How to Fix BioShock Infinite Crashing on Windows?

BioShock Infinite is an innovative first-person shooter video game published by 2K Games. It’s the third installment in the BioShock franchise and it was a massive success. However, some gamers will complain about how the game has constantly crashed for them, preventing them from making any major progress in the game.

The crashing problem can be resolved by many different means and other players have supplied several methods they used to successfully resolve the crashing. Make sure you check it out below and follow the instructions carefully!

What Causes BioShock Infinite to Crash on Windows?

There probably isn’t a game immune to crashing out there. Sometimes the developers are to blame, but more often it’s up to your computer. It doesn’t have to be major, but many different settings can cause unpredictable bugs and behavior, causing the game to crash. Here is the shortlist of the most common things that can cause BioShock Infinite to crash on Windows:

Solution 1: Update or Roll Back the Graphics Card Driver

If the crashes started to occur after you have updated your graphics driver one way or another; a rollback might be good enough until a new, more secure driver is released. You should also update the graphics device you are using to play the game if a new driver is available as new releases often tend to fix crashing issues!

1. First of all, you will need to uninstall the driver you currently have installed on your PC.
2. Type “Device Manager” into the search field next to the Start menu button to open the device manager window. You can also use the Windows Key + R key combination to open the Run dialog box. Type devmgmt.msc in the box and click OK or Enter key.

   

3. Expand the “Display Adapters” section. This will display all display adapters that the computer has installed at the moment.

Update the Driver:

1. Right-click the display adapter you want to uninstall and select “Uninstall device“. This will remove the adapter from the list and uninstall the graphics device.
2. Click “OK” when prompted to uninstall the device.

   

3. Navigate to your graphics card manufacturer’s page to see the list of available drivers for your operating system. Choose the latest one, download it, and run it from the Downloads folder.

   

4. Follow the instructions on-screen to install the driver. Restart the computer and check to see if the problem has disappeared.

Rolling Back the Driver:

1. Right-click the graphics adapter you want to uninstall and select Properties. After the Properties window opens, navigate to the Driver tab and locate the Roll Back Driver option.

   

2. If the option is grayed out, it means that the device wasn’t updated recently as it has no backup files remembering the old driver. This also means that the recent driver update is probably not the cause of your problem.
3. If the option is available to click on, do so and follow the instructions on-screen to proceed with the process. Restart the computer and check to see if the crashing still occurs while playing BioShock Infinite.

Solution 2: Manage the Executable’s Properties

Tweaking certain graphics-related settings in the game’s executable’s properties may resolve the problem for you as it did for many other players. These settings are related to the DirectX version used. However, if you are a Windows 8 user, consider running the executable for an older version of Windows!

1. Locate the game’s installation folder manually by right-clicking the game’s shortcut on Desktop or anywhere else and choose Open file location from the menu.
2. If you have installed the game via Steam, open its shortcut on the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu simply by typing “Steam” after clicking the Start menu button.

   

3. After the Steam client opens, navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window at the menu located at the top of the window, and locate the BioShock Infinite entry in the list.
4. Right-click the game’s icon in the library and choose the Properties option from the context menu which will open and make sure you navigate to the Local Files tab in the Properties window straight away and click the Browse Local Files button.

   

5. Locate the BioShockInfinite.exe file in the Binaries >> Win32 folder. Right-click on it and choose the Properties option from the context menu which will appear.
6. Navigate to the Compatibility tab in the Properties window and check the boxes next to Disable visual themes and Disable desktop composition options before saving the changes by clicking OK or Apply.

   

7. Make sure you confirm any prompts which may appear which should prompt you to confirm the choice with admin privileges and the game should launch with admin privileges from the next startup. Check to see if the game still crashes!

Note: If you are a Windows 8 use, check the Run this program in compatibility mode for box and choose Windows 7 from the dropdown menu which will appear. Check to see if BioShock Infinite still crashes!

Solution 3: Stop Overclocking

The error often appears when users overclock their GPUs or CPUs. Overclocking is a thing where users alter the maximum frequency of the graphics of the central processor to a value which is above the recommended one set by your GPU’s manufacturer. This can give your PC a significant performance and speed advantage when playing video games and improve it in all ways.

Returning your processor’s frequency to its original state depends on which software you used to overclock it in the first place. Stop overlocking your GPU and CPU and check to see if the crashing issue persists.

Solution 4: Disable Steam Overlay

There is something about Steam Overlay which makes games simply want to crash. It’s a weird problem as this overlay is sometimes quite useful but you might want to consider disabling it for this game only as it causes it to crash for some users who have purchased and installed the game through Steam.

1. Open up Steam by double-clicking its entry on the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu. Windows 10 users can also search for it using Cortana or the search bar, both of them next to the Start menu.

   

2. Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window, and locate BioShock Infinite in the list of the games you own in your library.
3. Right-click the game’s entry in the library and choose the Properties option from the context menu which will appear. Stay in the General tab in the Properties window and clear the box next to the “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” entry.

   

4. Apply the changes, exit, and try running the game. Check to see if “BioShockInfinite.exe has stopped working” message appears after launching or during gameplay.

Solution 5: Disable Controlled Folder Access in Windows Defender

Windows Defender is a solid choice for an antivirus considering it comes built into Windows 10. However, there is a certain feature inside which may cause your game to crash. It’s called Controlled folder access and it prevents the game from accessing all folders it needs. Disabling this option resolved the problem for many players so make sure you try it out!

1. However, if you are a Windows 10 user, you should disable Windows Defender if you don’t have any other antivirus installed. Right-click the shield icon in your system tray and click on View Security Dashboard.
2. If you don’t see the icon, you can open the Settings app by clicking the Start menu button and clicking the gear icon just above the Start menu button.

   

3. Click to select the Update & Security section and navigate to the Windows Security tab. From the top of the window, click the Open Windows Defender Security Center option.

   

4. When Windows Defender Security Center opens, click on the shield icon below the home icon, open Virus & threat protection settings and scroll down until you reach the Virus & threat protection settings section. Click the Manage settings button.
5. Scroll down until you reach the Controlled folder access section. Make sure you click the Manage Controlled folder access button. Make sure the slider under Controlled folder access is set to Off. Exit Windows Security.

   

6. This will disable this feature in Defender. Check out if BioShock Infinite still crashes constantly!