Fix: CSGO Crashes When Changing Video Settings, Resolution, or Loading Maps

Valve Corporation and Hidden Path Entertainment did release Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) in 2012 as a first-person shooter multiplayer video game that comes under the Counter-Strike lineup. Though the title is so popular and has received very positive reviews on Steam for the PC version, plenty of players are encountering CSGO crashes when changing in-game video settings, display resolution, or loading maps unexpectedly.

If we take a quick look at the r/GlobalOffensive subreddit forum or the SteamCommunity forum, it looks like a bunch of players are facing the same issue with CSGO while trying to launch it. As per several reports, CSGO is working fine with the native 16:9 aspect ratio resolution on the PC. Whereas some players are trying to change the resolution from 4:3 to 16:9 and, unfortunately, facing the same issue. Some players tried deleting the config folder as well.

Fix: CSGO Crashes When Changing Video Settings, Resolution, or Loading Maps

Luckily, we’ve mentioned a couple of possible workarounds for you that should come in handy. You should follow all the troubleshooting methods one by one until the problem gets fixed. Before getting into the guide, it’s highly recommended to ensure you have a compatible PC specification that meets all the requirements of the CSGO game. It’ll be better if you have at least 4 GB of RAM and an entry-level GPU card installed on your PC in 2022 or later.

1. Run CSGO as Administrator

First of all, you should run the CS: GO game executable application as an administrator on the PC by following the steps below to ensure the game runs with the UAC (User Account Control) privilege. Sometimes running the program without system administrator access may cause app crashes or not launching the game. To do so:

• Go to the installed CSGO game directory on the PC.
• Right-click on the CSGO.exe application file on your PC.
• Click on Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.

• Click on the Run this program as an administrator checkbox to enable it.
• Once done, click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
• Finally, run the game, and check for the issue.

If you’re still facing the startup crashing or the game not launching issue then make sure to follow the same steps for the Steam launcher too.

2. Update CS: GO

The chances are high that you’re using an outdated game patch version on the PC which eventually occurs in the game crashing. An outdated game patch may contain bugs or stability issues that can trouble you a lot. So, you can follow the steps below to manually check for the game update.

• Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
• Click on CS: GO from the list > It’ll automatically search for the available update.
• If there is an update available, click on the Update option.
• Wait for a while until the game update completes.
• Once done, restart the PC, and then try checking for CSGO Crashes When Changing Video Settings, Resolution, or Loading Maps again.

3. Update Graphics Drivers

You can try updating the graphics driver on your PC by following the steps below to ensure that there is no issue with the outdated or missing graphics driver. If your PC does have an outdated GPU driver then make sure to update it.

• Right-click on the Start Menu on the Taskbar.
• Click on Device Manager from the list.
• Double-click on the Display adapters option to expand the list.
• Next, right-click on the GPU card.

• Select Update driver > Choose to Search automatically for drivers.
• If there is an update available for the GPU driver, it’ll automatically download & install the update.
• Let the process be completed > Once done, reboot your PC to apply changes.

If there is no update available for your GPU card then you can go to the official graphics card website from the links below and search for the model of your graphics manually. Make sure to download and install the latest GPU driver for your model number as per the manufacturer.

• Nvidia GPU
• AMD GPU
• Intel GPU

4. Verify and Repair Game Files

Sometimes missing or corrupted game files on the PC might trouble you a lot if the problem has occurred while installing or updating the game. You can follow the steps below to verify the integrity of game files and then repair them automatically. The game launcher will automatically try to fix the issue if possible.

Please Note: Don’t run other heavy applications while performing this method.

• Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Right-click on CS: GO from the list of installed games.
• Click on Properties > Go to the Local Files tab.

• Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
• You’ll have to wait for the process until it’s completed.
• Once done, just restart your computer to apply changes.

5. Clear Steam Download Cache

Sometimes the chances are high that somehow your Steam Download Cache is troubling you. It’s better to delete the download cache from the Steam launcher by following the steps below.

• Open the Steam client > Click on Steam on the top left side.
• Go to Settings > Click on Downloads.

• Click on Clear Download Cache from the bottom.
• Now, click on OK to clear your local download cache.
• Once done, make sure to re-launch Steam, and log in with your Steam account.
• Finally, launch the CS:GO game, and check for the CSGO Crashes issue When Changing Video Settings, Resolution, or Loading Maps.

6. Run CSGO in the Compatibility Mode

It looks like that the CSGO game isn’t capable enough to run on the Windows 10 or 11 version. You should try running the compatibility mode on your PC by following the steps below for the older Windows versions.

• Open the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Locate and right-click on the CSGO title.
• Select Properties > Go to the Local Files tab.
• Click on Browse Local Files to open the installed game folder.
• Now, right-click on the CSGO.exe application > Choose Properties.
• Click on the Compatibility tab > Tickmark the Run this program in compatibility mode for the checkbox to enable it.
• Select Windows 7 or Windows 8 from the drop-down menu.
• Once done, click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
• Finally, you can reboot the PC to apply changes.

7. Disable the Fullscreen Mode

You should also try disabling the fullscreen mode for the CSGO game on your PC by following the steps below.

• Open the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Right-click on CSGO > Click on Manage.
• Click on Browse local files > Go to CSGO installed folder.
• Right-click on CSGO.exe > Click on Properties.
• Go to the Compatibility tab > Tickmark the Disable fullscreen optimizations checkbox to enable it.
• Once done, click on Apply and then OK to save changes.

8. Set Launch Options on Steam

Multiple CS:GO players have reported that they have used the auto-config or the safe mode for the CSGO game via Steam. This specific trick did come in handy for some players. So, you can also try this method.

• Open the Steam client > Click on Library.
• Right-click on the CS:GO game from the left pane.
• Click on Properties > Under the General section, go to Launch options.
• Now, right-click on -autoconfig and click on OK.
• Try launching the game and checking for the issue.

If this trick didn’t fix the issue for you then make sure to follow the same steps and use -safe.

9. Clear Background Tasks

You should close all the unnecessary background running tasks on your PC by following the steps below. It’s recommended to check the not-so-useful third-party processes that can be cleared manually.

• Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.

• Click on Processes and check which task is consuming higher resources.
• Just click on the particular process and select End Task to close it forcefully.
• Make sure to do the same steps for each third-party app process that is consuming higher resources.
• Once done, close Task Manager, and restart your PC.

Do the same steps for each third-party process that are unnecessary for you.

10. Disable Display Scaling and High DPI Settings

If none of the methods worked for you then make sure to disable the display scaling and the high DPI settings on your PC by following the steps below. Windows Scaling feature basically increases or decreases the on-screen texts, programs, and other visual elements for the users. Whereas turning off the high DPI settings will ensure to reduce mouse cursor or pointer stutters.

• Press the Win+I keys to open Windows Settings.
• Click on System from the left pane > Select Display.
• Go to Scale and Layout > Select Change the size of text, apps, and other items.
• Choose 125% or 150% to re-size the display items according to your preference. [100% is recommended by default]

However, if the mouse lagging problem is still troubling you then make sure to disable scaling by following the steps below.

• Right-click on the CS: GO exe application > Select Properties.
• Click on the Compatibility tab.
• Tickmark the Disable display scaling on high DPI settings checkbox to select it.
• Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.
• It should fix the CSGO Crashes When Changing Video Settings, Resolution, or Loading Maps.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.