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Sons of the Forest - technical problem solving

 How many FPS on the GTX 1060, bugs, crashes, freezes, and more

The sequel to the survival horror in the mysterious forest went into early access last week and immediately broke into the first line of Twitch, and the number of simultaneously playing Steam users reached half a million. Sons of the Forest turned out to be an even more fun game than the original, but it wasn't without technical issues. For many, the game crashes immediately after launch or after some time. Also, Sons of the Forest is not well-optimized.

Sons of the Forest - technical problem solving


In this article, we will figure out what configuration is needed for a comfortable game at high settings, as well as provide proven solutions for common technical problems of Sons of the Forest.


What kind of computer do you need for Sons of the Forest (system requirements)

Unfortunately, the official system requirements are only for 1080p (1920x1080). We've reviewed independent benchmarks of the game and added recommendations for playing at 1440p (2560x1440) and 4K (3840x2160) at high settings.

Official minimum system requirements (1080p @ 30 FPS, high preset):

  • Operating system: Windows 10 (64-bit only!) / Windows 11 x64.
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 3 3300X.
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (3 GB) / AMD Radeon RX 570.
  • RAM: 12 gigabytes.
  • DirectX version: 11.

Official recommended system requirements (1080p @ 60 FPS, high preset):

  • Operating system: Windows 10 x64 / Windows 11 x64.
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600X.
  • Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT.
  • RAM: 16 gigabytes.
  • DirectX version: 11.

Computer for playing at high. settings at 1440p @ 30 FPS (tested):

  • Operating system: Windows 10 x64 / Windows 11 x64.
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 / AMD Radeon RX 5700.
  • RAM: 16 gigabytes.
  • DirectX version: 11.

Computer for playing at high. settings at 1440p @ 60 FPS (tested):

  • Operating system: Windows 10 x64 / Windows 11 x64.
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-10700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X.
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 / Radeon RX 6700 XT.
  • RAM: 16 gigabytes.
  • DirectX version: 11.

Computer for playing at high. settings in 4K @ 30 FPS (according to tests):

  • Operating system: Windows 10 x64 / Windows 11 x64.
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-12400 / AMD Ryzen 5 5600.
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 / Radeon RX 6700 XT.
  • RAM: 16 gigabytes.
  • DirectX version: 11.

Computer for playing at high. settings in 4K @ 60 FPS (according to tests):

  • Operating system: Windows 10 x64 / Windows 11 x64.
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-12600K / AMD Ryzen 7 5700X.
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 / Radeon RX 6900 XT.
  • RAM: 16 gigabytes.
  • DirectX version: 11.

Sons of the Forest won't launch on Windows 7/10

The game is not designed to run on Microsoft operating systems older than Windows 10.

If you have Windows 10, and the game still does not start, then try installing all the latest updates.

Sons of the Forest crashes with error 0x0c000142 / 0x0c000005

Run Windows System File Checker. To do this, press the key combination Windows + R, and then in the window that opens, enter “sfc /scannow” (without quotes). After the check is complete, restart your computer.

Error 0xc000007b

Reinstall or update NVIDIA drivers. It is advisable to do a clean install to reset unsuccessful settings.

"Out of memory" error in Sons of the Forest

Your PC is running out of RAM. The best solution is to increase the amount of RAM to at least 12 gigabytes. Increasing the swap file probably won't help. Also, be sure to close your browser before launching any game. Especially if it has a large number of open tabs.

Game crashes without error/freezes on startup / black screen / vcruntime140_1.dll error

A. Disconnect the second monitor if it is connected and disable the desktop extension to multiple screens.

B. Set the limit on the maximum FPS in the game to 60 frames. If the game does not start, then this can be done through the NVIDIA Control Panel or Catalyst Control Center.

C. Download and install RuntimePack. This is a complete set of all libraries necessary to run games.

D. Verify the integrity of the game files on Steam:

  1. start Steam ;
  2. go to the "Library" section;
  3. right- click on the name of the game ( Sons of the Forest ) in the list on the left and open the properties;
  4. in the "Local files" tab, click "Verify integrity of game files";
  5. wait for the process to complete.

Resolution does not change / image goes off screen

This error can occur if screen scaling is enabled in Windows. You can compensate for this in the following way:

  1. Find the Sons of the Forest.exe file in the game folder.
  2. Go to properties and go to the "Compatibility" tab.
  3. Click the "Change high DPI settings" button.
  4. In the "Override scaling mode..." option, select "Application".

Sons of the Forest slows down / lags/optimization problems / graphical artifacts

Check if your PC meets the system requirements

See See "What kind of computer do you need for Sons of the Forest" above.

Update your video card drivers

Visit the graphics adapter manufacturer's website:

  • NVIDIA GeForce: The site itself will select the appropriate drivers. Just click "Search" and then "Download Now". After the download is complete, run the downloaded file and follow the instructions in the installer.
  • AMD Radeon: Scroll down to Search for your product and select your graphics card under Graphics. Click the Submit button. On the page that opens, click LMB on your version of Windows and click "Download". Once the download is complete, run the downloaded file and follow the instructions in the installer.
Important: Be sure to restart your computer after updating your drivers.

Turn on high performance for graphics card

For NVIDIA GeForce owners:

  1. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel by right-clicking on the desktop.
  2. Select Manage 3D Settings from the list on the left.
  3. Switch to the "Program settings" tab in the main part of the screen and select Sons of the Forest from the drop-down list under "1. Select a program to configure "(if the game is not in the list, then add the appropriate button next to it).
  4. In the list below, find the "Power Management Mode" feature and toggle it to "Preferred Maximum Performance Mode".

For owners of AMD Radeon and AMD processors:

  1. Open Radeon Settings by right-clicking on the desktop.
  2. Go to the "System" section.
  3. In the "Switchable Graphics" category, set the graphics card with "maximum performance" as the main one.
  4. Click Accept.

How to adjust the graphics in Sons of the Forest / how to increase the frame rate

Optimal settings for a weak PC, close to the minimum system requirements (i5-8400 + GTX 1060 3G):

  • Resolution: 1920x1080.
  • Full Screen: Full screen.
  • Vert. sync: disable.
  • Max. fps: 60.
  • Draw Distance: Medium.
  • Global Shading: Low.
  • Fog quality: low.
  • Anisotropic textures: enable.
  • Shadow Quality: Medium.
  • Clouds: low.
  • Grass: medium.
  • Water: low.
  • Offset Distance: Medium.
  • Billboard quality: low.
  • Texture resolution: half.
  • Antialiasing: TAA.
  • Dynamic resolution: TAAU.
  • FPS at dynamic resolution: 60.
  • Glow: enable.
  • Screen Space Reflections: Disable.
  • Blurring: Disable.
  • Micro shadows: disable.
  • Contact shadows: disable.
  • Chromatic aberration: disable.
  • Photographic film: to your taste.
  • Color correction: to your taste.

"Soapy" (fuzzy) graphics in the game

Two possible reasons:

  1. Your video card does not have enough memory to render textures in full quality. This game requires at least 6 GB of VRAM.
  2. Enabled FSR/DLSS dynamic resolution in performance mode.

Sound problems in Sons of the Forest

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
  2. Go to the Hardware and Sound section.
  3. Open sound settings.
  4. Select the default device (there should be a green check next to it) and go to its properties using the button below.
  5. In the "Advanced" tab, select the default format "24 bit, 48000 Hz".
  6. If it doesn't help, then lower it to "16 bits, 44100 Hz".
  7. If this does not help, then run the "Sound Troubleshooter" by right-clicking on the volume icon in the lower right corner of the desktop. Follow the instructions of the program.

Game freezes / “DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG” error / black screen

Perhaps the problem is overheating of the video card. Check if the fans of her cooling system are blocked by adjacent wires. If everything is in order with this, then try resetting the overclocking: go to the MSI Afterburner application and click the Reset button (if such a program is not installed, then the video card most likely did not overclock).

Game not saving in Sons of the Forest

Check if there are any foreign letters in the path to the SonsOfTheForest.exe file. You can quickly find the file through the "Search" in the explorer.

Where are the Sons of the Forest saves?

In the following folder: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Endnight\Sons of the Forest\Saves

Gamepad (joystick) not working in Sons of the Forest

  1. Delete the device in the "Device Manager" and restart the computer.
  2. If this does not help, then run the controller setup in Steam and manually set the Xbox Controller mode.
  3. If this does not help, then try connecting the gamepad via wire.
Write in the comments if you know other ways to solve technical problems in Sons of the Forest!

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