The Need for Speed Unbound is not launching or is crashing at startup for numerous users. Many gamers reported continuous crashing of the game. So if you are one such gamer who is not able to play Need for Speed Unbound, then go through the article to find the solutions.
Why does Need for Speed Unbound keep crashing on PC?
More often than not, a game crashes on the system if the Graphics drivers are outdated or if the computer doesn’t meet the system requirements needed for the game. Aside from this, some other things can also trigger the issue, such as Firewall and antivirus, corrupted shader cache, and game files.
Fix NFS: Unbound Not launching and Crashing at startup
If Need for Speed: Unbound is not launching or crashing at startup on your Widows PC, execute the solutions mentioned below:
- Verify the integrity of game files
- Delete the DX12 file
- Allow the game through the firewall and antivirus
- Update the Graphics Driver
- Disable Overlays
- Run the game on a dedicated Graphics card
- Perform a clean boot
Let’s get started.
1] Verify the integrity of game files
Due to sudden crashes or power failures, the game files may get corrupted or missing and later on give a hard time to gamers. Verifying the integrity of game files using Steam’s feature deals with this problem and replaces the files with new ones. Here’s how to do it:
- Launch Steam and navigate to the LIBRARY.
- Right-click on Need for Speed: Unbound and click on Properties.
- Under the LOCAL FILES, click on VERIFY THE INTEGRITY OF THE GAME.
Wait until the process is complete. Once done, relaunch Steam and open NFS: Unbound. Check if the game continues to crash or not.
2] Delete the DX12 files
A lot of time, shader cache files content gets corrupted and causes such types of reactions in games. As a result, we are going to delete the DX12 files to launch the game again. Here’s how:
- Launch the game installation folder and the path is:
EA play: C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts
Origin Games: C:\Program Files (x86)\Origin Games - Search and open the Shader cache folder.
- Copy “0.Generic.PcDx12” and paste it to a different location. Once done, delete it.
- Now, open the document folder, go to Need for speed (TM) unbound, and then Cache folder.
- Again create the backup of the DX12 file, and then delete it.
After this process, launch NFS: Unbound, and hopefully, there will be no further issues in launching the game.
3] Allow the game through the firewall and antivirus
One of the known culprits that interfere with the game’s launch and cause the freezing issue is Windows Firewall. Therefore, we are going to allow NFS: Unbound from the Windows Firewall. Aside from this, we can also temporarily disable any third-party antivirus program installed on the PC so that there will be no interference. To allow the game, follow the steps prescribed below.
- First open the Windows Defender Security Center and select Firewall and Network Protection.
- Now, click on “Allow an app through firewall”.
- Click on the “Change Settings” button and make sure that this has administrative privileges. From the menu Select NFS: Unbound and then select both the networks: Private as well as Public network and at last click the Ok button to save the changes.
After making the changes, launch the game and see if the issue is resolved.
4] Update the Graphics Driver
Before moving further down the list, keep a tab on the Graphics Driver status. Games like Need For Speed demand a good updated Graphics driver, otherwise, the game will crash, or not launch on the PC. So if the game is plagued with such kind of issues, update the Graphics driver instantly, and then launch the game.
5] Disable Overlays
The in-game overlay feature can be one of the reasons that the game keeps on crashing on the PC. So, try disabling the in-game overlay and then see if the problem is fixed or not. To do the same:
FOR STEAM
Open Steam and go to the Settings option. Now, click on the In-game option and uncheck the box of Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game. At last, select the OK button to save the changes.
For Discord
- Open Discord, and then click on the Settings option.
- Now, in the App Settings: click on the Overlay option.
- Finally, untick the box next to Enable in-game overlay to disable Discord Overlay.
For Origin
Launch Origin, and go to the Next menu. Now, select the More option, click on Origin in-game option, and switch it off. After that, launch NFS: Unbound and hopefully, there won’t be any issue in doing it.
6] Run the game on a directed Graphics Card
In case there are two graphics cards on the system, try running the NFS game on a dedicated GPU card. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, here is how you can do that:
- Right-click on the desktop and select the NVIDIA Control Panel option.
- Now, navigate to 3D settings > Manage 3D settings option from the left pane.
- Navigate to the Program Settings tab and tap on the Add button.
- After that, select NFS: Unbound game and click on the Add Select Program button.
- Then, set the Preferred Graphics processor to High-performance NVIDIA processor.
- Finally, press the Apply button to save changes.
Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
7] Perform a clean boot
If none of the above-mentioned solutions works, then go for performing a Clean Boot. It is a simple technique that can get rid of the problems hindering the game’s processes. Doing so starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and non-essential applications that helps in identifying the problematic application.
Read: There is a problem with your game’s setup: NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered
Why can’t I start NFS Unbound?
The reason behind this issue is corrupted shader cache files, that due to some unknown reason, get corrupted, and then prevent users from opening the game. In such scenarios, we recommend deleting the files, and to do the same, follow the steps mentioned above.
Also Rread: Need for Speed Heat keeps crashing or freezing on Windows PC.
