/XHD)

• download that custom videocard driver[forum.teknogods.com]

game engine: Unreal Engine 1, 2, 2.5

how to increase FPS?

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  ReduceMouseLag=True

• replace with
  

  ReduceMouseLag=False

how to run the game in fullscreen borderless windowed mode?

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  StartupFullscreen=True
  FullscreenWindowed=False

• replace with
  

  StartupFullscreen=False
  FullscreenWindowed=True

how to manually change display resolution?

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  WindowedViewportX=<<number>>
  WindowedViewportY=<<number>>
  MenuViewportX=<<number>>
  MenuViewportY=<<number>>
  FullscreenViewportX=<<number>>
  FullscreenViewportY=<<number>>

• replace with
  

  WindowedViewportX=<<your_width>>
  WindowedViewportY=<<your_height>>
  MenuViewportX=<<your_width>>
  MenuViewportY=<<your_height>>
  FullscreenViewportX=<<your_width>>
  FullscreenViewportY=<<your_height>>

  • for example,
    

    WindowedViewportX=1920
    WindowedViewportY=1080
    MenuViewportX=1920
    MenuViewportY=1080
    FullscreenViewportX=1920
    FullscreenViewportY=1080

how to increase performance in games with Havok physics?

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  HavokNumThreads=<<number>>

• change <<number>> to the number of your CPU cores, for example
  

  HavokNumThreads=4

how to set more engine memory for the game

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  CacheSizeMegs=<<number>>

• increase number to no more than 1/2 of RAM

sidenote: very unpredictable, can make performance worse in some cases

fix for random crashes during the game on Nvidia GPU

• open <<game-config>>
  
• add the line into the section [D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice]
  

  HasNVidiaTexM32Tex=1

fix for error at Launch or "D3DERR_DEVICELOST" error

fix #1
• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  RenderDevice=D3DDrv.D3DRenderDevice
  RenderDevice=PixoDrv.PixoRenderDevice

• replace with
  

  RenderDevice=OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice

fix #2

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  UseDirectSound=True

• replace with
  

  UseDirectSound=False

fix for various graphical artifacts

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  UsePrecache=True

• replace with
  

  UsePrecache=False

fix for slow motion on multi-core CPUs

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  UseAlternateTimer=False

• replace with
  

  UseAlternateTimer=True

fix for issues with gamepad

• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  UseJoystick=False
  UseXboxJoystick=False

• replace with
  

  UseJoystick=True
  UseXboxJoystick=True

• (optionally) also, find the following line(s)
  

  DeadZoneRUV=False

• replace with
  

  DeadZoneRUV=True

fix for EAX doesn't work

fix #1
• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  EAX=False
  EAX_Capable=False
  Sound3DAcc=False

• replace with
  

  EAX=True
  EAX_Capable=True
  Sound3DAcc=True

fix #2

• download DSOAL[www.nexusmods.com] here
  
• place "dsound.dll", "dsoal-aldrv.dll" and "alsoft.ini" in <<game-path>>/system/
  
• open <<game-config>>
  
• find the following line(s)
  

  Sound3DAcc=False

• replace with
  

  Sound3DAcc=True

closing

would you like to thank me?

> say 'thank you' in comments. it will melt my heart <3
> send me some lewd MLP art in PM (my fav ships are: Fluttershy + Discord, Rarity + Applejack, Sunset-EG + Twilight-EG, Starlight + Trixie, Izzy + Sunny, and anything with adorgeeky Moondancer). double-proc if such art is made by you and wasn't uploded on dozens imageboards already
> just give that sh1tty guide a thumbs-up

extra 1: anti-aliasing methods

first group - those methods analyze the position of 3D and 2D elements and blur their edges based on various instructions

• Super-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (SSAA) - the default anti-aliasing method. uses a lot of resources
  
  • Full Scene Anti-Aliasing (FSAA) - the similar to SSAA, applies anti-aliasing to the whole picture, may make text blurred. speed => SSAA, quality < SSAA
    
  • Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing (MSAA) - the better version of SSAA. speed > SSAA, quality <= SSAA
    
    • Coverage Sampling Anti-Aliasing (CSAA) - Nvidia technology, successor to MSAA. speed => MSAA, quality => MSAA
      
      • Quality Coverage Sampling Anti-Aliasing (QCSAA) - Nvidia technology, successor to CSAA, didn't receive a widespread adoption yet. speed => CSAA, quality > CSAA
        
    • Quincunx Super Anti-Aliasing (QSAA) - experimental Nvidia's technology, successor to MSAA. less stable and known than CSAA. mostly experimental technology and proof-of-concept. speed < MSAA, quality => MSAA
      
    • Enhanced Quality Anti-Aliasing (EQAA) - AMD technology, successor to MSAA. speed > MSAA, quality => MSAA
      
    • Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing (MFAA) Nvidia technology, that used together with other anti-aliasing methods to increase the quality of end-result
      
  • Sparse Grid Super-Sampling Anti-Aliasing (SGSSAA) - the new version of SSAA, didn't receive a widespread usage yet. speed > SSAA, quality = SSAA
    
    • Full Scene Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing (FSSGSSAA)
      
    • Transparency Sparse Grid Supersampling Anti-Aliasing (TRSGSSAA) - those two are different modes of SGSSAA: FSSGSSAA applies on the whole screen, while TRSGSSAA tries to selectively not smooth some 2D objects (like fonts) are about the same
      

compatibility table

AMD Catalyst Control Center       | SSAA MSAA                 EQAA
RadeonPro                         |
Nvidia Control Panel              |      MSAA CSAA QCSAA           MFAA
Nvidia Profile Inspector          | SSAA MSAA CSAA QCSAA QSAA      MFAA SGSSAA
Intel Graphics Control Center     |      MSAA
ReShade                           |

second group - those methods do not analyze the position of 3D and 2D elements, but instead consider the location of pixels in the screen

• Morphological Anti-Aliasing (MLAA) - AMD technology, the default one
  
  • Subpixel Morphological Anti-Aliasing (SMAA) - AMD technology, successor to MLAA. speed = MLAA, quality => MLAA
• Fast Approximate Anti-Aliasing (FXAA) - Nvidia technology. speed > MLAA, quality <= MLAA
  
• Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing (CMAA) - Intel technology. speed <= MLAA, quality = MLAA

compatibility table

AMD Catalyst Control Center   | MLAA
RadeonPro                     |      SMAA FXAA
Nvidia Control Panel          |           FXAA
Nvidia Profile Inspector      |           FXAA
Intel Graphics Control Center |                CMAA
ReShade                       |      SMAA FXAA

PS, words cannot explain how I hate all those acronyms...

extra 2: launch any game in windowed or borderless fullscreen windowed mode

• download DxWnd - https://sourceforge.net/projects/dxwnd/
  
• launch it
  
• click on "Edit", then "Add"
  

• set the "Path" to <<game-exe>>
  
• enable "Do not notify on task switch" option
  

• if you want to launch the game in windowed mode
  
  • enable "run in Window" option
    
  • in "Window initial position and size" change "W" and "H" values for "width" and "height" of game windows accordingly
    

• if you want to launch the game in borderless fullscreen windowed
  
  • enable "run in Window" option
    
  • select "desktop" in "position" group
    

• (optional, may help with some games) click on "DirectX" tab, set "DirectX 9"
  
• click "OK" to save your preset

[HaikuLambda]

One of the greatest Steam guides ever made!

[Kendak Hidbancuher]

Thremendous work!

Some old games also struggle dealing with multiple CPU cores. You can adjust this in your Task Manager (only when the game is already running and you have to do it every time you launch it)

[Zero Fox 1]

@rarestMeow yeah. I don't know I might just have to wait until I can get another laptop maybe because that could help fix my problem as well. But the reason why I like playing the game on here though is because I figured out that there were some extra characters unlocked that weren't unlocked before.

[rarestMeow]

@Zero Fox 1
- that game is a VERY bad console port. developers didn't put much efforts into optimization. you can check the forum for that game for more details. you are not the first one who struggles with running that game well, sadly...

[Zero Fox 1]

Hey @rarestMeow can you help me pls. I need some help fixing the lag on my version of Injustice Gods Among Us on Steam. The problem is that everytime I put the game at the highest quality it starts lagging but this isn't a problem for my other games. I'm using a Windows 11 laptop 64 bit with Home Edition. thanks. Any solutions could help.

[Diamond Girls]

Love this guide

[󠀡󠀡󠀡⁧⁧1x5x7]

great guide

[XSNOW]

big help thanks!

[Folx]

+1

[ВАЛЕРА ХДД]

u are a legend