Counter Strike 2 Crashing and Stuttering: How to Fix

In this guide, we will show you numerous methods to fix the crashing and stuttering issues in Counter Strike 2. This newest release has been getting mixed reviews of sorts. While some are touting it as the biggest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history, others have straightaway pushed that notion aside and have said that CS 2 is dragging down CSGO’s reputation.

Well, no matter on which side of the fence you are, one thing’s for sure- you are definitely going to give it a shot. However, that might prove to be easier said than done. This is because numerous users have voiced their concern that they facing quite a lot of crashing and stuttering issues in Counter Strike 2 which is negatively impacting their gameplay experience. If you are also facing these issues, then this guide will help you out. Follow along for the fixes.

Fix Counter Strike 2 Crashing and Stuttering

It is recommended that you try out each of the below-mentioned workarounds and then see which one spells out success. So with that in mind, let’s get started.

FIX 1: Disable Steam Overlay

Steam Overlay is an in-game interface that allows you to access various Steam Community features while you are right in the middle of the game. Its benefit is that you don’t have to minimize the game to access the required features as you can directly get hold of them right from the overlay menu itself. However, since it will be concurrently running with the game, it tends to hog additional system resources. So you could consider disabling it, using the instructions given below.

1. To begin with, launch the Steam application on your PC.
2. Then click on the Steam menu situated at the top left.
3. After that, select Settings from the drop-down menu.
4. Now go to the In-Game menu from the left-hand side.
   
5. Uncheck “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game”.

Likewise, disable the below-listed overlays as well, if you are using any one of them:

1. Communication Overlay features from Discord
2. Nvidia GeForce Overlay for Screen Capture and Sharing
3. Xbox Game Bar
4. Disable EVGA Precision.
   
5. Hardware Monitoring and Capture with Fraps

FIX 2: Update Drivers

While you may have heard this a plethora of times, let’s just reiterate the fact one more time- using old or outdated graphics drivers is known to cause a few performance issues. Therefore, you should consider updating these drivers to the latest build, using the instructions given below:

1. Use the Windows+X shortcut and select Device Manager from the menu that appears.
2. Then expand Display Adapter, right-click on your graphics drivers, and select Update Drivers.
3. After that, click on Search automatically for graphics drivers.
   
4. Windows will now search online for the driver and will subsequently download and install them.
5. Once done, restart your PC and then check if it fixes the Counter Strike 2 crashing issue.

FIX 3: Select Ultimate Performance Mode

By default, Windows runs on the Balanced Mode, which maintains a fine equilibrium between the performance and battery usage. However, in some instances, such as when running a graphics-intensive or heavy process game or application, you might have to give a higher privilege to the performance over the battery.

This will force your PC to utilize all the CPU/GPU cores and hence churn out the best results. However, doing so will also result in excessive battery drainage. So if that’s well and good, then let’s create and implement the Ultimate Performance Mode on your PC.

1. Head over to the Start Menu and launch Command Prompt as an administrator:
2. Then execute the below command to create the Ultimate Performance Plan:

   powercfg -duplicatescheme e9a42b02-d5df-448d-aa00-03f14749eb61

   

3. Now launch Control Panel and go to Hardware and Sound > Power Option.
4. You should now see the newly created plan there (or under the Show Additional Plans section).
   
5. Select it and the plan will be implemented right away. Check if it fixes the Counter Strike 2 crashing issue.

FIX 4: Validate Game Files

If there was even the slightest network connection issue, then it could lead to one or two games files not being downloaded. It doesn’t matter the size or type of file, even if it was of a few KBs and isn’t present in the game installation directory, then it prevents the game from running normally. Therefore, let’s verify if there’s any missing file or not, and if there is, then let’s address that as well.

1. Launch Steam and go to the Library section.
2. Then right-click on Counter Strike 2 and select Properties.
   
3. After that, go to the Local Files tab and click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
4. Wait for the process to complete and then check if it fixes the Counter Strike 2 crashing issue.

FIX 5: Disable Full-Screen Optimization

Windows automatically enables full-screen optimizations in order to give you a more fluid, rich, and immersive gaming experience. However, some users have reported that for them, this feature did more harm than good. at least in the case of Counter Strike 2. So consider turning off this feature for the said game and then test out the results.

1. Launch File Explorer via Windows+E shortcut and go to the below location:

   steam/steamapps/common/Counter Strike 2/Game

2. Then right-click on “Counter Strike 2.exe” and select Properties.
3. After that, go to the Compatibility tab and check Disable Fullscreen Optimization.
   
4. Check if it fixes the Counter Strike 2 crashing issue 0n your PC.

FIX 6: Install Pending Windows Update

In some cases, the issue might also be due to your PC running on an older version of the OS. Therefore, it is recommended that you install all the pending updates on your PC so that it is running the latest build. Here’s how it could be done:

1. Bring up the Settings menu via Windows+I shortcut keys.
2. Then select Windows Update from the left-hand side.
   
3. Now download and install all the pending updates.
4. Finally, restart your PC and check out the results.

FIX 7: Reinstall GPU Drivers

You might also face this issue if the drivers or their configuration files get corrupted. In such cases, your best bet is to uninstall those drivers and then reinstall their fresh version from scratch. Here’s how it could be done:

1. Right-click on the Start Menu and select Device Manager.
2. Then expand the Display Adapter section.
3. After that, right-click on your graphics drivers and select Uninstall Device.
   
4. Once done, download the latest version of the Nvidia drivers from its official site.
5. Finally, install it and then restart your PC. Check if it fixes the Counter Strike 2 crashing issue.

FIX 8: Via Powershell Tweak

Launch PowerShell as an administrator and execute the below two commands:

dir “$env:systemroot\system32\driverstore\filerepository\*NvCameraEnable.exe” -rec |% {& “$_” off}
dir “$env:programfiles\nvidia corporation\*NvCameraEnable.exe” -rec |% {& “$_” off}

Now check if it fixes Counter Strike 2 crashing and stuttering issues.

FIX 9: Toggle Hardware GPU Scheduling

Next up, you should consider enabling and then disabling the HAGS/Hardware GPU Scheduling using the below-given instructions and then check out the results. GPU Scheduling allows Windows to offload most graphics-intensive tasks to a dedicated GPU-based scheduling processor (as well as to the VRAM), thereby giving a much-deserved rest to the CPU.

On paper, it should speed up the performance in heavy games and processing tasks. However, its benefit is still debatable by the tech community. On the flip side though, disabling it has infact resolved some streaming-related issues across various platforms. So let’s turn off this feature for the time being and check out the results

1. Bring up the Settings menu via Windows+I shortcut keys.
2. Then select System from the left menu bar and go to Display.
3. After that, click on Graphics > Change Default Graphics Settings.
   
4. Now disable the toggle next to “Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling” and restart your PC.
5. Check if it fixes the Counter Strike 2 crashing issue.

FIX 10: Restart Device Association Service

Device Association Framework Provider Host is a backend service, also known as dashost.exe, and is responsible for pairing both wired and wireless devices on your Windows PC. However, it is also notoriously infamous for exhausting an exorbitant amount of system resources. Therefore, you should stop it and then let it restart with a fresh instance from scratch. Here’s how:

1. Head over to the Start menu, search Services, and open it.
2. Then scroll to Device Association Service, right-click on it, and select Stop.
   
3. If the Stop option is greyed out, then launch Command Prompt as an administrator.
4. Then execute the below command and note down the PID number:

   sc queryex DeviceAssociationService

5. After that, execute the below command, replacing XXXX with the PID number:

   taskkill /pid xxxx /f

   

6. Now unplug your controller and replug it back in (as stopping this service will disable the pairing).
7. Check if it fixes the Counter Strike 2 crashing and stuttering issue.

FIX 11: For AMD Ryzen PCs

If you have an AMD Ryzen PC, then consider enabling the Anti-Lag feature for this game. This has made a difference of day and night when it comes to minimizing the lag during the gameplay. So proceed with the below instructions and implement this fix right away.

1. To begin with launch the Radeon Software app on your PC.
2. Then go to the Games section and click on More Options.
3. Now click on Add a Game, navigate to Counter Strike 2.exe file, and select it.
4. It will now be added to Radeon Software.
5. So select it and enable the toggle next to Radeon Anti Lag.
6. The underlying crashing issue should now be resolved.

That’s it. These were the various methods to fix the crashing and stuttering issues in Counter Strike 2. If you have any queries concerning the aforementioned steps, do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.

• Counter Strike 2 website crashing Galaxy Fold 4: How to Fix
• Gun Jamming in Halo Infinite Season 2: How to Fix
• How to Select the Server of your Choice in Halo Infinite
• Halo Infinite Audio Bug: No Sound from Behind or Sides [Fixed]