How to Fix Spider-Man Miles Morales Crashing, Not Launching, or Freezing

Hey friend! Having issues with constant crashing or inability to even launch Spider-Man Miles Morales on your PC or console? You‘re not alone – plenty of players have reported facing these frustrating problems.

Not to worry though, I‘ve got you covered! In this detailed troubleshooting guide, I‘ll provide proven solutions to get Spider-Man Miles Morales back up and swinging in no time.

From updating drivers to verifying game files, you‘ll learn various tips and tweaks to squash those pesky crashing and freezing bugs. I‘ll also explain how to optimize graphics settings for smooth performance based on your system configuration.

So put on your web-slinging suit, and let‘s get started!

About Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Before we dig into troubleshooting, let me provide some background for those new to this Spider-Man game. Developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony, Marvel‘s Spider-Man: Miles Morales released in November 2020 as a launch title for the PlayStation 5.

It‘s a direct sequel to 2018‘s Marvel‘s Spider-Man, with players controlling Miles Morales – a teenage version of Spider-Man with incredible venon blast abilities. Set one year after the events of the first game, Miles struggles to follow in Peter Parker‘s footsteps as he faces an intense battle for control of his home – New York City.

Since launch, Spider-Man: Miles Morales has received widespread critical acclaim for its stunning visuals, immersive gameplay, and portrayal of Miles Morales‘ origin story. It has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide as of March 2022. The game boasts an impressive 85% critic score and 8.4 user score on Metacritic.

Most Common Issues Faced

Based on player reports on forums and Reddit, these are the most common issues faced in Spider-Man Miles Morales:

Game crashes randomly or at startup – This is by far the most reported problem. Spider-Man Miles Morales crashes frequently or fails to get past the initial loading screens.
Game freezes mid-gameplay – The game screen suddenly freezes with audio loops. You‘re unable to perform any actions and have to force close the application.
Game does not launch at all – Spider-Man Miles Morales won‘t start up when you click Play on Steam or the desktop shortcut. The game fails to initialize.
White/black screen on launch – The game shows a blank white or black screen after you click Play and just hangs endlessly.
Low FPS and stuttering – You experience low frame rates, choppy animations, lag, and texture pop-ins despite having a decent gaming rig.

Let‘s go through a series of troubleshooting steps to resolve these problems and get smooth performance.

Step 1 – Update Your Graphics Card Drivers

Outdated or corrupt graphics drivers are one of the main culprits behind game crashes and poor performance. I recommend updating to the latest drivers tailored for Spider-Man Miles Morales:

For Nvidia GPUs:

Go to Nvidia‘s website and download the GeForce Experience app
Open GeForce Experience, login, and click on Drivers tab
Download and install the Game Ready Driver for Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Restart your PC once the driver is updated

For AMD GPUs:

Go to AMD‘s website and get the latest Adrenalin driver for your GPU
Run the downloaded setup package and follow prompts to update your driver
Reboot your system once the installation completes

Latest WHQL drivers contain performance fixes and optimizations for running graphics-intensive games like Spider-Man Miles Morales. According to Nvidia, their Game Ready Drivers can provide up to a 20% FPS boost in titles like Spider-Man.

Step 2 – Run the Game as Administrator

Running games with admin rights circumvents potential permission issues that may lead to crashes on startup. Here‘s how to launch Spider-Man Miles Morales as administrator:

Go to Steam Library and right-click on Spider-Man Miles Morales
Choose Properties > Local Files > Browse
Right-click on SpiderManMilesMorales.exe and select Properties
Under Compatibility tab, check "Run this program as an administrator"
Click Apply and OK.
Launch the game normally – it will now open with admin privileges.

Giving the necessary admin access prevents conflicts resulting from restricted permissions.

Step 3 – Add Exceptions in Antivirus and Firewall

Overzealous antivirus and firewall tools can sometimes detect games as threats and block execution. To avoid this, add exceptions:

Allow Spider-Man Miles Morales in Windows Security

Go to Virus & Threat Protection in Windows Security
Click Manage Ransomware Protection
Go to Controlled Folder Access and allow SpiderManMilesMorales.exe

Allow in Windows Defender Firewall

Open Windows Defender Firewall
Click Allow an App or Feature
Click Change Settings and allow SpiderManMilesMorales.exe

Temporarily Disable Real-time Protection

Go back to Virus & Threat Protection in Windows Security
Click Manage Settings and turn off Real-Time Protection
Remember to re-enable Real-time Protection after gaming!

Adding exclusions prevents antivirus tools from blocking game execution and causing crashes.

Step 4 – Update Windows and DirectX

Using an outdated Windows build or DirectX runtime can also cause conflicts resulting in crashes and bugs.

Install all the latest Windows updates via Settings > Update & Security.
Download and install the latest DirectX runtime.
Restart your PC once the updates are installed.

This resolves OS and API related conflicts affecting gameplay.

Step 5 – Verify Integrity of Game Files

Corrupted or missing game files is another common source of launch failures and crashes in Steam games. Here‘s how you can verify and restore Spider-Man Miles Morales game file integrity:

Right click Spider-Man Miles Morales in your Steam library and go to Properties
Under Local Files tab, click on Verify Integrity of Game Files
Steam will now scan and validate all game files. Any corrupted data will be reacquired
Once verification finishes, try launching the game again.

Verifying integrity fixes damaged or missing game files that may be causing crashes.

Step 6 – Tweak In-Game Graphics Settings

Sometimes, specific graphics settings can cause stability issues if your PC hardware can‘t handle them well. I suggest trying these tweaks:

Lower resolution to 900p or 1080p if playing at 4K
Disable Ray Traced Reflections if enabled for better stability
Turn down crowd density, traffic density to reduce CPU load
Cap maximum FPS to 60 to reduce GPU load and overheating
Adjust overall quality preset to Medium or Low if facing crashes

Experiment with the settings to find the optimal balance between visual quality and performance stability for your specific setup.

Step 7 – Monitor System Resources

Use monitoring tools like Task Manager and GPU-Z to check for potential hardware bottlenecks:

Check CPU and GPU usage during gameplay. Consistent 100% spikes indicate a bottleneck
Monitor CPU and GPU temperatures. Thermal throttling can cause stutters and freezing
Ensure RAM usage isn‘t maxed out. Close unused background apps to free up memory
Check disk and network usage for any abnormalities

This helps narrow down whether crashes are due to insufficient hardware like overheating CPUs or maxed out RAM capacity.

Step 8 – Try Reinstalling Graphics Drivers

If crashes persist even after updating GPU drivers, try uninstalling and reinstalling graphics drivers using Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU):

Download and run DDU
Boot into Safe Mode
Completely uninstall current Nvidia/AMD graphics drivers
Reboot normally and install latest GPU drivers

DDU does a clean driver reinstallation which may resolve instability better compared to just updating drivers.

Step 9 – Disable Overlays and Background Apps

Sometimes overlays and background apps interfering with games can cause crashes. Try disabling:

Nvidia GeForce Experience Share overlay
Discord/Xbox Game Bar overlays
MSI Afterburner/RivaTuner Statistics Server
Razer Cortex, Logitech Gaming Software
RGB lighting apps like Razer Synapse, iCUE

Also disable unnecessary startup programs using Task Manager > Startup tab to free up system resources.

Step 10 – Test with Game Ready Drivers

If all else fails, wait for Nvidia/AMD to release a Game Ready Driver specifically optimized for Spider-Man Miles Morales stability and performance improvements.

Regularly check for new Game Ready Driver updates
Perform a clean driver installation using DDU when available
Game Ready Drivers include compatibility fixes for specific game issues

For example, Nvidia‘s Game Ready Driver for God of War resolved crashing issues faced by many users. So game-specific drivers can sometimes fix elusive stability problems better.

Bonus Tips for Optimal Performance

Here are some additional tips to achieve smoother gameplay and higher FPS in Spider-Man Miles Morales:

Set graphics preset to Very High and enable ray tracing if you have a RTX 3070/RTX 3080 or RX 6800 and up
Use DLSS set to Balanced or Quality mode for up to 70% higher FPS if you have an RTX GPU
Install the game on an SSD rather than HDD for faster load times
Close unused background apps and disable them from startup using Task Manager
Set power plan to High Performance in Windows settings
Disable VSync for higher uncapped frame rates if your monitor supports it
Overclock your GPU using MSI Afterburner for extra performance headroom

Summary of Fixes

Here‘s a quick summary of all the solutions covered in this guide:

Issue	Potential Fixes
Game crashing or freezing	Update GPU drivers, Reinstall GPU drivers using DDU, Run as admin, Add antivirus exceptions, Update Windows and DirectX, Verify game files integrity
Game not launching	Run as admin, Add antivirus exceptions, Update Windows and DirectX, Verify game files
Black/white screen on launch	Update GPU drivers, Reinstall GPU drivers using DDU, Verify game files integrity
Low FPS/Stuttering	Update GPU drivers, Tweak in-game graphics settings, Monitor system resources, Disable overlays and background apps

I hope these troubleshooting steps help resolve any crashing, freezing, or launch issues you may be facing with Spider-Man Miles Morales on your PC or PlayStation. Let me know in the comments if you have any other problems getting the game running smoothly! I‘ll help you get web-slinging through New York City in no time 🙂