How To Fix the Red Dead Redemption PC Access Violation c0000005 Error

Simple fix!

Red Dead Redemption Screenshot
Image via Rockstar Games

It took 14 years for Rockstar to release Red Dead Redemption on PC, but here we are. Thanks to the excellent work from Double Eleven, PC players can finally enjoy the classic Western open-world action title that introduced us to John Marston. The PC version is fairly competent, with tons of settings to tweak, and it runs great on a variety of hardware as well. There are some issues players can run into, and if you’re getting the “Access Violation c0000005” error in Red Dead Redemption, here are a few things you can do to fix that.

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Fixing the Red Dead Redemption PC Access Violation c0000005 Error

Multiple users have reported running into the “PC Access Violation c0000005” in Red Dead Redemption at launch or after the intro. It seems to be tied to performance monitoring and tuning tools, and disabling those should fix that for now.

Disable Performance Monitoring Tool

If you’re using a tool like Rivatuner Statistics Server, ASUS GPU Tweak, or NVIDIA overlay to monitor performance, temporarily disable those and run Red Dead Redemption without them. A crash can possibly occur while you’re changing graphics settings with the utility enabled. This has been acknowledged by Rockstar as well. Simply close MSI Afterburner, and RTSS will shut down with it.

For most users, this should fix the problem, and you can enable these after you’ve made it past the main menu and intro. We couldn’t recreate this issue, but we also noted that RivaTuner only kicks in after the initial logos. However, multiple users on Steam users have confirmed that RivaTuner and the ASUS GPU Tweak utility were causing the conflict.

Verify Game Files

Additionally, we recommend verifying the game files just in case. It’s possible something went wrong during the download or installation process, which is leading to a crash.

  • Open Steam and navigate to your library
  • Here, right-click on Red Dead Redemption and select Properties
  • In the Installed Files tab, click on Verify integrity of game file

Steam will scan through the game files and download anything missing or broken.

Generic Troubleshooting

Apart from that, you can try the following generic troubleshooting suggestions.

  • Update DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributables (Recommended)
  • Update Windows to the latest version
  • Switch to your dedicated GPU if you’re playing on a laptop
  • Make sure you have the latest GPU drivers: AMD, Intel
  • Add the game’s folder to your antivirus list of exceptions or exclusions

Once you’re in the game, you can unlock the 144fps limit in Red Dead Redemption using a handy patch and add support for ultrawide cutscenes as well.

Ali Hashmi

Ali Hashmi is a games journalist, reviewer, and guides writer with over eight years of experience covering the gaming industry across news, reviews, features, walkthroughs, and technical guides. He currently writes for Prima Games and GTA 6 Bible, and has previously contributed to Dot Esports, WhatIfGaming, GameTyrant, and The OuterHaven. With a background in Computer Science and years spent covering PC gaming, Ali has developed a strong focus on performance analysis, optimization, troubleshooting, and in-depth game coverage alongside traditional reviews and features. A longtime fan of action games, Ali spends most of his time obsessing over stylish combat systems, difficult boss fights, immersive sims, and retro shooters that feel like they were pulled straight out of the late ‘90s. When he isn’t replaying Dark Souls for the hundredth time or climbing Ascension levels in Slay the Spire, he’s usually hunting for the next indie game to recommend to everyone around him. His coverage regularly includes AAA releases, indie games, Soulslikes, survival titles, live service games, and technical PC focused guides.

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