How to troubleshoot FIFA 20 crashing on Windows 10?

FIFA 20 has come a long way from the first release of this soccer title by EA. It is the most popular football game played on PCs (and even gaming consoles), but the current application leaves a lot to be desired. You are hardly the only gamer who has been experiencing issues with the recently released FIFA 20.

What if FIFA 20 is freezing?

To be fair, FIFA 20 is a relatively new game, so we are hardly surprised that the program code on PC is ridden with bugs and inconsistencies that result in various issues for users. Some gamers reported that FIFA 20 crashes at launch on their computer, while others stated that the application freezes after a few minutes of gameplay.

We believe the vast majority of the crashes (or issues where the game application fails to stay up for long) are due to no fault of users. Nevertheless, it still makes sense for you to try to compensate for the variables or conditions that give rise to the problems.

For one, you can begin by checking and confirming that your PC specs meet or better the minimum system requirements for FIFA 20.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR FIFA 20

• Operating System: 64-bit Windows 7/8.1/10
• Processor (AMD): Phenom II X4 965 or Equivalent
• Processor (Intel): i3-2100 or Equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB
• Graphics card (AMD): Radeon HD 7850 or Equivalent
• Graphics card (NVIDIA): GeForce GTX 660 or Equivalent
• Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
• Hard-drive space: 50 GB

The recommended requirements list generally serves a better purpose, though, so you might want to go through the specs there.

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR FIFA 20

• Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor (AMD): FX 8150 or Equivalent
• Processor (Intel): i5-3550 or Equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB
• Graphics card (AMD): Radeon R9 270X or Equivalent
• Graphics card (NVIDIA): GeForce GTX 670 or Equivalent
• Online Connection Requirements: Broadband Connection
• Hard-drive space: 50 GB

If you do not know your computer specs, then you can follow the instructions below to see the details that matter:

• Press the Windows logo button on your PC’s keyboard to see the Windows Start menu screen utilities and options (or click on the Windows icon on your device’s screen for the same result).
• Input Dxdiag into the text box (that appears the moment you begin to type). Hit the Enter button on your machine’s keyboard to run that command.

It might take a while, but Windows will eventually bring up the DirectX Diagnostic window.

• Go through the fields and their respective values on the System tab.
• You must then click on the Display tab. Take note of the details there too.

You can access further information on your computer specifications in certain menus in the Settings application. For example, you can check the Display menu to see your screen resolution (or the setting in use) or the Storage menu to learn how much free space is available on your system disk.

If you somehow figure out that your computer specifications do not match the minimum system requirements, then you might have to upgrade its components – if you ever hope to play FIFA 20 without issues. Nevertheless, you should still benefit from applying some of the fixes in this guide to improve things.

If you already know that your PC specs match or even better the recommended system requirements for the game, then you might be wondering why the FIFA 20 freezes or goes down with crashes at all on your computer. Well, you have to understand the program code was not specifically designed or optimized for a single computer model (yours, for example). In other words, inconsistencies or shortcomings due to variations in components are always going to come into play.

What you can (and should) do, however, is configure your computer to provide the best environment or platform for FIFA 20 to run and apply certain fixes to reduce the variables or events that lead to crashes in the Windows operating system environment. We will now move on to show you how to fix the FIFA 20 crashing to desktop issue and related problems in similar cases.

How to fix FIFA 20 crashing on PC (Windows 10)

For efficiency purposes, you might want to go through the solutions below in the order they have been listed.

1. Reinstall your drivers:

The drivers on any computer are the programs that manage or control the interactions or operations involving the physical hardware components (graphics cards, for example) and the software (applications or Windows itself). When it comes to games, your graphics card driver on your PC plays an important role in the displaying of images and rendering of videos. Since the FIFA 20 application is freezing, crashing, or struggling to stay up for long on your system, there is a good chance your graphics card driver is malfunctioning or has become damaged.
We want you to try to fix the problem with your drivers by reinstalling their software. The reinstallation (uninstallation and installation) operation is made up of processes that force certain changes in code to eliminate inconsistencies affecting the driver. The reinstallation procedure for a driver is also relatively easy to carry out.

Follow these instructions:

• Press (and hold) the Windows logo button on your machine’s keyboard and then hit the letter X key to fire up the Power User menu list of utilities and options.
• Click on Device Manager to launch this program.
• After the Device Manager window gets brought up, you have to check the categories to find the one housing the device driver you intend to reinstall.

For example, to access your graphics card device, you have to check for Display Adapters and then double-click on the expansion icon for this category.

• Assuming the device driver is now visible, you have to right-click on it to see its context menu and then choose the Properties option.

The Properties window for the selected device driver will be brought up now.

• Click on the Driver tab. Once you are there, you have to click on the Uninstall button (close to the bottom of the window).
• If your system brings up a window or dialog to get some form of confirmation for the driver uninstallation operation, you have to click on the Yes or Uninstall button there to affirm things.

Windows is now supposed to remove the driver.

• Now, you must go back to the Device Manager window and perform the same uninstallation task on the other drivers, especially those you suspect to be malfunctioning or damaged. Your audio or sound device driver, for example, is another driver you might want to reinstall to fix problems with it.
• Anyway, at this point, assuming you are done uninstalling all the bad or problematic drivers, you have to close the Device Manager application and then restart your computer.
• After the recommended reboot, Windows will settle down and notice that your computer is missing some drivers. Your system will subsequently act to install the needed drivers without much input from you.
• Once everything is done, you have to open FIFA 20 and try to play your football game. Try to test things in all the ways you can to confirm that the application now runs without issues and stays up without freezing or crashing.

  2. Roll back or update your drivers:

If the reinstallation operation for your drivers that we proposed earlier fails to bring the changes needed to eliminate the issues with the drivers, then you have to introduce significantly different code by rolling back the drivers (to bring back the old driver versions) or installing updates (to get new versions of the same drivers). Consider a scenario where your computer installed the latest version of an important driver but the new driver build proved to be unstable or ridden with bugs. In that case, you will be able to make things right by getting your computer to run the old driver.

We will walk you through the full steps for the driver rollback operation because the procedure is easier than the next one. These are the instructions you must follow to roll back a driver in Windows 10:

• Here too, you have to open the Device Manager program. You can do it this way:

Use the Windows logo button + letter R keyboard shortcut to bring up the Run application window, fill the text box there with devmgmt.msc, and then get Windows to run the code by clicking on OK (or hitting Enter).

• Once the Device Manager window comes up, you must identify the category housing the device whose software you seek to roll back. Click on the expansion icon for the appropriate category to see its contents.

If you want to see your GPU drivers, for example, then you have to click on the expansion icon for Display Adapters.

• Assuming the required device is now visible, you have to double-click on it.

Windows will bring up the Properties window for the device driver in view.

• Click on the Driver tab to go there. Click on the Roll Back Driver button to proceed.

If the Roll Back button appears to be grayed out (or if it is missing) – which points to you being unable to use it – then it means your computer cannot find or access the old driver software. In that case, you have to skip the steps below and move to the update procedure directly.

• If the Driver Package rollback window comes up, you might have to indicate the reason or problem due to which you want to bring back the old driver.
• You are free to choose any option you like. What you go with here does not matter.
• You might also have to affirm things by clicking on the Roll Back or Yes button on a prompt or dialog.
• Once you are done making the necessary selections and confirmations, you will have to wait for your computer to make the requested changes.

After the first driver rollback operation is complete, you have to return to the Device Manager window and perform the same task on the other device drivers.

Ideally, you must try to roll back the drivers for the devices you suspect are in a bad state.

• At this point, assuming you are done with all the driver rollback operations, you have to restart your PC to allow Windows to take note of the relevant changes that occurred.
• After the recommended reboot, you have to launch FIFA 20 to find out if the known problems are still in play.

If the game application crashes or freezes like before or if you could not get Windows to roll back your drivers, then you have to proceed to the driver update operation. The processes here are a lot more complicated than the tasks you have had to perform so far.

Here is some context: For example, to update a single driver, you have to gather enough information about the driver and then move on to check for the updated version of the driver online. You have to navigate through several Google Search result pages and work your way through multiple websites or download centers. There is no guarantee that you will find the new version of the driver that you need. You will also have to contend with certain risks in your quest to get the much-needed software on the web.

When you consider the complications or potential problems that define the update process for a single driver, you might come to realize that it is not feasible to perform the same update task for numerous drivers. You do not even know the bad drivers, for one, so you might have to update all of them to ensure nothing gets left out.

Ideally, you should get Auslogics Driver Updater and allow this superb program to assist you with all the numerous and complicated driver operations. This way, everything becomes incredibly easy. The recommended application will initiate a scan to figure out or identify the bad drivers (for which updates must be obtained) on your computer and then it will proceed to search for their replacements online.

The program will eventually download the newest manufacturer-recommended versions of those drivers and install them to make things right. You can use the application to update the drivers for all the components that make up your machine in no time without you having to do much work.

In any case, after you get your computer to install the newest drivers for the devices that matter, you have to restart your PC to round up the entirety of the operations. After the recommended reboot, you must fire up the FIFA 20 application. You must then try to play the game for as long as you can to confirm that the freezing or crashing issue is no longer in play.

3. Modify Direct X settings (a specific fix for certain cases):

If an error message with the DirectX term appears when the FIFA 20 application on your computer crashes, then there is a good chance that the problem in your case has something to do with the DirectX setup in use on your system. You will be able to fix things by making certain changes to the game settings for DirectX. Many users managed to get the FIFA 20 application on their PCs to stop crashing this way.

These instructions cover everything you must do:

• First, you have to launch the File Explorer application by clicking on its icon on your taskbar. Alternatively, you can use this keyboard shortcut to fire up the same app: Windows logo button + letter E.
• Assuming the File Explorer window is now up, you have to navigate through the folders on this path to get to your destination:
  

C: \ Users \ <InsertYourUsername> \ Documents \ FIFA 20

• Once you get to the right directory, you have to check for the fifasetup.ini file. Right-click on that file to see its options menu and then click on Open with.
• Go through the list of applications that can open the file. Choose Notepad.
• Assuming the fifasetup.ini has now been opened in Notepad on your screen, you have to bring up the Find function.

You can invoke the Find dialog by pressing (and holding) the Ctrl button on your keyboard and then hitting the letter F key. Alternatively, you can click on Edit (an option situated close to the top of the Notepad window) and then choose Find.

• Now, you must fill the text field on the Find window with this code:

DIRECTX_SELECT = 1

• Click on the Find Next button to proceed.
• Assuming the DIRECTX_SELECT = 1 part of the text has been located, you have to replace the 1 part with 0.

In other words, you must change the code from “DIRECTX_SELECT = 1” to “DIRECTX_SELECT = 1”.

• Now, you have to save the changes you just made to the fifasetup.ini file. Click on File (an option situated close to the top-left corner of the Notepad window) to see a list and then choose Save.

Alternatively, you can use this keyboard shortcut to instruct Windows to save the changes made to the file: Ctrl + S.

• Close the Notepad window.
• Now, you must restart FIFA 20.

You have to check and confirm that none of its components or processes are running. Open the Task Manager app. If you find anything related to FIFA 20 that is active, you will have to right-click on it to see the context menu available and then choose End task.

• Play FIFA 20 to see if it crashes or freezes like before.

4. Adjust some settings in NVIDIA Control Panel (special procedure for users with NVIDIA graphics cards):

If you use a computer with an NVIDIA graphics card as its dedicated GPU – which it uses to run FIFA 20 – then you might benefit from the performance improvements or optimizations that result from certain changes made to your graphics configuration. We still recommend that you verify that your PC is using the appropriate GPU card (which is your dedicated GPU and not the integrated unit) to run FIFA 20.

The proposed operation only makes sense if FIFA 20 crashes or freezes even when Windows uses the powerful graphics card for its processes. If you find out that your system has been using the integrated graphics card for the game, then you have to make the needed changes to force your PC to use only the dedicated unit.

Anyway, these are the instructions you must go through to fine-tune the settings in the NVIDIA Control Panel application to ensure the best outcomes for FIFA 20 processes in Windows:

• First, you must drag your cursor to any spot on your desktop free of icons or objects and then do a right-click there to see the context menu available.
• From the list of options, you have to click on NVIDIA Control Panel.
• Assuming the NVIDIA Control Panel window is now up on your screen, you have to look to the top-left corner and click on the Manage 3D settings link.
• Now, on the pane close to the right border of the window, you have to click on the Program Settings tab to go there.
• Click on the Add button. Choose FIFA 20 from the list of applications or navigate to your game file.

You have to get FIFA 20 to appear on the list somehow.

• Assuming FIFA 20 has been added, you now have to customize the settings for the application based on your preferences.

Ideally, you should use the settings or parameters that offer the best compromises between stability and performance.

• Once you are done selecting the appropriate values for the parameters, you have to click on the Apply button to save the changes you just made.
• Close the NVIDIA Control Panel application and then fire up FIFA 20 as you have always done.
• Try to play the game to see how far you get before it crashes or freezes.

5. Update Windows:

Here, we are assuming FIFA 20 struggles on your computer are down to bugs or inconsistencies in the Windows operating system environment, which means an update to Windows is your best chance at fixing things. Microsoft regularly releases updates for several builds of Windows to introduce patches and fixes for different issues.

Since your computer is running Windows 10, there is a good chance it has been configured to fetch and install updates automatically. Nevertheless, you will lose nothing from initiating a manual check for Windows updates. You have everything to gain instead – if things go as expected.

Follow these instructions to check for Windows updates on your computer:

• First, you have to open the Settings application this way: press (and hold) the Windows logo button on your machine’s keyboard and then give the letter I a tap.
• Once the Settings window comes up, you have to click on Update and Security (one of the options or menus on the main screen).
• On the following screen, you must look to the pane close to the right border of the Settings window (under Windows Update), and then click on the Check for updates button.

Your action will trigger the manual update check, which forces Windows to contact Microsoft servers to check if there is anything your computer is missing or find out if anything new has been released for your system.

If Windows finds something, it will act to download the update and then proceed to install it.

• Assuming your computer is done with the installation operation for the updates, you have to restart it. You probably will just have to click on the Restart button on the prompt Windows brings up to this effect.

Otherwise – if no prompt or dialog shows up – you have to initiate the reboot procedure on your own (from the Power menu on the Windows Start screen).

• After your computer restarts and reaches stability, you have to open the FIFA 20 as you have always done. Try to play the game to keep it running for as long as you can to see if it crashes or freezes like before.

Other things you can do to get FIFA 20 to stop crashing or freezing on your Windows 10 PC

If you are still struggling to play FIFA 20 because of the frequent game crashes, freezes, and related issues, then you might want to try the procedures and workarounds on our final list to eliminate the problems and improve the application’s overall performance.

6. Close or uninstall unnecessary and problematic programs:

If FIFA 20 is yet to run well on your computer, then you have to find a way to make your computer allocate all its resources to the game processes or operations to ensure they run as smoothly as possible. To do this, you have to terminate all the tasks or instances used up by other applications.

You also have to check for and disable (or even uninstall) those programs whose processes or components interfere with or come into conflicts with those used by FIFA 20. You have to launch the Task Manager program and go through the active stuff there.

7. Use SFC and DISM to repair corrupted files and components:

If the FIFA 20 application struggles on your computer have anything to do with the state of essential system files and components, then you will be able to make things right by running scans using the appropriate utilities. The SFC (System File Checker) will go through the relevant packages and entries to detect corruption and related issues. The altered or bad stuff will be replaced with good copies of the same data.

The scan involving the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tool is generally applied as a complementary operation to the work done by the SFC tool. In other words, if the latter fails to do enough to deliver the needed results, you have to use the former and then redo the scan with the latter. In any case, you have to run certain commands to access and use both tools on an elevated Command Prompt window. You will also have to restart your computer at the end of it all.

8. Configure the game to run on the lowest settings possible.

9. Launch FIFA 20 first before plugging in your controller.

10. Check for download, and install a new FIFA 20 patch – if updates are (or become) available