How To Fix Stardew Valley Crashing On PC?

Stardew Valley is a popular simulation role-playing game first released on Microsoft Windows in 2016. Because of the amazing results, the developers of this game released it for other platforms, including the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, iOS, Android, macOS and Linux. Though it has amazing gameplay and gaming elements, players are quite frustrated because of the Stardew Valley crashing issue(PC). If you are one of those players facing the same issue while playing the game, go through this complete article, as here we have mentioned some troubleshooting methods that can help you get rid of this issue.

The reasons behind Stardew Valley crashing on PC issue

Stardew Valley comes with multiple glitches and bugs, which is the primary reason behind this issue. Some other reasons include the following:-

• Outdated game version
• Outdated graphics driver
• Interruption by your anti-virus software
• Running background tasks etc.

Fix: Stardew Valley Crashing on PC issue

Here are all the methods mentioned below that you can try one by one to check which method works for you.

1. Check System Requirements

First, check all the system requirements to ensure you are not facing this issue because of compatibility issues. Here are the minimum system requirements for playing this game on your computer.

• OS: Windows Vista or greater
• Processor: 2 GHz
• Memory: 2 GB RAM
• Graphics: 256 MB video memory, shader model 3.0+
• DirectX: Version 10
• Storage: 500 MB available space

2. Update Graphics Drivers

It is always advised to update your graphic drivers to experience smooth operations on your Windows. Following are the steps for doing that:-

• First, right-click on the “Start” menu option and open the “Quick access menu”
• Now, click on “Device Manager” option and then double-click on “Display adapters” category to expand the list
• Next, right-click on the dedicated graphics card name and select the “Update driver” option
• Choose “Search automatically for drivers”
• If any update is available for your graphics driver, it will be downloaded and installed on your system
• Ensure to restart the system once the process is done

Note– You can also manually download the latest version of the graphics card from the official website of your graphics card manufacturer.

3. Update Windows

If you have been using an outdated Windows version, you can face glitches and compatibility issues while playing games on your computer. Here is how to update your Windows OS build:-

• First, click on Windows + I Keys and open your “Windows Settings” menu
• Now, click on “Update and Security” tab and select the “Check for updates” option under the Windows update section
• Download and install the update if you see one available
• The process may take some time
• Once the process is done, restart your computer to install the update

4. Run the game as an administrator 

You may face account control-related issues if you are not running the game with administrative rights. Not just the game, but you should run Steam Client with administrative rights as well. Here at the steps for doing that:-

• First, find the Stardew Valley exe shortcut on your computer and right-click on it
• Now, select “Properties” and click on the “Compatibility” tab
• Next, click on the checkbox corresponding to “run this program as an administrator”
• Click on the “Apply” button and select “Ok” to save the changes

Note– You will need to repeat the same steps for the Steam Client as well.

5. Close Unnecessary Background Tasks

If several background tasks are running on your system that are eating up a lot of system resources, such as your memory storage, you may face system performance-related issues. So, close all the unnecessary background tasks to resolve this issue.

• First, click on Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys and open Task manager
• Now, click on the “Processes” tab and then click on the unnecessary tasks that are running in the background
• Click on the “End task” button to close the tasks one by one
• Once done, restart your system and check if the issue has been resolved.

6. Update Stardew Valley

If you haven’t updated the game for quite a long time, it is time to check if there is any update available and if yes, install the latest patch. Here are the steps for doing that:-

• First, open the Steam client and go to “Library”
• Now, click on “Stardew Valley” from the left pane
• The system will automatically start searching for updates, and if there is any update available, click on the “Update” button.
• The installation process may take some time, and once it is done, close the Steam Client and restart your computer to apply the changes.

7. Disable Windows Firewall or Antivirus Program

Sometimes the players can face this crashing issue if the default Windows Defender Firewall protection or any third-party antivirus program prevents the ongoing connection or the game files from running properly. You can temporarily disable or turn off these protections to check if the issue has been resolved. Here are the steps for that:-

Note– Turning off Windows Defender Firewall or other virus and threat protection features is never recommended. Once the protection is turned off, your computer gets exposed to viruses and malware.

• First, click on the Start menu on your Windows
• Now, Type Firewall
• Select “Windows Defender Firewall” from the search result and click on “Turn windows defender Firewall on or off” option from the left pane
• Next, select the “Turn off Windows Defender Firewall” option. Ensure to turn it off for both the private and public network settings
• Now, click on the “Ok’ button to save the changes
• Restart your computer to apply the changes

You will need to turn off the Windows Security Protection as well. Follow the steps mentioned below to do that:-

• First, click on Windows + I keys and open the “Windows Settings” menu
• Now, click on the “Update and Security”
• Click on “Windows Security” from the left pane
• Now, click on the “Open Windows Security” button
• Here, go to “Virus and Threat Protection”
• Click on the “Manage Settings” option
• Here, you will find the “Real-Time Protection” toggle. Turn it off.
• Click on yes, if prompted.

Note – You can also turn off Cloud-delivered protection, Tamper protection and any third-party antivirus software you have on your system and check to see if the issue has been resolved.

8. Set High Priority in Task Manager

You can give your game high priority to dictate to your Windows system to prioritize running the game over all other processes. Here is how you can do that:-

• First, right-click on the Start menu option
• Select “Task Manager”
• Next, click on the “Processes” tab
• Right-click on the Stardew Valley game task
• Now, select the “Set priority” to High option
• Run the game and check if the issue has been resolved.

9. Verify the Integrity of Game Files

You may face the Stardew Valley crashing PC error if your game files are corrupted or missing. Here are the steps to verify the integrity of your game files to resolve the issue.

• First, launch Steam on your system and click on “Library”
• Now, right-click on Stardew Valley from the list of installed games that will open on your computer screen.
• Click on “Properties and go to the “Local Files” option
• Next, click on the “Verify integrity of game files” option and wait for a few minutes until the process is completed
• Once it is done, restart your computer.

10. Reinstall the latest version of DirectX 

Reinstall the latest version of DirectX from the official website of Microsoft on your computer and run it. Check if the issue has been resolved.

Note- To play the Stardew Valley game on your computer smoothly, you will need to install DirectX 12 or above.

11. Force Run the Game in DirectX 11

Use the command option to force run the game if you have DirectX 10 or lower version.

• First, launch the Steam Client and go to “Library” section
• Navigate to the Stardew Valley game and right-click on it
• Now, click on the “Properties” option and select “General” from the left pane menu
• Go under the Launch option and type -dx11
• Now, go back and launch the game. If you see anything promoted on your computer screen, click on the Radio button next to the “Stardew Valley play” option.

12. Set High Performance in Power Options

Some users have reported that the problem gets resolved after setting the high-performance mode in Windows. Here are the steps for doing that:-

Note– This option will take higher power usage.

• First, click on the Start menu
• Now, type control panel and click on it from the search result
• Next, go to the “Hardware and sound” option and select “Power options”
• Click on the “High-performance”
• Now, close the window and check if the issue has been resolved.

13. Clear Cache

If there is a huge amount of cache accumulated on your system, it may interrupt your gameplay. So, clear the cache from the Client or server. Here are the steps for doing so:-

• First, open the Steam client and go to the “Steam” tab on the top left side
• Now, click on “Settings” and then “Download” tab
• Next, click on the “Clear download cache” button
• Now, log back into your Steam account and relaunch the game to check if it helps to fix the Stardew Valley crashing PC

14. Close the game from Background Apps

If you face the same issue even after trying all the above workarounds, close the game from the background apps. Here are the steps for doing that:-

• First, click on Windows + I keys and open the “Windows Settings” menu
• Now, click on the “Privacy” option
• Scroll down from the left pane and select “Background apps”
• Now, navigate to “Stardew Valley” and toggle it off
• Once done, close the Window and restart your computer.

15. Reinstall Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime

You can reinstall Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime on your system as this method fixes multiple gaming errors. Here are the steps for doing that:-

• First, click on the Windows key and open the Start menu
• Type apps and features there and select it from the search results
• Now, click on Microsoft Visual C++ program(s) on the list
• Select each program and then click on the “Uninstall” button
• Next, go to the official website of Microsoft and download the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime.
• Install it on your computer and restart your system to save the changes.

16. Perform a Clean Boot

Sometimes, a clean boot starts some applications and their services without any issues. Performing a clean reboot may help you to resolve this issue. Here is how you can do that:-

• First, click on Windows + R keys and open the Run dialog box
• Now, type msconfig and hit Enter. System configuration will now open on your computer screen.
• Go to the “Services” tab and tick the “Hide all Microsoft services” checkbox
• Click on the “Disable all” option
• Now, click on “Apply” and then “Ok” to save the changes
• Now, go to the “Startup” tab and click on the “Open Task Manager” option
• In the task manager interface, go to the “Startup” tab and click on the particular task which has a higher startup impact
• Once you select the task, click on “Disable” to turn them off from the startup process
• Follow the same steps for each program that has a higher startup impact
• Once you are done with all the programs, restart your computer to apply the changes.

17. Disable Overlay Apps

There are some popular applications that come with their own overlay programs that can interrupt your gaming performance. You can turn them off and see if the issue gets fixed. Here we have mentioned how you can disable some commonly used overlay apps.

Disable Discord Overlay

• Launch the Discord app
• Now click on the gear icon at the bottom
• Click on the “Overlay” option under “App settings” and turn on the “Enable in-game overlay” option
• Now click on the “Games” tab and select Stardew Valley
• Turn off the “Enable in-game overlay” toggle
• Reboot your computer and apply the changes

Disable Xbox Game Bar

• First, click on Windows + I keys and open Windows Settings.
• Click on the “Gaming” option
• Now, go to the “Game bar” and turn off Record game clips, Screenshots and Broadcast using the game bar option.

Note– If you cannot find the game bar option, search it from the Windows settings menu.

Disable Nvidia GeForce Experience Overlay

• First, launch the Nvidia GeForce Experience app and go to the “Settings” option
• Click on the “General” tab and disable the “In-Game Overlay” option
• Restart your PC

Note– You will need to disable some other overlay apps such as MSI Afterburner, Rivatuner, RGB software, or any other third-party overlay app that runs in the background.

18. Disable CPU or GPU Overclocking

It is always advised not to enable CPU/GPU overclocking on your system if you face crashing issues. Sometimes, this feature can cause issues such as bottlenecking or compatibility and interrupt your gaming experience.

19. Reinstall Steam

If none of the above-mentioned troubleshooting methods has worked for you, uninstall and reinstall the Steam Client on your PC. Here are the steps for doing that:-

• First, close the Steam client
• Now go to the “Start” menu option and open “Control panel”
• Now, click on the “Uninstall a program” button under the “Programs” option.
• Search for Steam Client and click on “Steam”
• Now, select “Uninstall” and follow the on-screen prompts
• The uninstallation process will start and once done, reboot your computer to apply the changes.

Now, reinstall Steam and install and play the game again to check if the issue has been resolved.

Ending words

That’s all. Here we have mentioned all the probable troubleshooting methods that you can try to fix the Stardew Valley crashing error on PC. We hope this article was helpful to you and you have successfully resolved the issue you have been facing.

Experiencing difficulties with your Device, check out our “How To” page on how to resolve some of these issues.