What steps fix a PC game that crashes to desktop after 20 minutes?

[AddisonLR]

I've been trying to play a newly released PC game, but it consistently crashes to desktop about twenty minutes into any session without an error message. My system exceeds the recommended specs, I've updated my graphics drivers to the latest version, and I've verified the game files through the launcher, but the problem persists. For others experiencing this, what are the next steps for a game crash fix? Should I be looking into potential conflicts with background software, adjusting in-game settings like DirectX version, or checking Windows event logs for a specific error code that the game itself isn't showing?

[Jonathan_M]

That’s frustrating. Here’s a practical triage that often yields a quick win: check crash logs and driver paths. Open Reliability History and the Event Viewer around the time you got the crash to look for an error entry from the game or from DirectX/DXGI. If you see dxgi_error_device_removed or similar DXGI errors, try switching the game between DX11 and DX12 or rollback/update your GPU driver and test with a clean install. Also test with the lowest settings and try windowed mode to rule out overlays or memory issues.

[Adam87]

Disable overlays and background software that can hijack the GPU: Discord/NVidia/AMD overlays, Steam overlay, recording software, antivirus real-time scanning. Do a clean boot to rule out software conflicts: msconfig, disable startup items, reboot, and launch the game with minimal background programs. If you can reproduce a crash, note what was running and when it happens.

[Elizabeth15]

Hardware checks are worth a shot. Monitor temperatures and power draw while playing with tools like HWInfo or MSI Afterburner. If your GPU or CPU hits thermal throttling or there’s PSU sag under load, it can crash after a while. Run memory tests (memtest86) to rule out RAM issues. If you have a spare GPU, try swapping to see if the crash follows the hardware.

[Tyler54]

Adjust in-game and system settings to test stability: try DX11 first, disable or enable V-Sync depending on your system, cap FPS to a stable value, turn off HDR if your monitor supports it, run in borderless window, and ensure you run the game as administrator. Check for any config files in Documents/My Games and reset them or back them up and start fresh. Also consider using a clean boot of Windows with minimal services for testing.

[LarryJR]

Documentation and next steps: keep a crash log (date/time, what you were doing, settings, recent updates). Capture a DXDiag report, and collect a couple crash dumps if possible. If nothing works, reach out to the game's support with your crash dumps and a summary of steps you’ve tried. If you want, share your OS version, GPU model, driver version, game version, and a screenshot of the crash, and I’ll tailor a focused checklist.