When starting or playing Red Dead Redemption 2, an unknown error Unknown Error with code FFFFFFFF may occur on Windows 11/10.
The culprit of this error may be a low-quality repack if it was downloaded from a torrent, blocking of some files by an antivirus, damaged game files, full-screen optimization, API DX12/Vulcan, or PC overclocking.
How to fix Unknown Error code FFFFFFFF in Red Dead Redemption 2
In this instruction, we will explain what to do when the Unknown Error FFFFFFFF error appears in the game Red Dead Redemption 2 on a PC with Windows 11/10.
1. Run RDR2 with elevated rights
- Right-click on the RDR 2 shortcutand select Properties
- Go to the Compatibility tab
- Set Run this program as an administrator
- Next, go to the Shortcut tab
- Click on the Advanced button
- Set Run as administrator
❗Do the same for the Rockstar Games client and the RDR2.exe executable file .
2. Disable full screen optimization
- Right click the RDR2 shortcut
- Select Properties
- Go to the Compatibility tab
- Check the box next to Disable full screen optimization
- Click Applyand OK , then launch the game
3. Switch Vulcan to DX12
Switching DirectX 12 to Vulcan or vice versa can help fix Unknown Error code FFFFFFFF in RDR2 game, as some video cards may not work with DX12.
- Go to Documents/Rockstar Games/Red Dead Redemption 2/Settings
- Right click on xml file
- Select open with Notepad
- Find the <advanceGraphics> column
- In the <API>kSettingAPI_Vulkan</API> line, change Vulkan to DX12
- Click on the File and Save tab in Notepad at the top
- Next, reopen Documents/Rockstar Games/Red Dead Redemption 2/Settings
- Delete all files that start with sga_(example: vkWarmupCacheWindows )
- Launch the game
❗If it is <API>kSettingAPI_ DX12 </API>, then replace it with <API>kSettingAPI_ Vulkan </API>
4. Reset graphics to default in RDR 2
Resetting RDR 2 game graphics can help fix Unknown Error code FFFFFFFF. For this:
- Go to Documents> Rockstar Games > Red Dead Redemption 2 > Settings
- Create a backup of the xml file
- Delete the xml file and launch the game
5. Rollback overclocking of your PC or laptop
If you overclocked using programs like Afterburner, then return all values to default. In addition, if you overclocked via BIOS/UEFI, then return the settings back or reset the BIOS to default settings .
6. Check the integrity of the game
If you purchased the game via Steam or Epic Games client, check the integrity of the RDR 2 game files to resolve the Unknown Error FFFFFFFF error. Below is an example for Epic Games.
- Open your Game Library
- Find RDR 2and click on the ellipsis
- Select Management
- Click Checkin the check files column
7. Update your graphics drivers
Update the correct graphics drivers for your video card model. For this:
- Completely remove Nvidia, AMD, Intel video card driver
- Update video card driver Nvidia, AMD, Intel
