How to fix CoD: Vanguard crashing & freezing issues

Call of Duty: Vanguard players have reported that their game has been constantly crashing, so here are some potential fixes to get you back into the WW2 action.

Vanguard has been hailed as one of the “smoothest” Call of Duty launches yet, but there have been a few bugs niggling away beneath the surface. One of the most prominent is PC players who have been plagued by crashing and freezing issues, but there are a few solutions you can try.

After applying the best PC settings, thanks to YouTuber ComputerSluggish Tutorials, here are some solutions you can try to stop Vanguard from freezing and stuttering.

• Check Windows is up-to-date
• Check your graphics drivers are up-to-date
• Make sure your graphics card isn’t overclocked
• Close other applications
• Run Vanguard as an administrator
• Unplug external devices
• Disable NVIDIA in-game overlay
• Restart Vanguard Shader Compilation
• Scan and Repair Vanguard

Check Windows is up-to-date

The reason Call of Duty: Vanguard is crashing could be something as simple as Windows not being up-to-date.

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Here’s how to ensure Windows is up-to-date:

1. Open up ‘Settings’ on Windows 10
2. Click on ‘Update & Security’
3. Select ‘Check for updates’
4. If you have an update available, you can now install it

Check your graphics drivers are up-to-date

The reason why Vanguard is consistently crashing could be something as simple as your graphics drivers being out of date. NVIDIA and AMD regularly release new drivers tailored to specific new releases, so you want to make sure they’re as up-to-date as possible.

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Here’s how to check and update your graphics drivers:

How to update NVIDIA graphics driver

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, the GeForce experience app will handle this for you.

1. Download GeForce experience through NVIDIA.com
2. Open GeForce experience
3. Select the ‘Drivers’ tab
4. Click ‘check for updates’ in the upper right corner
5. If an update is available, follow the steps

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How to update AMD graphics driver

If you have an AMD GPU, you can use the Radeon Settings to update your drivers.

1. Right-click on your desktop
2. Select AMD Radeon Settings
3. Click on the Home icon
4. Click ‘New Updates’ on the bottom left
5. Select ‘check for update’
6. If an update is available, follow the steps

Make sure your graphics card isn’t overclocked

Many gamers overclock their graphics card to squeeze out more performance, but this can cause issues with Vanguard.

• Read more: Crazy Vanguard Dead Drop glitch gives players unlimited free killstreaks

ComputerSluggish Tutorials recommends that, if you can, you remove any overclocking settings from your graphics card and then try launching Call of Duty: Vanguard. This involves getting into the guts of your PC, so we only recommend doing this if you’re confident in your tech skills.

Close other applications

Having other applications or programs open while playing Vanguard could be causing issues, so make sure that everything is closed down while you play.

Run Vanguard as an administrator

Some players have experienced issues with Call of Duty: Vanguard when the game and Battle.net aren’t set to run as an administrator.

This is a quick fix, so here’s how to do it:

1. Right click on the CoD: Vanguard shortcut on your desktop
2. Select ‘Properties’
3. Select the ‘Compatibility’ tab
4. Tick the ‘Run this program as an administrator’ box
5. Select ‘Apply’
6. Do the exact same for the Battle.net shortcut

Unplug external devices

Vanguard’s crashes could be caused by something plugged into your computer, such as a faulty USB device. You should unplug all devices (except for your mouse and keyboard) and see if the crashing issues are fixed. If they are, trial and error each device to see what the issue is.

Disable NVIDIA in-game overlay

The NVIDIA overlay could be causing further issues for Vanguard, so it’s worth disabling it.

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Here’s how to disable the NVIDIA overlay:

1. Launch the GeForce Experience app
2. Click the ‘Settings’ cog
3. Look for the ‘In-Game Overlay’ box under ‘General’
4. Toggle the in-game overlay to ‘Off’
5. Do the same for any other applications such as Discord

Restart Vanguard’s Shader Compilation

Vanguard will download shaders after a major update or graphics driver update, but this can go wrong. You can re-download the shaders compilation from inside Vanguard, which should correct any issues with shaders.

Here’s how to reinstall shaders in Vanguard:

1. Launch Call of Duty: Vanguard
2. Go the the ‘Settings’ tab
3. Select ‘Reinstall Shaders Compliation’ under display
4. Wait for the shaders to install
5. Restart Vanguard
6. Launch into a match to see if the issues are fixed

Scan and Repair Vanguard

Battle.net

If none of these fixes work, you should try running a Scan and Repair on Vanguard. This will find and fix any missing or corrupt files.

• Read more: When does Vanguard & Warzone Season 1 start? Season 6 end date

Here’s how to do this:

1. Open Battle.net
2. Click on ‘Call of Duty: Vanguard’
3. Hit ‘Options’ beside the ‘Play’ button
4. Select ‘Scan and Repair’
5. When done, launch Vanguard

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Hopefully one of these solutions will solve your crashing and stuttering issues in Call of Duty: Vanguard!

You can also check out the life-saving Bombing Run tip every Vanguard player needs to know.

Image Credit: Activision