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Resident Evil 4 (2023) - General Troubleshooting Guide - Steam

  • Updated

We hope you’re all enjoying or will be enjoying Resident Evil 4 shortly! While we hope all of our fans will have a great time with the game, there will always be some cases here and there where the game may not function correctly under certain environments and / or hardware combinations.

We’ve set up this troubleshooting and feedback thread for you all to share any technical issues you may be having with the game.

Before providing any reports, please ensure you've followed the steps below to rule out problems with your PC, Steam, or the game’s files:

Troubleshooting Guide

  1. Check the game’s system requirements
  2. Add the game’s folder and files to your anti-virus program’s exception / exclusion list
  3. Give administrator privileges to Steam and the game
  4. Update your Video/Graphics Drivers and Windows Operating System
  5. Check your graphics driver settings & computer power settings
  6. Update DirectX
  7. Update your Windows Media Player codecs
  8. Verify the game’s cache in Steam
  9. If you are experiencing issues with game stability, please confirm that there are no other applications running at the same time
  10. If you are experiencing issues with the game display, please check your display settings.
  11. If the frame rate of the game is unstable, please follow the steps below to lower your settings and improve stability
  12. To enable the touch pad/motion sensor functions of the DualSense™ wireless controller or DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller, please follow the steps below
  13. Still having trouble?

1. Check the game’s system requirements

Please make sure you meet the minimum requirements for the game, outlined on the bottom of the Steam Store page; if you do not meet the minimum requirements for the game, this may result in poor framerate, or the game not running.

If you do meet the minimum specifications but not the recommended specifications, you may want to try turning down the graphics settings, if you haven't already. Please note that most graphical settings changes require the game to be restarted in order for the changes to take effect.

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 laptop with a dual GPU dedicated graphics card and integrated graphics processor, 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.

If you’re using a multi-GPU setup such as NVIDIA’s SLI or AMD’s Crossfire technologies, we recommend experimenting with disabling these settings, as they may cause compatibility issues with the game.

Capcom does not warrant nor officially provide technical support for PCs that do not meet the official, minimum system requirements.

2. Add the game’s folder and files to your anti-virus program’s exception / exclusion 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.

Note: To quickly access the following folders, press Windows Key + R then copy and paste the folder URL below.

re4.exe Default Location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\RESIDENT EVIL 4 BIOHAZARD RE4

Steam.exe Default Location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam

Steam AppData Default 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:

  1. Windows Defender
  2. Microsoft Security Essentials
  3. Malwarebytes
  4. Avast Antivirus
  5. AVG Antivirus
  6. Kaspersky Anti-Virus
  7. Webroot SecureAnywhere
  8. McAfee Antivirus (Steam Support guide)
  9. Bitdefender*

*Please note for Bitdefender, you will need to also add the game’s .exe file to the program’s Whitelist. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Open Bitdefender
  2. Go to the Protection tab
  3. Click “View Feature”
  4. Click the gear icon inside the “Advanced Thread Defense” box
  5. Select “Add applications to the whitelist”
  6. Browse and navigate to the .exe file
  7. 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.

Additionally, please ensure that Windows Update has been run and that all the latest updates have been installed on your operating 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.

  1. Run DDU and uninstall old video driver.
  2. Install the latest OEM video card driver and reboot your PC.
  3. Run the latest DirectX installer package and reboot your PC.

IMPORTANT! Please don't forget to reboot Windows upon completing a video driver installation. This will help reinitialize the driver and the graphics card using the new driver.

5. Check your graphics driver settings & computer power settings

To reiterate, some high end integrated graphics chips and modern laptop class discrete 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 + 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:

  1. Install the latest Intel integrated drivers
  2. Reboot your PC
  3. Open Nvidia Control Panel
  4. Click 'Manage 3D Settings'
  5. Go to 'Program Settings' and then select the game (if it is not in the list you can add it manually by clicking 'Add')
  6. Scroll down to 'Power Management Mode'
  7. Set it to 'Prefer Maximum Performance' / ‘High Performance Processor’ instead of 'Adaptive'
  8. Close Nvidia Control Panel and launch the game

If using a dual AMD “Switchable Graphics” GPU, follow these steps:

  1. Open AMD Catalyst Control Center
  2. 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')
  3. Click ‘Apply’
  4. Close AMD Catalyst Control Center and launch the game

Additionally, double-check your desktop / laptop’s power settings by performing the following:

  1. If using a laptop, ensure the charger is connected
  2. Open Control Panel
  3. Select Power Options
  4. Select “Change Plan Settings”
  5. Select “Change advanced power settings”
  6. From within the dropdown menu, select “High performance” and click ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’
  7. Launch the game

6. Update DirectX

We recommend downloading and running the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer to ensure DirectX is fully up to date.

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/en-us/topic/media-feature-pack-list-for-windows-n-editions-c1c6fffa-d052-8338-7a79-a4bb980a700a

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 (reposted 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:

  1. Restart your computer.
  2. Rename (or delete) the folder "RESIDENT EVIL 4 BIOHAZARD RE4 " in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common (default).
  3. Launch Steam.
  4. From the “Library” section, right-click on the game and select “Properties” from the menu.
  5. Select the “Local files” tab and click the “Verify integrity of game files...” button.
  6. Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes.
  7. 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.

This process allows the Steam client to scan every single file you downloaded for this game, verify checksum of each, and compare that against the file manifest data on Steam's content server. If the file is missing or has a different checksum value, you will receive a message stating "X files failed to validate and will be reacquired." What this means is that some files have either been deleted, or may have been corrupted. Click “Close,” and Steam will automatically download and / or replace the problematic files.

9. If you are experiencing issues with game stability, please confirm that there are no other applications running at the same time.

Powerful software like video recording applications can compromise the game's performance and stability by using a lot of CPU, GPU, memory, or I/O bandwidth.
If the game is suffering from performance issues, please close as many applications as possible while playing.

10. If you are experiencing issues with the game display, please check your display settings.

Go to the Graphics tab in the Options menu and adjust the Vertical Synchronization or Refresh Rate settings if you experience problems like flickering or blank screens.
Display issues may also be solved by adjusting your monitor settings. Please read your monitor's manual for more information.

11. If the frame rate of the game is unstable, please follow the steps below to lower your settings and improve stability.

  1. Confirm the game is closed
  2. Right-click "Resident Evil 4" in the Steam Library and open "Properties"
  3. Select "Browse Local Files..." in the Local Files tab
  4. Rename local_config.ini to local_config_backup.ini
  5. After copying local_config_default.ini, rename the copied file to local_config.ini
  6. Click "Play" from the Steam client to start the game

12. To enable the touch pad/motion sensor functions of the DualSense™ wireless controller or DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller, please follow the steps below.

  1. Launch Big Picture Mode
  2. Select "Controller" in the Settings menu
  3. Set Enable Steam Input for PlayStation controllers to "Off"
  4. Close Big Picture Mode (For details on how to open Big Picture Mode, please go to the Steam Support page: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/3725-76D3-3F31-FB63)

13. Still having trouble?

If you still experience visual / audio-related issues or crashes, please provide the detailed information below

A) Your System Specs

  1.  CPU name & model
  2. Name / model of the desktop or laptop (if available)
  3. Graphics card / chip model and the amount of VRAM
  4. Video driver version number
  5. System memory size
  6. OS version (Windows 10, 11, etc. Please make special note in your specs if you are running Windows "N" and "K" editions that do not come with Windows Media Player.)
  7. Anti-virus software name and version
  8. Your monitor and/or HDTV model number (if using multiple displays, please provide all make and model numbers)
  9. HDMI cable brand and model number (if available). Please confirm whether your HDMI cable is certified or compatible with 4K and HDR.
  10. Your region (continent and/or country)

A good deal of this information, such as the graphics card model and VRAM, is available by running a DxDiag report. Please feel free to include these results when providing a report.

 

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."
  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.

 

B) Your Graphics Settings

Your graphics settings for the game can be found in the local_config.ini file, located in the game’s installation folder. Open the file using a word processor such as Notepad or WordPad and copy and paste the text found inside.

 

C) Give as many details about your issue as possible

Please share your specific issue and the location(s) where you’re experiencing the issues – for example, if you’re having problems with the framerate, is it happening constantly, or is it during certain modes, during gameplay, etc.? The following information can greatly help as well:

  • Have you confirmed you’ve met at least the minimum system requirements for the game (See Step 1 in the Troubleshooting Guide)?
  • Where and when did the issue occur?
  • What were the character(s) doing when this issue occurred?
  • Did the issue resolve itself when you rebooted the game?
  • Please also attach any screenshots or video of your issue. For video, please upload to YouTube as an unlisted video and share the link with us.

D) Detailed reproduction steps, if consistently reproducible

The more detailed info you can provide, the quicker the error can be attempted to be reproduced and investigated.

 

E) If you experience a crash and have a crash report, please include that information.

When the game crashes, a folder titled "CrashReport" will be created in the following directory by default: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\RESIDENT EVIL 4 BIOHAZARD RE4

In most cases, a crash report will be saved in this folder. Please provide all of the .zip files found within. If that's not possible, please send the file most recent to the time when the issue in question occurred.

Thank you for your support!

 

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Last update: 2026/07/20