SUMMARY
- GAME NOT LAUNCHING/PERFORMANCE ISSUES
- MISSING DIRECTX FILES
- GAME SETTINGS AND GAME NOT SAVING
- SAVED GAMES, LOG AND CONFIGURATION FILES LOCATION
GAME NOT LAUNCHING/PERFORMANCE ISSUES
A. MAKE SURE YOU FULFILL THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10 or 11
Processor: AMD FX-6300 / Intel Core i3-6100
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: 3 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon R9 380 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 60 GB available space
Additional Notes: 30 FPS, 1920x1080 in low
How to find your PC specifications:
1. Enter dxdiag into the search box.
2. Click on dxdiag from the results.
3. System tab: check the Processor and the Memory.
4. Display tab: check the Display Device.
B. INSTALL OR REPAIR MICROSOFT VISUAL C++ 2015-2022 REDISTRIBUTABLE
1. Download and save Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x86).
2. Right click on vc_redist.x86.exe application > Run as administrator.
3. Click on the Install or the Repair button.
4. Restart the computer if requested.
5. Download and save Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2022 Redistributable (x64).
6. Right click on vc_redist.x64.exe application > Run as administrator.
7. Click on the Install or the Repair button.
8. Restart the computer if requested.
C. CHECK FOR WINDOWS UPDATES
Always ensure that you have the latest updates to Windows:
WINDOWS 10
Right click on the Windows Start button > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
WINDOWS 11
Right click on the Windows Start button > Settings > Windows Update.
D. UPDATE THE DISPLAY DRIVER
It is recommended to perform a clean install of the display driver.
Please use Display Driver Uninstaller application to properly uninstall the display driver.
Display Driver Uninstaller is a driver removal utility that can help you completely uninstall AMD/INTEL/NVIDIA graphics card drivers and packages from your system, without leaving leftovers behind (including registry keys, folders and files, driver store).
1. Download the latest display driver:
2. Download Display Driver Uninstaller.
3. Run the DDU setup application and extract the DDU folder.
4. Disconnect from the Internet (disable the network adapter from Device Manager).
5. Restart your PC in safe mode.
6. Open the Display Driver Uninstaller folder and run the Display Driver Uninstaller.exe application.
7. Select the graphics card (AMD, INTEL or NVIDIA GPU) and click on the Clean and restart (Highly recommended) button.
8. Install the new display driver.
9. Reconnect from the Internet.
E. UPDATE THE AUDIO DRIVER
1. Right click on the Windows Start button > Device Manager.
2. Open Sound, video and game controllers.
3. Right click on the default audio device (e.g., Realtek High Definition Audio) > Update driver.
F. ALLOW THE GAME IN WINDOWS SECURITY
1. Click on the up arrow icon in the taskbar notification area.
2. Right click on Windows Security > View security dashboard.
3. Click on Virus & threat protection.
4. Click on Protection history under Current threats.
5. Search for the Aliens: Dark Descent application from Protected folder access blocked.
6. Click on Actions > Allow on device.
7. Close Windows Security.
G. USE THE SYSTEM FILE CHECKER TOOL TO REPAIR MISSING OR CORRUPTED SYSTEM FILES.
H. WINDOWS INSIDER PREVIEW BUILD
Aliens: Dark Descent may not be fully compatible with the latest Windows Insider Preview Build version.
Please note that the Windows Insider Builds can be buggy and include unfinished features.
To opt-out of the Windows Insider Program:
WINDOWS 10
1. Right click on the Windows Start button > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Insider Program.
2. Click on the Stop Insider Preview builds button.
WINDOWS 11
1. Right click on the Windows Start button > Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program.
2. Click on Stop getting preview builds.
I. PERFORM A SELECTIVE STARTUP
Third-party applications running in the background may interfere with Aliens: Dark Descent.
A Selective Startup can also help diagnose whether a background application is resulting in your issue.
This can be performed by:
1. Enter msconfig into the search box.
2. Click on System Configuration from the results.
3. Tick Selective Startup under the General tab.
4. Untick Load startup items and click OK.
5. Restart the computer.
6. Run Aliens: Dark Descent.
If the issue no longer persists after having performed the Selective Startup, you will need to re-enable each of your usual background applications one-by-one until the error reoccurs, to determine which is interfering with Aliens: Dark Descent.
MISSING DIRECTX FILES (D3DCOMPILER, X3DAUDIO...)
Please repair Microsoft DirectX using the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer from the Microsoft Download Center:
1. Click the Download button.
2. Save and run the dxwebsetup.exe application.
3. Untick Install the Bing Bar.
GAME SETTINGS AND GAME NOT SAVING
1. Click on the up arrow icon in the taskbar notification area.
2. Right click on Windows Security > View security dashboard.
3. Click on Virus & threat protection.
4. Click on Protection history under Current threats.
5. Search for the Aliens: Dark Descent application from Protected folder access blocked.
6. Click on Actions > Allow on device.
7. Close Windows Security.
SAVED GAMES, LOG AND CONFIGURATION FILES LOCATION
Navigate to Local Disk (C:) > Users > your Windows username > AppData (*) > Local > ASF.
(*) The AppData folder is a hidden folder and to view this folder:
WINDOWS 10
Open File Explorer, click on the View tab and tick Hidden items.
WINDOWS 11
Open File Explorer, click on the View tab > Show > click on Hidden items.