While we really do hope everyone will be able to enjoy Resident Evil 2 on PC / Steam, there are always cases where the game may not launch or run correctly under certain software environments, hardware combinations, or otherwise.
Please follow these steps to resolve your issue:
1. Check the game’s system requirements
Please make sure you meet the minimum requirements for the game, outlined here; if you do not meet the minimum requirements for the game, this may result in poor framerate, or the game not running.
Please note that some high end integrated graphics chips and modern laptop integrated GPUs may work, but have not been tested, nor are they officially supported by Capcom. If you’re using a multi-GPU setup such as NVIDIA’s SLI or ATI’s Crossfire technologies, we recommend experimenting with disabling these settings, as they may cause compatibility issues with the game.
If you are using a laptop with a dedicated graphics card, we recommend disabling your integrated graphics via the BIOS settings prior to launching the game. For more information on accessing your BIOS, please see your laptop/motherboard manufacturer manual.
Capcom USA does not warrant nor officially provide technical support for PCs that do not meet the official, minimum system requirements.
2. Add the game’s files and folders to your anti-virus software’s exception list
Some launching issues may be attributed to certain Anti-Virus software preventing the game executable from launching due to a false-positive error. We recommend users add all of the following files and folders to the Anti-virus and Firewall exclusion list to prevent this issue. If these files and folders were already added previously, try removing them from the exclusion list and re-adding them.
To quickly access the following folders, press Windows Key + R then copy and paste the folder URL below.
game.exe Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\RESIDENT EVIL 2 BIOHAZARD RE2
Steam.exe Location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam
Steam AppData Location: C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Steam
For a guide on adding exceptions to your anti-virus software, please visit one of the following links:
*Please note that for Bitdefender, you will need to also add the .exe file to the program’s Whitelist. To do this, do the following:
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Open Bitdefender
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Go to the Protection tab
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Click “View Feature”
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Click the gear icon inside the “Advanced Thread Defense” box
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Select “Add applications to the whitelist”
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Browse and navigate to the game's .exe file
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Once the .exe file is added, close Bitdefender and relaunch the game
3. Give Administrator Privileges to Steam and the game
Some users can get the game running properly by running Steam.exe in administrator mode. This can be done by right-clicking on the .exe file and selecting “Run as administrator.” If that doesn’t work, try running the game’s .exe file in administrator mode as well.
4. Update your Video/Graphics Drivers and Windows Operating System
Try updating your video card drivers, as oftentimes outdated drivers can cause a variety of issues ranging anywhere from in-game graphical problems, to the game not starting, and more.
For the latest Nvidia drivers, click here.
For the latest AMD drivers, click here.
Additionally, please ensure that Windows Update has been run from the Control Panel and that all the latest updates have been installed on your system.
If you still experience issues, you may want to try performing a clean installation of the video driver set. This will remove any extraneous driver DLL files or game profiles that existed with the previous driver installation.
To do a clean video driver install, many enthusiasts use a third-party program called Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU), which completely removes components that were part of the original driver installation package.
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Run DDU and uninstall old video driver.
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Install the latest OEM video card driver and reboot your PC.
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Run the latest DirectX installer package and reboot your PC.
5. Check your graphics driver settings & computer power settings
To reiterate, some high end integrated graphics chips and modern laptop class integrated GPUs may work, but have not been tested, nor are they officially supported by Capcom. Laptops with dual GPUs, such as an Intel Integrated Graphics Processor and Nvidia Dedicated Graphics Card, may need additional configuration in the event the integrated processor is overriding the dedicated graphics drivers.
If using a dual Nvidia / Intel GPU, follow these steps:
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Install the latest Intel integrated drivers
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Reboot your PC
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Open Nvidia Control Panel
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Click 'Manage 3D Settings'
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Go to 'Program Settings' and then select the game (if it is not in the list you can add it manually by clicking 'Add')
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Scroll down to 'Power Management Mode'
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Set it to 'Prefer Maximum Performance' / ‘High Performance Processor’ instead of 'Adaptive'
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Close Nvidia Control Panel and launch the game
If using a dual AMD “Switchable Graphics” GPU, follow these steps:
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Open AMD Catalyst Control Center
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Under “Switchable Graphics”, select the High Performance section and select the game (if it is not in the list you can add it manually by clicking 'Browse')
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Click ‘Apply’
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Close AMD Catalyst Control Center and launch the game
Additionally, double-check your desktop / laptop’s power settings by performing the following:
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If using a laptop, ensure the charger is connected
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Open Control Panel
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Select Power Options
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Select “Change Plan Settings”
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Select “Change advanced power settings”
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From within the drop-down menu, select “High performance” and click ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’
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Launch the game
6. Update DirectX
Double check that DirectX has been fully updated by running the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer.
7. Update your Windows Media Player codecs
Certain cutscene segments use video playback which relies on Windows' default Media Player codec.
If you're experiencing video playback issues during cutscenes, please try installing Microsoft's Media Feature Pack from the link below. Certain Windows editions, particularly in EU territories and Korea, may not have Windows Media Player and its codec preinstalled.
Windows 8 or newer:https://support.microsoft.com/ja-jp/help/3145500/media-feature-pack-list-for-windows-n-editions
Windows 7 series: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=16546
If you have separately installed another codec, there may be compatibility issues with certain video codec which may cause video corruption issues during gameplay. If you're using a different codec besides Media Feature Pack, please ensure the codec is configured so it does not run under Media Foundation.
8. Verify the game’s cache in Steam
Try verifying the game's cache in Steam. You can do so by following the steps outlined in this Steam support article (re-posted below). This may find missing or damaged files that need to be repaired, even if you've just installed the game. You may also try temporarily disabling your anti-virus while verifying the cache or launching the game, as on occasion anti-virus programs may flag games or the files necessary to play them as a virus.
To verify the game’s cache, follow these steps:
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Restart your computer and launch Steam
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From the “Library” section, right-click on the game and select “Properties” from the menu.
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Select the “Local files” tab and click the “Verify integrity of game files...” button.
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Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes.
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Important: One or more files may fail to verify. This is normal for most Steam games. The files that fail to verify are local configuration files that should not be replaced as part of this process. You can safely ignore this message.
Still having trouble?
If you continue to run into issues with the game, providing a DxDiag report (steps outlined below), your re2_config.ini file, and your display setup specifications along with your region / location to your appropriate regional support team can help us look further into the issue.
To create a DxDiag report:
1.) Open a "Run" dialog in Windows. This can either be done by typing "run" into Start Search, or by holding the Windows key and pressing "R." (Either method works in Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, and 10.)
2.) Type "dxdiag" (with or without quotes) into the box that comes up.
3.) From the DirectX Diagnostic Tool window, wait for the tool to gather the information it needs, then click "Save All Information..." which will ask you to save a text file, named "DxDiag.txt" by default. Save this file somewhere where it will be easy to find, then attach it in your response.
To find the re2_config.ini file:
1.) Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\RESIDENT EVIL 2 BIOHAZARD RE2
2.) Find the re2_config.ini file
3.) Upload both the DxDiag file and re2_config.ini files to a free cloud storage service such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive and share a link to the file with us in your response
4.) Please also provide your region / location
Please also provide the following display setup specifications:
1). Monitor and/or HDTV model number (if using multiple displays, please provide all make and model numbers)
2). HDMI cable brand and model number (if available). Please confirm whether your HDMI cable is certified or compatible with 4K and HDR.