Sniper Elite 3 Troubleshooting Guide: Fix Lagging, Poor FPS, Crashing, CTD, sound problem and Game Errors

Sniper Elite 3 is the third installment of Sniper Elite game series developed and released by Rebellion. The first title was launched in 2055 followed by second in 2012 and now Elite 3. Rebellion has really worked hard to make this 3rd installment much better than other games. With improved graphics and enhanced weapons, it makes you stick with your gaming consoles. I was playing Sniper Elite 3 on my PC these days. Well, completed it successfully but as usual, with any high graphical game, you will surely get some problems such as some errors, installation errors, glitch, poor FPS, etc. Even I came across such issues but troubleshooting is all you need.

There is no problem that cannot be fixed, unless and until your system is capable to run the game. Today I am posting here some important troubleshooting steps that may be helpful for you if you are playing Elite 3 on your PC and getting issues. You can follow these steps according to the problem category and enjoy your game as it was meant to be enjoyed. But before that, as I said, your system must meet the requirements mentioned by the developers. It is as follow:

Minimum System Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows Vista 32bit
• CPU: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0GHz OR AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+
• Memory: 2 GB
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 635 OR AMD Radeon R7 240 2GB DDR3
• DirectX: DirectX 11
• HDD Space: 18 GB

Recommended System Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 7 64bit
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz OR AMD Athlon II X3 455
• Memory: 6 GB
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti OR AMD Radeon HD 6790
• DirectX: DirectX 11
• HDD Space: 18 GB

Normally you might be having a good Gaming Rig if you are a gamer and love these types of games, but just to make sure this guide helps you, you must meet at least the minimum system requirements mentioned above. If it is, then let’s move ahead to your problems and their working solutions provided below. Good Luck !!

Sniper Elite 3 not Installing:

With most of the recent games, this is the first problem you may face in where installation starts but crashes or stops in between without completing the installation, and without giving you any error on the screen. If this is your problem, simply try out the following fixes for the same:

• The most common thing that blocks your game’s installation is security software. You should restart the installation after disabling the installed antivirus or any security suite. Note, if you have Norton, then you might need to even uninstall it.
• Apart from Antivirus, usually there is nothing that can block the installation. So, if in case you are still not able to install the game, there might some problem with your game copy itself. Check your DVD for scratches. Clean it with cotton lightly and try again. Also make sure your DVD ROM is working fine.
• If you are trying to install using a Digital Copy (like ISO image), it could be faulty as well. You may need to download it again. I know it could be hectic because these games are huge in size, so before re-downloading better try installing it on some another computer (just for testing) to make sure if your computer itself is not having the problem.

Sniper Elite 3 PC Install Fails Error

Sometimes you may get some error like this during installation. If you also saw this message on your screen, don’t panic. It’s just a small problem with Microsoft C++. What you need to do is uninstall C++ from Add & Remove programs in control panel, Download the latest C++ version from here and install. After installation, restart the system and now install the game. You wont see this error again and hopefully the game will install comfortably.

Application failed to initialize properly Error

This is also very similar problem like above error. If you get an error saying “Application failed to initialize properly” then you just need to download a small stuff, Microsoft Visual Runtime Libraries and install. You can download Microsoft Visual Runtime from here. After installation, it is good to Reboot your PC before starting game installation.

These are the two error i faced while installing my copy of Sniper Elite 2 and fixed it using those methods. If you come across with any other error message, please post here so that i can help you out with its best fix.

Sniper Elite 3 wont Launch or Crashes on launch:

So now as we have successfully installed the game, it is time to come across another problems. When we try to launch the game, it just gives us a blank black screen or simply crashes. I have faced this many other high end games. Unfortunately, there could be several reasons for this, and hence, several workarounds we need to try. Let’s check them one by one.

• The very first thing you need to take is Driver. Make sure you have latest Drivers for your entire System including Graphic Card, Sound driver, etc So, visit your computer’s or hardware’s manufacturer website and download the drivers. Just as a quick help, if you are having nVidia card, you can download the latest Drivers from this page. While AMT / ATI card users can visit this page to get the latest Drivers
• Apart from drivers, as you can see in the system requirements, you need to have the latest DirectX version installed to run this game. Probably your DX might be old. So, visit this DirectX download page get the latest version, save it on your desktop. First uninstall the older DX, reboot your PC, now install the latest one and again Reboot. Now, try running the game. It should work fine.
• Another cause of crash or wont allowing to launch could be the UAC. If you are playing on Windows 7 or Vista, UAC may block the game from launching even though are Administrator. So, it is better to disable UAC every time you play the game. You can do it going to Start Menu > type UAC > Enter. In the opened window slide down the slider and click OK. Now reboot the system and done.
• After all these steps the problem should be fixed but in case you are still not able to launch the game, then instead of launching from desktop shortcut, simply go to its installation folder and double click the respective Sniper Elite 3.exe. Also right click that .exe > click properties > Compatibility Mode tab > check mark the box for ‘Disable Desktop Composition > Reboot.

Low FPS, Lagging and Freezing problems with Sniper Elite 3:

These are indeed very annoying problems with most of the recent games and the main cause behind them is not enough resources. Or improper graphics settings. Here are some steps to fix the same:

• In order to free up resources, you should always kill all unwanted processes running in the background. To do this open task manager > click Process tab and right click > Kill all not required process. It is better to block them from Startup program itself. You can do this by typing MSCONFIG in RUN box > Enter > Startup Tab > uncheck unwanted stuffs > OK. Reboot the computer and see if the game is working good now. Note, don’t block or kill the processes required for your Graphic card and the game.
• Go to your Graphic Card Control Panel and lower the settings by disabling Vsync and Antialiasing. In case the problem exists yet, run the game on triple buffering and V-sync using the D3DOverrider software. Note, do this only if you have done it successfully earlier.
• So far all those lagging, FPS and freezing problems should be gone. And if not, then launch the game and minimize it. Open Task Manager and go to Processes Tab. Here right click the respective Sniper Elite 3 game process > click Select Priority > set it High or RealTime. You should not see the problem any more now.

Black Screen while playing Sniper Elite 3:

Blackscreen may occur because of outdated drivers or some wrong graphic settings. Below steps will help you to get rid of the same.

• As you have already updated Video drivers, better do the same for your Motherboard as well. Always download drivers from official sites only. Also disable all Antiviruses and third party Firewalls.
• If still facing problem then you should lower down the game settings by disabling VSync, anti-aliasing, filtering as well as multi-sampling.
• This could also because of not enough resources. So kill all unwated background process from Task manager > Process Tab
• Most of the Doing all these doesn’t helps. In such case the best solution is to simply Re-install the game. Perform clean install by backing up Save Games, uninstalling the game first, deleting alI its left over files and folders. Then Reboot and install again. This will surely help you get Rid of these issues.
• If you don’t know where to find the Save Games, check this thread for Save Game Location.