6 Verified Solutions for ‘Dota 2 Crashing and not Working’ Errors

DOTA 2 is one of the most famous multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games for the PC platform and its popularity has almost overcome its greatest rival League of Legends. However, some people are now unable to play this popular game because of constant crashes which occur at random points during the game.

Here are some similar errors which can be caused by similar things and solved by similar methods as the ones displayed in this article:

Dota 2 Crashes, Freezes, Errors and Disappearance

• If you are running Dota 2 and it starts to Crash Mid Game or if it Freezes the Computer or the Game or if it has stopped responding or it dota 2 crashes without an error then this guide will help you fix it.

Some methods which can be used to solve the problem are easier than others whereas others are more effective. Either way, we have focused only on methods which are confirmed to be working by DOTA players, ignoring the basic tips and methods suggested by developers. Good luck in solving your problem!

Solution 1: Set the Affinity in Task Manager

Sometimes the problem occurs on multi-core CPUs containing 4 or more cores but the game appears to be fully optimized to be used on one or two cores. Don’t consider this as a thing which will diminish your performance as the game is optimized to be running on two cores. This can be tweaked in Task Manager.

1. Open your Steam client by double-clicking its icon from the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu or the search bar to the right.

2. Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window, and locate DOTA 2 in the list of the games you own in your library.
3. Right-click on the game and choose the Play Game option. After the game opens, use the Alt + Tab key combination to exit back to desktop.

4. Use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination in order to bring up the Task Manager. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + Alt + Del key combo and select Task Manager from the blue full screen which opens. You can also search for it in the Start menu.

5. Click on More details in order to expand Task Manager and search for the dota.exe process or simply a process called DOTA 2. Right-click on this entry and choose the Go to details option from the context menu.
6. Select the process in the Details menu, right-click on it again, and click the Set affinity option.

7. Try to cut the number of usable cores by half. For example, if you are using an octa-core processor, you should try and select only the first four cores, and so on.
8. Exit the game and start it again to see if the crashes are still occurring.

Solution 2: Uninstall Visual C++ Package and Install the Latest Version

This is one of the most unknown methods which can be used to solve the DOTA 2 crashing problem as the basic methods take over its place. This method is quite useful and plenty of users were able to get rid of the crashes after updating the Visual C++ Redistributable Package.

1. Click the Start menu button and open Control Panel by searching for right there. Also, you can click on the gear-shaped icon in order to open the Settings app if your OS is Windows 10
2. In Control Panel, switch the View as option to Category at the top right corner and click on Uninstall a Program under the Programs section at the bottom of the Control panel window.

3. If you are using the Settings app on Windows 10, just clicking on Apps should immediately open a list of all installed programs on your PC.
4. Locate Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Package in Control Panel or Settings and click on Uninstall after clicking it once. You might notice that there are several different versions of the utility. You will need to make note of them and repeat the uninstalling process for each one of them.
5. You may need to confirm some dialog boxes and follow the instructions which will appear along with the uninstallation wizard.

6. Click Finish when the uninstaller finishes with the process and repeat the uninstalling process for all versions of the Visual C++ Package. Now, you will need to reinstall Visual C++ by locating it here. Select the version you want to download and choose the download according to your processor (32-bit or 64-bit).

7. Locate the file you just downloaded in the Windows folder, run it, and follow the instructions on-screen in order to install the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable Package. Repeat the same process for all versions you previously uninstalled and check to see if DOTA 2 still crashes.

Solution 3: Reset Hotkeys

Resetting hotkeys might be tough for people who are already used to their new setup of keys but sometimes it’s absolutely necessary, especially if you have tried other methods and they have failed.

1. Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window, and locate DOTA 2 in the list of the games you own in your library.
2. Right-click on the game and choose the Play Game option. Click the gear-like icon from the home screen which should open the game settings.

3. Stay in the Hotkeys tab and try to locate the Reset Hotkeys option at the lower left corner of the screen. Confirm your choice and restart the game by exiting it.

Solution 4: Update BIOS

Yes, outdated BIOS can cause constant crashes. New BIOS firmware updates bring new memory management settings and other options which can optimize gaming better for new games. People who have never updated BIOS might struggle with this problem without realizing that updating BIOS can be very easy!

1. Find out the current version of BIOS utility you have installed on your computer by typing “msinfo” in the Search bar or the Start menu.
2. Locate the BIOS version data just under your Processor model and copy or rewrite anything to a text file on your computer or a piece of paper.

3. Prepare your computer for the BIOS update. If it’s your laptop you are updating the BIOS for, make sure its battery is fully charged and plug it in the wall just in case.
4. If you are updating a PC, it’s advisable to use an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) to make sure your computer doesn’t shut down during the update because of a power outage.
5. Follow the instructions we prepared for various desktop and laptop manufacturers such as Lenovo, Gateway, HP, Dell, and MSI.

Solution 5: Create a New Windows User Account

Corrupt user accounts on Windows can make the game unplayable because of various permission and ownership issues. Users who have had DOTA 2 crash constantly on their computer tried creating a test account to see what happens and crashes were nowhere to occur.

Windows 10 Users:

1. Open Settings on Windows 10 by clicking on the gear icon which can be found above the power button.

2. Open the Accounts option in Settings and click on Family & other people. Click the Add someone else to this PC button located there and for everything to load properly.
3. If you plan on using another Microsoft email to sign in, you can enter it under Email or phone and proceed by setting up the password and other stuff.
4. If you want to use a regular account not related to a Microsoft account, click on “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” and then “Add a user without a Microsoft account”. Now you can setup security options.

5. If you want this account to be password-protected, you can add a character password, a password hint, and proceed by clicking Next.
6. Click the Finish button in order to finish creating a new account. Login via this account by either restarting your computer or by clicking the Start menu >> Account icon >> Sign out. Check to see if DOTA 2 still crashes.

Older Versions of Windows:

1. Click on the Start menu button or the search bar next to it and open Control Panel by searching for it or by running it in the dialog box. In Control Panel, switch the “View as:” option to Category and click on User Accounts.

2. Click on User Accounts again and click the Manage another account button with the administrator shield next to it.
3. In the Manage accounts window, click on Create a new account, type in the New account’s name in the respective window, and choose the Administrator radio button as you probably want to have admin permissions on the new account if you plan on switching to it.

4. You should see the Create Account button when you have finished setting up all needed settings so click on it and you should see it in the list of account in the Manage Accounts window. Log off Windows and try logging into your new account to see if the problem with DOTA 2 is gone.

Solution 6: Uninstall the Vulkan DLC

Vulkan is an API for graphics card which can support it and it can improve the performance of certain NVIDIA graphics cards. However, for some users it was a nightmare as the DOTA 2 game crashed constantly. It was released as a DLC for DOTA 2 and it can be uninstalled and removed easily to fix your game.

1. Open your Steam client by double-clicking its icon from the Desktop or by searching for it in the Start menu or the search bar to the right.

2. Navigate to the Library tab in the Steam window, and locate DOTA 2 in the list of the games you own in your library. Right-click on the game and choose View Downloadable Content.
3. Remove the Tick next to the Dota 2 – Vulkan support entry and click the Close buton. The DLC won’t load in the future with the game and it will be uninstalled as soon as possible.