Fix: Garry’s Mod Crashing on Startup on PC

Garry’s Mod, also known as GMod, is a very popular sandbox game. Despite being so popular, like any other games, this too has its own fair share of problems, which have been reported by users. The most common problem with every game is the crashing issue. Garry’s Mod too has crashing issues, which can occur due to a variety of reasons. If you are also facing the same issue on your Windows PC, keep reading this article as we have shared the curated list of effective solutions.

Released in 2006, Garry’s Mod is a sandbox game developed by Facepunch Studios and published by Valve. The game is available across all major platforms including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. You get to experience both single-play and multiplayer modes.

The crashing issue with Garry’s Mod can occur due to multiple reasons, such as low RAM, improper in-game settings, outdated/faulty drivers, or an incompatible version of DirectX. Let’s take a more detailed look at what is causing the Garry’s Mod to crash on your PC so that we’ll have a better understanding of the problem and it will be easy to fix in the future, if it occurs again.

Here Are the Reasons Why Garry’s Mod Is Crashing on Your PC

• The in-game settings such as frame rate, graphics settings can make your gaming experience worse, if they are not configured properly. Hence, you should always be careful when changing the default settings.
• The game might be using an older version of DirectX which isn’t compatible with it. You should change the DirectX version for the game to run smoothly.
• A corrupted or outdated graphics driver can bring many problems. Hence, make sure that the driver is neither corrupted nor carries an outdated version.
• You need to verify the integrity of game files before you can actually play the game. The steps are mentioned later in this article.
• Although Stream Could synchronization is an useful feature to backup the game data, it was not so useful for many people as this was causing the game to crash. Disabling this feature might fix the crashing issue.

Here’s How to Fix Garry’s Mod Crashing on Startup on PC Issue

Thankfully, there are some solutions which have helped many users in fixing the crashing issue with Garry’s Mod. Hopefully, at least one of them will work for you too. Make sure to check the problem after applying every fix. Let’s begin the troubleshooting.

Solution 1: Check if Your PC Meets the Minimum Requirements

Before we jump on to alter the setting of the PC and game, it’s recommended to check if you fulfills all the requirements that are required to run the Garry’s Mod game.

Minimum Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP/Vista
• Processor: 2 GHz processor or higher
• Memory (RAM): 4GB
• Graphics: 512GB dedicated VRAM or higher
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Storage: 5GB free space

Recommended Requirements:

• OS: Windows 7/8/8.1/10
• Processor: 2.5GHz processor or higher
• Memory: 8GB or higher
• Graphics: 1GB dedicated VRAM or higher
• DirectX: Version 9.0c
• Storage: 20GB or more free space

To check these settings on your Windows PC, type dxdiag in the search box and press the Enter key. Check all the values and match with the minimum/recommended values set by Garry’s Mod. If your computer meets the requirements, great for you! If not, you can either upgrade your computer or switch to a lower graphics and screen resolution.

Solution 2: Restart Your Computer

As mentioned earlier, crashing issues can occur due to the low amount of free RAM on your PC. It can occur when there are a bunch of processes running in the background. A simple and effective solution here is to restart the device that removes all the unnecessary processes. Now, relaunch the game and check if the problem is fixed.

Solution 3: Verify the Integrity of Game Files

If there’s damaged or missing game files, there’s a high chance that the game will fail to launch. Either it will not open or crash each time you try to launch. This is where we need to verify the integrity of game files to check for any missing or damaged files.

Thankfully, Steam has an option that allows us to check the file integrity. It can also replace the missing or corrupted files that can fix the crashing issue.

1. Close Garry’s Mod game on your PC.
2. Launch the Steam app and click LIBRARY.
3. Right-click on Garry’s Mod and select Properties.
4. Go to the LOCAL FILES tab and click VERIFY INTEGRITY OF GAME FILES. Wait for the process to finish.
5. Relaunch the game and check if the problem persists.

Solution 4: Disable Steam Cloud Synchronization

Steam Cloud backs up the game data on the cloud server. So, even if you accidentally delete the game, there’s nothing to worry as long as you remember your Steam account details. This is an useful for, but not for all users. This feature leads to Garry’s Mod crashing for some users, and disabling Steam Cloud has worked for them. Hence, you should also disable this option and check if it spells out success for you.

Steps to disable Steam Cloud synchronization for Garry’s Mod:

1. Launch Steam and click LIBRARY.
2. Right-click on Garry’s Mod and select Properties.
3. Go to the UPDATES tab and uncheck the Enable Stream Cloud synchronization for Garry’s Mod.
4. Click OK to apply changes.
5. Relaunch the game and check if the issue is fixed.

Solution 5: Update Graphics Driver

The game might crash if your computer has a corrupted or outdated graphics driver. You should update the driver and check it can do the trick for you in fixing the crashing issue. Either you can update the driver using the Windows options or a third party app such as Driver Easy.

Here’s how to update graphics driver on Windows:

1. In the search box, type device manager and hit Enter.
2. Expand the Display adapters option.
3. Right-click on the graphics driver and select Update driver.
4. Tap on Search automatically for drivers. Now, Windows will look for a new version of that particular driver.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to update the driver.
6. Reboot your computer.

After you’ve updated the graphics driver, launch Garry’s Mod and check if the problem persists.

Solution 6: Launch Garry’s Mod With Admin Privileges

Lack of admin rights could be the reason why the game keeps crashing on your Windows PC. The game might not be able to access some files due to permissions. In such cases, you need to provide the game with admin privileges for a normal execution. Follow the steps below to run the game with admin privileges:

1. Right-click on the Garry’s Mod shortcut icon and select Properties.
2. Navigate to the Compatibility tab.
3. Check the Run this program as an administrator option.
4. Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.
5. Launch the launch.

Solution 7: Rename Team Fortress 2 Folder

Some users were able to fix the crashing issue with Garry’s Mod after renaming the Team Fortress 2 folder. Go to Steam -> steamapps -> common and find the Team Fortress 2 folder. Rename the folder to Team Fortress 2 Test.

Now, go to the Steam Library, right click on Team Fortress 2 and select Delete Local Content. Run the game and check if the problem is fixed.

Solution 8: Change the Launch Option

If Garry’s Mod keeps crashing on your Windows PC, changing the launch option can be helpful. To change this option, right-click on Garry’s Mod icon and select Properties. Now, tap on Set Launch Options and type dxlevel81. Save the changes and run the game.

Solution 9: Check for Corrupted Addons

It’s possible that you may have installed a corrupted addon for Garry’s Mod which is causing the game to crash. Here’s how you can fix this issue:

1. Open the Garry’s Mod installation folder. You can find it by navigating to C >> Program Files (x86) >> Steam >> steamapps >> common.
2. Inside the garrysmod folder, look for the addons folder.
3. Rename the addons folder to something else.
4. Launch the game and check if the problem is fixed.

Solution 10: Reinstall the Game

Even after applying the above solutions, if Garry’s Mod keeps crashing, perhaps there are some problems with the game installation. You need to completely remove the game from your computer and perform a clean installation of Garry’s Mod. Always download the game from the official website. Avoid third party websites or download links.

Final Words

In this guide we briefly discussed the reasons why the Garry’s Mod might be crashing on your Windows PC. We also looked at some effective solutions. I hope this guide was helpful. Which method worked for you, do let us know in the comments section below.