Fix Half-Life Alyx Crashes and Stuttering Problems

Forums like Steam and Reddit are filled with user comments that Half-life crashes unexpectedly. Sometimes in chapter 4 but also randomly. Users have also encountered the Half-Life Alyx Stuttering problem. We scoured through various forums and have the fix for the crashing and stuttering problem in the game.

Before you proceed with the installation, we recommend you first try rebooting the system. More often than not, a simple reboot fixes most of the issues with the game.  

Fix 1: Verifying the integrity of the game files

If Half-Life Alyx Crashes, the first troubleshooting step to try is checking the game files for corruption. It can be achieved by Verifying the Integrity of Game Files. A lot of users were able to resolve the crashing issue by performing this function. Here are the steps to follow.

1. Ensure the SteamVR and VR hardware manufacturer software is closed.
2. Now open Steam and find Half-Life Alyx from the Library
3. Right-click on the game and select Properties
4. Select the Local Files tab
5. Now, click on Verify Integrity of Game Files
6. Let the process run and repair the game.

Once it’s done, try playing the game.  

Fix 2: Ditch the Bucket

If you are cheating on the inventory system, the crash can happen. Users who used the bucket to carry syringes/grenades encountered this error. This gives you an unfair advantage over other players and may cause the game to crash. After ditching the bucket, players were able to resolve the Half-Life crash issue. We know you love carrying the bucket around and the large number of grenades it allowed you to move, ditch it to fix the issue.  

Fix 3: Lower Settings and Reduce Texture

The graphics card settings are the obvious suspect when the game crashes. Try lowering the settings to medium if you are playing on high or low if on medium and the game should stabilize. Users also resolved the error by reducing the texture settings.

Fix 4: Update Graphics Card Drivers

For Nvidia users, a new Game Ready Drivers are available released on 23rd March for Half-Life Alyx. If you have not installed these drivers, install them via the GeForce Experience or the official Nvidia website. For AMD and Radeon users, a new driver update is available dated 19^th March, you would want to install the driver to fix the crashing issue with Half-Life.  

Fix 5: Update Windows

If there is a DirectX or .Net Framework updating pending on your Windows update, you can install it to fix the crashing problem. Some users did this and were able to resolve the crashing problem. It’s always a good idea to keep the Windows updated. While you are at it, download and install any updates that are available.

Fix 6: Increase Windows Virtual Memory

Half-Life Crashes can also be attributed to Windows Virtual Memory. To resolve the error you have to increase the Virtual Memory or ensure that Windows automatically allocates the virtual memory. Follow these steps: –

1. Press Windows Key + I and type performance in the search tab
2. Select Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows
3. Go to the Advanced tab and under Virtual memory, click on Change…
4. Ensure Automatically manage paging file size for all drives is checked.
5. Save the changes and exit.

If you find that the option is already checked, uncheck the box and manually allocate the virtual memory. Just ensure that the value is higher than what it was previously.

Resolve the Half-Life Alyx Stuttering and Low FPS Problems

If you are facing performance issues such as low FPS or the Half-Life stuttering, there are certain fixes you can try such as updating to the latest Game Ready Drivers and identifying CPU intensive tasks and terminating them from the Task Manager. As a rule of thumb, terminate any tasks that take up more than 25% of the CPU.

Make some changes from the Nvidia Control Panel such as setting Vertical Sync to Fast, Power Management Mode to Prefer Maximum Performance and the Texture Filtering-Quality to High Performance.

Also, disable the In-Game V-Sync and launch the game. Your stuttering problem should be fixed.  

If you are using the Asus Aura Sync that’s the most definite cause of the stuttering. Disable it and the issue will be fixed.       

That’s it for now, we will update this post as more errors surface with the game. If you have particular errors, let us know so we can investigate it.