Game only RECENTLY started freezing (PS3)

[Heath_89]

I've just gotten back into this game over the past 3 or so weeks, and since then it has started freezing during both online and single player. When it does this I cannot access any menus or even use the PS button on the controller.

 

No other game does this only GTA V. It is not my internet, the PS3 nor is the disc scratched or damaged in any way. Sometimes I can tell when its about to freeze as the pause menu wont work and/or the graphics suddenly turn horrible, other times it will just randomly freeze, forcing me to press the power button on the PS3 console in order to get out of it.

 

I've tried cleaning my disc, tried removing the HDMI cable and re-inserting it thinking it might have been loose but the problem still persists. PSN just updated recently to the latest version and still have the issue so it clearly isn't that either.

 

I'm lost, this frustrates me quite a lot as I do enjoy playing this game. Could it be another glitch, bug or some kind of error that Rockstar don't give a rat's behind about?

 

Also have any other PS3 users been experiencing this issue lately? It has only started doing this about 3 weeks ago. Sometimes I get 5 minutes of game play sometimes I get half an hour, sometimes I'll get a few hours.

[Curtis]

I agree with you, without patches this game was less buggy.

[BlackNoise]

Yeah, it sucks. My game was running perfect until the patches started, and R* is so slow to fix these issues. I was at a point where I was mainly trying to get the best times on the race leaderboards in SP, but I couldn't even load a save while I was in a game. It just made the process too annoying, so I haven't played for few weeks now.

 

Now you made me even more scared to come back if it's actually starting to freeze. I never had a single problem other than a few clones, which I thought was funny. It's nuts when a developer gives us game breaking issues after the game releases.

[SkyrimJarl]

This is called a hard freeze where you have to unplug the ps3 cord (if you're impatient and angry) or simply restart it with the power button. When i first got my gta 5, it was freezing very oftenly but it doesnt freeze anymore now. How long ago did you get it? Email me for a faster reply

[Heath_89]

I've had the game since release, only started freezing about 3 weeks ago.

[RiaJay21]

Yeah, same here. When I think back, there were virtually no issues with my game when I first played it, but with each update, more and more issues seem to arise.

 

The freezing is one of them. It's very rare it happens for me, but the fact is, it happens.

[Heath_89]

Bit of an update..

 

So the past two days it hasn't been bad, but one thing I have noticed is that it will freeze indefinitely while flying or in an aircraft passenger, driving around the city is fine.. but if I fly and head out to the countryside or areas far out like Blaine County it freezes.

 

Tonight I've gotten about 2.5 hours of game time with no freezing, as soon as I jumped into a plane and started flying I got out as far as the airbase and it froze.

Edited February 9, 2014 by Heath_89

[PineboxFiller]

It's unfortunate because I really want that car that they are releasing for Valentine's day but I'm still running the original version of the game(due to all the issues the patches have cause and the fact that I only care about and play single player) and I'm not sure it's worth it to take the chance of rendering my game unplayable to get one car.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your game freezing. Wish that I could offer some sort of remedy.

Edited February 13, 2014 by PineboxFiller

[jazzbone]

my only freezing issues have been when soloing survivals. sandy shore and sawmill twice and trainyard an hour ago. trainyard wave 5 after 1.10. the other 2 prior to 1.10 with sandy shore crashing when i killed the last enemy of wave 10 just a few days ago. i have soloed boneyard and processing without any freezing.

overall gta 5 off and online has worked very well with no other freezing issues and i have 2 play throughs and a level 105 with 3.5 million legit character.

gta 4 was another story. on my mgs4 bundle 80 gig fat gta 4 would hard freeze after a firmware update in 2009. the freeze occured about 5 minutes after starting and nothing fixed it while i have had no problem with any other game. my 120 slim plays the same gta 4 disk just fine. both fat and slim play tbogt/tlad disk without any problems.

rockstar has made many attempts to patch out exploits and glitches that allowed for cheating and i have read that patching can cause new problems requiring a patch to fix a patch.

[Heath_89]

I have more issues (since 1.10) I can't even get into the game now. The game just sits cycling through the loading screen with the artwork and the music..

[Crazyeighties]

I'm having the same issue it's driving me mad!

[bam551]

i've had gta 5 since 17 september last year never froze untill update 1.09 i had to reinstall the game and start all over some times i'll be able to play for a few hours before it freeze's some times only 5 miniutes rockstar need to get off there buts and fix the problams

[jpeter03]

I'm so sick of this bullsh*t R*! Every day it's something new and not in a good way. GTA 5 is the ONLY game that crashes my system. I can't even leave my online home before my radio stops and hard freezes, on and offline. How about you fix your sh*t before piling new sh*t on top of it?!

[bam551]

i've found a way to fix gta 5 from freezing but i dont know if it would work for any one else, i found that if i do a misson as soon as i start gta 5 it stops the game from freezing until i turn it off. I tried it to day to see if i was right 5 minutes in to playing gta 5 it froze so i turned off the ps3 then turned it back on got back in to gta 5 did a misson and the freezing stopped. So give it a shot like i said it may or may not work for any one else and i do have update 1.10

[jpeter03]

This bullsh*t is really frustrating. I can hear the audio glitching up until i load my online character. Everything seems to be working, as soon as i "steal the boat" I just happen to freeze as I'm enjoying the in the passenger seat. Please fix this man, I just want to play ;<

It makes no sense why only your game won't work, period but I can play everything else.

[CubA_iLL_BrothA]

i've had gta 5 since 17 september last year never froze untill update 1.09 i had to reinstall the game and start all over some times i'll be able to play for a few hours before it freeze's some times only 5 miniutes rockstar need to get off there buts and fix the problams

I've had this Issue since the update 1.09 also. I just tried today and started with a new character, it work through the the first 2 missions. It froze about 5 minutes through gameplay.

[kj2022]

Guys, try some maintenance on your PS3, playing a hard drive intensive game like GTA can fragment your hard drive. You'll find instructions on Google, it might help a lot.

[BaselA]

Freezing/pop-in/bad textures/installation PS3:

 

Back up any data.

 

Activating Safe Mode

 

Step 1: Turn off the PLAYSTATION 3 by holding the Power button on the front of the unit till the Power light is red.

 

Step 2: Touch and hold the Power button, you will hear the first beep, meaning the PLAYSTATION 3 is powering on. Continue to hold the Power button and after about 5 seconds, you will hear a second beep, indicating the video reset. Continue to hold the Power button and after about another 5 seconds you will hear a third beep and the system will power off (Power light is red).

 

Step 3: Touch and hold the Power button, you will hear the first beep, again for the PLAYSTATION 3 to power on. Continue to hold the Power button and after about 5 seconds, you will hear a second beep for video reset. Continue to hold the Power button and after about another 5 seconds you will hear a quick double beep. At that point release the Power button. If you succeeded in activating Safe Mode, you will see a message on the screen saying, "Connect the controller using a USB cable and then press the PS button."

 

Connect a USB cable to the controller and the PLAYSTATION 3 and press the PS button to enter Safe Mode.Then you will see the Safe Mode menu.

 

Step 4: We recommending performing the safe mode options in the following order until one of the options works for you. If one of the options work, do not continue onto the other options.

 

Restore File System

Rebuild Database

 

 

2nd Method -

 

Warning: this method is not guaranteed to work, but has worked for many people. If you are uncomfortable doing any of the following to your system, resort to contacting Sony directly for assistance.

 

Perform a safe-mode clean:

 

Firstly, make sure your game saves are being backed up via Playstation Plus. If you are not a PS+ subscriber, or if you do not use PS+s game save backup service; back up your game saves on a USB flash drive.

 

Now we will remove the GTA 5 game data from your PS3. Game data is NOT the same as games saves. Game data contains information like in-game preferences/setting. In the XMB menu go to GAME then select the folder GAME DATA UTILITY. Highlight the game data utility file for GTA 5. Press the TRIANGLE button, then select DELETE.

 

Next in the same folder; delete the GTA 5 install file (the big 8+ GB file). You probably remember downloading this from the disc/PSN upon first attempting to play the game. This file contains a huge assortment of details and models the game accesses during gameplay. DELETING THIS FILE will not cause any issues with GTA 5, because the game will simply re-download this data after we have cleaned your system. Removing these 2 GTA 5 files before cleaning is a necessary process

 

Now, press & hold the power button until the system beeps 3 times (during a period of 10 seconds), and then powers down.

Press & hold the power button again. Wait until the system beeps 4 times.

 

You should see an on-screen message now. If you dont, try again from the top. If you do, plug in your wireless controller (via USB cable) and press the PS button on controller.

 

Select option 3 on the screen: Restore File System (note: this will not delete data off of your system unless the date is corrupted. If a game save is corrupted, it will be deleted).

 

After option 3 has done its thing, give GTA 5 a whirl and let it download the appropriate data to your PS3 then see if your game freezes again.

 

DIDNT WORK? OK. lets try a different safe-mode option: 3rd Method -

 

Press & hold the power button until the system beeps 3 times (during a period of 10 seconds), and then powers down.

 

Press & hold the power button again. Wait until the system beeps 4 times.

You should see an on-screen message now. If you dont, try again from the top. If you do, plug in your wireless controller (via USB cable) and press the PS button on controller.

 

Select option 4 on the screen: Rebuild Database. Rebuilding the database may delete corrupted data that Step 3 failed to remove.

Still, outside of corrupted data, rebuilding the database will not remove system saves/data (again, unless this particular data is corrupted), excluding messages and playlists (both will be deleted). Rebuilding the Database may take several hours.

Do not disturb your system during this process.

 

Unfortunately there will be nothing shown on your TV during the database rebuild, but if you want to check to see if it is still running; just look at the green light on the front of your PS3, if its flickering; the rebuild is still happening.

After option 4 has ran through its paces, try to play GTA 5 again and see what happened!

 

If none of the above steps have helped you: I would recommend returning the game, or wait until Rockstar provides a patch to help users such as yourself. GTA 5 includes a 90-day warranty. Return it to the retailer you purchased it from. Note that an update could take months to years to be released. Complaints are pretty strong when it comes to GTA 5. Rockstar is listening and have provided a (pretty poor) guide of their own, which I have expanded on this article.

Edited March 1, 2014 by BaselA

[Glamus]

I'm bumping this because my game froze twice during online tonight, and like OP said this never happened before. kj2022, its not fragmentation, I have a SSD in my ps3. Any other solutions? I might try the mission immediately solution. One freeze happened when I was just walking around with my character, the other one in a submersible.

[Saliva]

Consoles are meant to be simpler than this.

[Spuds725]

This is by no means a solution to your problems but more of troubleshooting advice-- those of you experiencing single player freezes-- may want to try uninstalling all the updates and play in single player offline and without any updates... this should confirm whether the updates are causing this or another issue with the console (excessive heat maybe- but this could be exascerbated by the updates).

 

For those experiencing this-- I'd maybe experiement with adding additional cooling (ie a big fan blowing over the console) and/or try giving the console a good cleaning...

 

I do feel for you guys-- but haven't experienced this to date (PS3 super slim purchased last summer when my 2008 fat model died)

[OmegaEvolution]

Just a warning to PS3 owners. Never unplug your console if its frozen because it will break the system. If the game wont hard reset when you press power buttonthen hold down the power button for anywhere from 20 to 30 seconds to initiate a forced hard reset. It may seem like a long time to hold the button down but it will work and is safer than pulling the plug

[Tracksuit Hitman]

Many players have reported console freezing since the latest update. My XBOX 360 Slim froze two days ago whilst I was in an online lobby. I don't think it's got anything to do with your console or game, but something to do with quite a major bug with the latest update. A lot of people told me that they've also only experienced freezes since installing the latest update.

 

If your console freezes, turn your PS3 off by the power button or the button on the back of the PS3. The same goes for XBOX 360 players. There's just nothing else that you can do, unfortunately, or so I've been told.

[elless777]

Yeah...this is pretty sh*tty tbh. Since the Creator capture release I've had nothing but trouble.

 

Game froze once or twice to begin with but gradually over 2 and a half weeks it has become so that

I am now not even able to go online. As soon as I try, the brown loading circle bottom right of the screen starts spinning clockwise and typically on it's

second complete circle it freezes.

 

It sometimes freezes at 2 & a half cycles or 1.7-8 cycles but its always around the 2 mark.

Not sure if that means anything but perhaps there is an order in which the online programming? works.

Like boot, load graphics, create char etc etc, not very good at describing script but you know what I mean....I hope...

 

And if that's the case then whatever information is being processed at that particular time, IS the script for something that is maybe

written slightly wrong?

 

I noticed after re installing the 1.12 update for the umpteenth time that when I tried to go in through holding the directional down button down, selecting my online char spot

(can't see the char, just a shadow) and entering online mode that the loading circle is white and spins anti clockwise.

Anyone else noticed that?

 

Anyway, why would it be anti clockwise that way and not the same as pausing - online - play online bla bla bla.

online that way?

 

 

A char in the wrong place or something, hmm I don't know.

Maybe I'm talking out of my ass as my head has now run out of ideas as to why I can't play online.

 

I've read many articles inc this one, tried many things and right at this moment I am re installing the game for the third time in some

vain hope that a miracle has happened.

 

Highly doubt it.

 

Oh and sent a couple of support cases regaring this, they seem to think the problem lies with my console and or internet.

 

Pinged me net a few times and it's nigh on perfect. Everything else works.

Cleared the cache etc etc.

 

Humph...good job rockstar...

 

Edited April 29, 2014 by elless777

[Andreas]

Moved to GTA Online > Troubleshooting

[MeGusta90]

I noticed an increased amount of freezing after updates.

 

Before GTA Online came out I could play GTA V for 4+ hours straight no issues at all, could even leave it on, pause the game, go do something for a few hours come back and it would still work.

 

Now there's a chance it will freeze after a few minutes, even in SP it freezes, online is no better.

[screenhog15]

im experiencing the exact problem, its horrible, i dont know what to do... i think it might be my console because before i had a few freezes nothing serious, i would hold down the on/off button and it wouldnt shut down so i would just keep pulling the plug out, couldve that done damage to my system?

[GTA_Girl84]

^ I have the exact same problem. When it freezes I too hold down the power button to restart. Does your console freeze with any other game ? Or just GTA ?

[screenhog15]

^ I have the exact same problem. When it freezes I too hold down the power button to restart. Does your console freeze with any other game ? Or just GTA ?

ik mine doesnt

[MeGusta90]

I got a new disc, just to make sure.

 

I deleted all game data and updates and restored file system to get rid of corrupted data. Time to see if this continues to freeze, if it does still randomly freeze, I'll delete update data and then play offline for a bit and see if it is better.