Dark Souls 2 Troubleshooting Guide

Dark Souls 2 is based on Dynasty Warriors which is a rpg game. This game gives you some hardcore gaming output if you love action rpg. To run this game you need a good gaming pc. Or else you will not get satisfied with the graphic quality. Being a rpg game it requires a bit extra skills also to understand how it really works. It is a very different genre. This game provides you many potential choices that will surely meet many expectations.

The game is released for consoles and PC. For console you have to worry less about the graphic quality but for pc if something happens then you need proper troubleshooting solutions. You get tons of customization solution in this. If you are facing any issue with the game then you can refer this guide. Also you are welcome to provide any other detail if still the game is not working quiet fine. Even after being having a good system configuration there are chances that the game will lag or freeze in between. At the moment you might feel hopeless for what to do.

So just checkout the things below one by one if this game is not working in your system.

Minimum System Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows XP 32bit
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 Ghz OR AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition
• Memory: 2 GB
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 512MB OR AMD Radeon HD 5870 1024MB
• DirectX: DirectX 9
• HDD Space: 14 GB

Recommended System Requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 7 64bit
• CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz OR AMD APU A8-3870K Quad Core
• Memory: 4 GB
• Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 OR AMD Radeon HD 6870
• DirectX: DirectX 11
• HDD Space: 14GB

It is quiet important that your system requirements but as per above configuration. If you are not having minimum system requirements then the game will not work and it will lag or freeze. There are also chances that the game will not start. It is of no use installing the game if it is unable to meet the hardware requirements. For smooth performance you need a Core i3 system at least with enough ram and good gpu.

Dark Souls 2 Unable to Install:

This is the most common error that many face. It happens that even if you are having a good system but you are not able to install the game. Here are some things that you can try out to get rid of the issue.

1. The first thing you have to see is your security application. If you are having a antivirus or any other security app that can block installation turn it off. You can disable your antivirus for some time and then try setup.
2. Norton Internet Security or any other Norton package is one of the common reason behind this installation failure. You have to disable it from the system tray by right clicking on its icon.
3. If you are installing through a DVD and security applications are not the issue then there are chances that you are having a faulty DVD. You can try DVD cleaner to clean and try to install the game once again.
4. If you had directly downloaded the game in the form of iso file from internet then you have to check the setup integrity. There are chances that the setup is corrupt or damage due to which you are facing the issue. You have to re-download it.

Note: When you are unable to install the games in your system you can try re-installing them back again. But for doing that you have to first remove delete the old installation files. You can do that manually by going in Program files and deleting the game directory. Do the same thing by going in My Documents.

Dark Souls 2 Wont load or Crashes on Startup:

This is a after installation problem. Most of the time the game is properly installed and the come problem with crashing. Sometime the game does not start. It is very common in high end graphic games. We will checkout some fixes below which can help you to deal with the problem.

• You have to check that your system is having the latest drivers in your system. You can being updating your graphic drivers first. You can go on the official website and download the latest video drivers. Install them and then check back. The game will start working. most of the time game crashes due to old drivers. You can download Nvidia Card drivers from here and AMD ATI Card drivers can be found from this link
• If still after that the game is not working then the problem is with DirectX. It is required to start the game. In your system it might be damage or you are using a very old version due to which you are facing the issue. You have to download the latest version which you can find online and install it in your system.
• Sometime the issue is with the operating system. Many of you m light be trying to play the game on Windows XP. Most of this new games does not support Windows XP. You have to upgrade your operating system. The second issue can be with the user account. You have to start the game in admin mode to launch it properly. you can do by right clicking on the icon and choosing run as adminitrator. Also turn off UAC.
  1. For that click on Start > Type UAC in the below search box.
  2. In that drag the slider towards down side and then click on OK
  3. Reboot your pc to apply the effect.
• Another thing you can do is try to launch the game directly from game directory instead of desktop. You can find the game folder in C:\Program Files. Go in that and then double clock on the Dark Souls 2.exe file. This might start the game. If not then just right click on the same .exe file and choose properties. Select Compatibility Mode from there and add a tick on Disable Desktop Composition.
• If the above things does not work then just open Steam. From that you have to select Dark Souls II. Now from your monitor just remove the display cable from the backside and then add it back. This will lock the game screen to window mode. You can then modify the screen resolution as per your need. And if you are playing the game on multi-screen then you can try the below things.

For AMD GPU:

• Click on Catalyst Control Center
• Go in Properties under Digital Flat Panel.
• Add a tick on GPU Scaling.

For Nvidia GPU:

• Go in Nvidia Control Panel
• Then click on Adjust desktop size and position
• There configure Perform scaling on GPU

Dark Souls 2 Crash To Desktop (CTD) during Gameplay:

The above things will be ideal if you are having startup issue. But now we will check bout solution for those who are facing problem with game crashing at the time of playing.

• You have to kill unwanted process from the background from Task Manager. So just hit Ctrl + Alt + Del and go in Process tab. Select things which are not needed and kill them.
• Turning off things which are not required from startup will also help you to fix this crazing issue. For that you have to go in msconfig. Just type that in Start > Run box and then go in Startup. Disable things which are not needed. You can tick on hid Microsoft services and disable all of them. Reboot your pc and check.
• Just for testing disable your antivirus and launch the game. The security application might prevent the launch.
• If still it is crashing then you have to go in your Graphic card control panel. From there you have to turn off dual gpu. You have to set the affinity on one and check back.
• If you have nvidia card in your system then go in Manage 3D settings from Control Panel and enable Threaded Optimization.
• And if you are having AMD graphic card then you have to move Catalyst Control Center.
• Those you are playing the game on Intel 4000 HD Graphic may face issue with particles graphics in the game. You have to run the game in low resolution for that. Because you are not having a dedicated gpu here.
• If you are having some issue with the graphic then you can try using a mod called as GEM2. Just download this and install it in your system. You have to open GeDoSaTo.ini and from there look for entry enablePostprocessing.

Dark Souls II Black Screen Problem:

Black Screen is one of the most common issue that appear in many games. You will hear the audio on the backside and there will nothing on the front. This appear when you have old drivers in your system or when your game app is blocked by a security antivirus. Also it happens if there are few application which are conflicting with the game. There re few things you can test.

• Begin updating the video drivers. You have to download the latest driver from the official site.
• In the game go in video settings and look for Vysnc. Disable it. In the same way turn off anti-aliasing, filtering and multi-sampling. You can lower the settings if you want.
• Some system might not be having hardware to run high end games. You have to reduce the game settings and its resolution for smooth output.
• Turn off your firewall and disable your antivirus for the time being.
• Try to remove applications that you don’t need. You can go in Task Manager > Processes and there you can see list of applications. This are using up your system resources affecting the game output.
• If you are using laptop that has switchable graphics then you have to remove the drivers for integrated graphic. This also fix the issue.

Dark Souls II Lagging, Freezing and Low FPS Problems:

• The more high resolution you had applied for playing the game the more slower it will be. Also you will face poor fps issue. The game might also freeze in between when you are trying to play. Here few things you can do if you think the game is not working fine.
• If the game lag or freeze in between then means the game is not able to use maximum system resources. Either your pc is low on hardware or there is some background app that are using up the ram.
• You can go in the control panel of your graphic card and turn of things like Vsync and Antialiasing to boost fps.
• Also there are few more things you can turn off from that section. You have to go in that and you will need to disable triple buffering and V-sync. You do that using D3DOverrider. This is a more effective way of boosting the fps.

After trying out this things there are chances that you might get a more better screen output. There is one more thing you can do. You can set the cpu affinity for the game exe process. For that launch the game and minimize it. Then simply go in Task Manager > Processes and there you have to right click on the game. Choose cpu affinity and set it single.

Dark Souls II No Sound or Sound Stuttering:

Audio problems are less common in games. But it happens that a few time when you are playing you are not happy with the game audio output. To get rid of those issue try out the following things.

• If there is no sound or if the sound stutters in between you have to update the audio driver of your system. You can find that on the official site of your motherboard manufacture.
• Go on the Microsoft website and download the latest version of DirectX. That will help you more in fixing the issue.
• If still nothing work then just see that Sound Acceleration is low in DirectX. You can instantly modify the settings from tart > Run > dxdiag. Just type this and hit enter and go on Sound Acceleration. Decrease the same.
• If this does not work then you have to go in Control Panel > Hardware and Sounds > Sound > Communications Tab. Just apply Do noting settings here and set to ok. Try back.

Configuration File of Dark Souls II:

You might not able to locate the configuration file of Dark Souls II. But here is the location. You have to type %APPDATA% run box and find a folder named DarkSoulsII to access it. The save game file is also locate in the same place.

Fail to access Intel 4000 HD Graphic : 

For this problem we have to wait back until there is a patch released. It is not going to work because there is no solution yet.

Fixing Mouse lagging on Dark Souls 2:

It is quiet annoying that sometime you play games and the mouse lags in between. You are unable to play the game. I am going to give you solution through which you can resolve the issue.

• Install Autohotkey program from this link.
• Run the program and you can see a text file in the end. You have to delete everything from that.
• Add LButton::H, RButton::G, Esc::ExitApp & Now Play!.

Dark Souls 2 Unable to Save Game on Steam:

Sometime you won’t be able to save the games on Steam. For that there is a tiny fix that can help you to fix the issue.

• Exit the game and the reboot your pc.
• Then launch steam and there you have to select the game. Then choose validate game files.
• You have to provide your steam account login for the same.
• Go in the Library section and there you have to choose Dark Souls II.
• Just right click on the same and then click on Properties.
• And then choose Local File from where you will have to finally click on Verify Integrity of game cache.

Dark Souls 2 Installation Error and Solutions:

Error: “Cannot Install Dark Souls 2 PC”

It is one of the common error that comes in many games. When you try to launch the setup you will get this error. This appear when your system is not able to meet the minimum system requirements. Second issue is that your system is not having updated drivers. And the third thing you have to check is the DirectX Version installed in your system. IF the system config is proper then go ahead with driver update. Also try to remove the installation files first if your setup is not completely and crashed in halfway.

Error: “The Application failed to initialize properly”

If you are getting the above error then just go on the official Microsoft website and install Microsoft Visual Runtime Libraries. This is a tiny update which will help you to boost your system output. Install this and try the setup back.

Error: “Dark Souls 2 PC Install Fails, Cannot Install”

This error appear if there is some issue with Microsoft C++ in your system. If this update is damage or corrupt you will land on this error. For that you have start with cleaning Microsoft C++. Go in Control Panel > > Uninstall Programs > Add and Remove Programs >. In that look for Microsoft C++ and uninstall the same. Then reboot your system. Once done you have to download it from the official website and install it back. This will fix the above error.