Post by SYNTHINX on May 6, 2014 22:54:09 GMT -5
Crashing. We all hate it and it seems to be happening mostly on the Xbox side. I've been trying to gather information at my end as far as why it may crash and I think it has something to do with saved content such as game files and whatnot. I mostly believe it has to do with patching and how installing multiple layers of fixes on top of broken game mechanics is what causes the errors which then cause the game to crash. I believe that tying in with system caching and memory management also plays a big role in all that.
I submitted a request about a month back and just recently got this long response from R*. Prior to them contacting me, the steps I took were to move my save game files to an external flash drive, delete ALL the GTA content still on my system drive, then reinstalling everything from scratch and putting my save games back in. So far I haven't had any crashes, but knowing how these particular games are optimized and lobbies being client-based, I am sure that it'll only be some time before something else breaks. Try it out, it might help.
Now, here is the entire e-mail that R* sent me. I apologize for the length, but I think it's important.
"Hello,
Thank you for contacting Rockstar Technical Support.
We're sorry to hear that you're having issues with GTA V on Xbox 360. Below you will find some Console Troubleshooting steps which may help resolve the issue.
Before troubleshooting, please check the following:
a. Turn the console off and on.
b. Unplug all power cords and accessories, and then plug them back in firmly. Make sure all connections are secure.
c. Update your console software.
1.) Clearing System Cache:
To clear the Xbox 360 cache select Settings==>System==> Storage ==> then highlight the HDD, press Y for Device Options… and then simply select “Clear System Cache”. Select Yes when prompted to perform Hard Drive Maintenance.
* = Deleting the cache will remove temporary game files and updates. Saved games, profiles, DLC etc will NOT be removed.
**Please note, if the game freezes during installation, please check the following article:
support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/200195537-Freezing-during-GTA-V-installation-
2.) Clear the Game Cache.
Clearing the Game Cache on the Xbox 360 is a separate function from clearing the System Cache. In order to do so, you must hold the LEFT Bumper, RIGHT Bumper, and the X button all at the same time on the Xbox 360 controller as a game is launching. Once you reach the Main Menu or Title Screen of the game, you can let go of the buttons. There will be no notification to you that this process has completed because it is all done passively.
Clearing the Game Cache resolves many problems in games that rely heavily on the Xbox 360's cached memory. Some of these problems include, but are not limited to NPC issues, random textures, and "hitching", "lagging", or "slow gameplay".
3.) Disconnect your Xbox from the internet.
We have gotten reports that some players have been able to resolve their issues by disconnecting their console from the internet. It is possible that some freezes are related to some recent server outages that should be resolved shortly. If issues persist, disabling all internet connections on your console should prevent the game from attempting to access the servers. Obviously this is not ideal, but testing this should work at least for troubleshooting purposes, and should be resolved quickly.
4.) Clear save files.
Some crashes can be related to corrupted save data, especially crashes at a specific spot, or crashes on launch. The next step would be to isolate the save files, and see if launching without them remedies the issue. There are several ways of doing this:
a. Deleting all files in the Games and Apps folder related to GTA V. Select Settings==>System==> Storage ==> then highlight the HDD, press A, then select Games and Apps==>Grand Theft Auto V. Delete all files in this directory. Note: This method will result in permanent loss of data. If the game crashed the first time it launched, no valuable information is stored in here, so they may be deleted freely. If you already played the game for many hours, you may want to consider trying another method.
b. Backing up all files in the save directory to an external device before deleting all files as described above.
c. Possibly the simplest method, and one that also might isolate other potential issues would be to test the game from a brand new Xbox Live Gamertag. The save files for 360 games are tied to a specific user. Launching from a new user should cause the game to pull from a brand new pool of files.
5.) Install the game to a new section of the Hard Drive.
Another possible troubleshooting step would be to attempt to install the game to a new section of the hard drive. Typically, when installing, and reinstalling games, the system will attempt to reinstall over the same block of space on the HDD. While there is no function to manually force the game to install on a different block of space, there is one possible workaround that might force the game to install on a new section.
Basically, what we are going to do is uninstall the game, clear the cache, and then install some unrelated data to the Hard Drive, which should get installed to the block of space where GTA V was previously installing.
Please try the following:
a. Uninstall the game from the Games and Apps folder. Delete everything related to GTA V that is not a save file.
b. Clear the system cache, as was described above.
c. Install about 7-8GB of unrelated content. If you have Xbox Live Gold, the simplest thing here would be to download a bunch of demos from Xbox Live. The content is unimportant, you never even have to play the demos, the point here is to just eat up some hard drive space, and when you reinstall GTA V, force the console to install the game to a section that was not previously used. If you do not have a Gold account, installing 10-12 music CDs should use up enough space, although more might be needed. The idea here is to try to use up approximately the same amount of space as GTA V's install, which is about 8.5GB.
d. Reinstall GTA V, and see if conditions improve.
6.) Test the game on a second console.
This last step is potentially the trickiest step, depending on alternate hardware availability, but probably the most important step for determining the cause of major issues on any console. That step would be to test the disc on a separate console. If you have a friend or family member with an Xbox 360, we strongly recommend installing the game on their console, and see if issues persist.
7.) Test the game when installed on a second hard drive.
Because GTA V is so reliant on install data, and utilizes the hard drive so heavily, it may also be worth attempting to install on a different drive, and see if that helps. If you were previously installing on internal storage, installing to a freshly formatted 16GB Flash drive may help improve performance. More information on installation can be found at the following:
support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/200155686-Grand-Theft-Auto-V-Xbox-360-and-PS3-Installation-Requirements
If you continue to have issues, please let us know the following:
The model of your Xbox 360
The size of your hard drive, How large is it, and is the game installed to an internal HDD or Flash Drive?
How much free space is available on your HDD after installation.
The contents of any error code, if applicable. If possible, please submit a screen shot of any error messages, or give the precise wording of the error.
Please also provide us with a detailed summary of which of the above steps you were able to try, and details on what effects they had. Additionally, if you were able to try it in another console and the same issue occurred, please provide the model/HD size, etc. of the second system you tested the game on.
Once we receive this information, we will continue to investigate.
Best wishes,
Savannah D."
Again, I think most of the crashing has to do with game content installed on the HDD. Especially for those of us who installed the second disc on the drive, I think reinstalling content or just running the game from discs might help too. I dunno. Hopefully any one of these steps can help you figure it out.
Best of luck!
-SYNTHINX
I submitted a request about a month back and just recently got this long response from R*. Prior to them contacting me, the steps I took were to move my save game files to an external flash drive, delete ALL the GTA content still on my system drive, then reinstalling everything from scratch and putting my save games back in. So far I haven't had any crashes, but knowing how these particular games are optimized and lobbies being client-based, I am sure that it'll only be some time before something else breaks. Try it out, it might help.
Now, here is the entire e-mail that R* sent me. I apologize for the length, but I think it's important.
"Hello,
Thank you for contacting Rockstar Technical Support.
We're sorry to hear that you're having issues with GTA V on Xbox 360. Below you will find some Console Troubleshooting steps which may help resolve the issue.
Before troubleshooting, please check the following:
a. Turn the console off and on.
b. Unplug all power cords and accessories, and then plug them back in firmly. Make sure all connections are secure.
c. Update your console software.
1.) Clearing System Cache:
To clear the Xbox 360 cache select Settings==>System==> Storage ==> then highlight the HDD, press Y for Device Options… and then simply select “Clear System Cache”. Select Yes when prompted to perform Hard Drive Maintenance.
* = Deleting the cache will remove temporary game files and updates. Saved games, profiles, DLC etc will NOT be removed.
**Please note, if the game freezes during installation, please check the following article:
support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/200195537-Freezing-during-GTA-V-installation-
2.) Clear the Game Cache.
Clearing the Game Cache on the Xbox 360 is a separate function from clearing the System Cache. In order to do so, you must hold the LEFT Bumper, RIGHT Bumper, and the X button all at the same time on the Xbox 360 controller as a game is launching. Once you reach the Main Menu or Title Screen of the game, you can let go of the buttons. There will be no notification to you that this process has completed because it is all done passively.
Clearing the Game Cache resolves many problems in games that rely heavily on the Xbox 360's cached memory. Some of these problems include, but are not limited to NPC issues, random textures, and "hitching", "lagging", or "slow gameplay".
3.) Disconnect your Xbox from the internet.
We have gotten reports that some players have been able to resolve their issues by disconnecting their console from the internet. It is possible that some freezes are related to some recent server outages that should be resolved shortly. If issues persist, disabling all internet connections on your console should prevent the game from attempting to access the servers. Obviously this is not ideal, but testing this should work at least for troubleshooting purposes, and should be resolved quickly.
4.) Clear save files.
Some crashes can be related to corrupted save data, especially crashes at a specific spot, or crashes on launch. The next step would be to isolate the save files, and see if launching without them remedies the issue. There are several ways of doing this:
a. Deleting all files in the Games and Apps folder related to GTA V. Select Settings==>System==> Storage ==> then highlight the HDD, press A, then select Games and Apps==>Grand Theft Auto V. Delete all files in this directory. Note: This method will result in permanent loss of data. If the game crashed the first time it launched, no valuable information is stored in here, so they may be deleted freely. If you already played the game for many hours, you may want to consider trying another method.
b. Backing up all files in the save directory to an external device before deleting all files as described above.
c. Possibly the simplest method, and one that also might isolate other potential issues would be to test the game from a brand new Xbox Live Gamertag. The save files for 360 games are tied to a specific user. Launching from a new user should cause the game to pull from a brand new pool of files.
5.) Install the game to a new section of the Hard Drive.
Another possible troubleshooting step would be to attempt to install the game to a new section of the hard drive. Typically, when installing, and reinstalling games, the system will attempt to reinstall over the same block of space on the HDD. While there is no function to manually force the game to install on a different block of space, there is one possible workaround that might force the game to install on a new section.
Basically, what we are going to do is uninstall the game, clear the cache, and then install some unrelated data to the Hard Drive, which should get installed to the block of space where GTA V was previously installing.
Please try the following:
a. Uninstall the game from the Games and Apps folder. Delete everything related to GTA V that is not a save file.
b. Clear the system cache, as was described above.
c. Install about 7-8GB of unrelated content. If you have Xbox Live Gold, the simplest thing here would be to download a bunch of demos from Xbox Live. The content is unimportant, you never even have to play the demos, the point here is to just eat up some hard drive space, and when you reinstall GTA V, force the console to install the game to a section that was not previously used. If you do not have a Gold account, installing 10-12 music CDs should use up enough space, although more might be needed. The idea here is to try to use up approximately the same amount of space as GTA V's install, which is about 8.5GB.
d. Reinstall GTA V, and see if conditions improve.
6.) Test the game on a second console.
This last step is potentially the trickiest step, depending on alternate hardware availability, but probably the most important step for determining the cause of major issues on any console. That step would be to test the disc on a separate console. If you have a friend or family member with an Xbox 360, we strongly recommend installing the game on their console, and see if issues persist.
7.) Test the game when installed on a second hard drive.
Because GTA V is so reliant on install data, and utilizes the hard drive so heavily, it may also be worth attempting to install on a different drive, and see if that helps. If you were previously installing on internal storage, installing to a freshly formatted 16GB Flash drive may help improve performance. More information on installation can be found at the following:
support.rockstargames.com/hc/en-us/articles/200155686-Grand-Theft-Auto-V-Xbox-360-and-PS3-Installation-Requirements
If you continue to have issues, please let us know the following:
The model of your Xbox 360
The size of your hard drive, How large is it, and is the game installed to an internal HDD or Flash Drive?
How much free space is available on your HDD after installation.
The contents of any error code, if applicable. If possible, please submit a screen shot of any error messages, or give the precise wording of the error.
Please also provide us with a detailed summary of which of the above steps you were able to try, and details on what effects they had. Additionally, if you were able to try it in another console and the same issue occurred, please provide the model/HD size, etc. of the second system you tested the game on.
Once we receive this information, we will continue to investigate.
Best wishes,
Savannah D."
Again, I think most of the crashing has to do with game content installed on the HDD. Especially for those of us who installed the second disc on the drive, I think reinstalling content or just running the game from discs might help too. I dunno. Hopefully any one of these steps can help you figure it out.
Best of luck!
-SYNTHINX
