Dakar Desert Rally is an exhilarating off-road racing adventure that captures the genuine speed and excitement of the Dakar Rally, the largest rally race on the planet.
This game offers a wide variety of licensed vehicles, including motorcycles, cars, trucks, quads, and SSVs.
Whether you are facing sandstorms, scorching desert sunlight, rain, snow, or deep mud, overcoming the elements is essential for victory.
The game is currently Free in Epic Games (February 18 2024).
Now because the game is free on Epic Games, more players who never purchased it before are now trying the game.
However, many players are facing the issues as well, the most common error players are facing is a Fatal Error on PC.
In this guide we will provide you some effective solutions you can try to resolve the error.
How To Fix Dakar Desert Rally Fatal Error On PC
Here are some steps you can try to resolve the error:
Check System Requirements:
First check if your PC meets the minimum system requirements to run the game.
Here are the official system requirements:
- Operating System: Windows 10, 64-bit
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 / AMD FX-6300
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Video Card: 4 GB VRAM Video Card
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 50 GB available space.
If your PC doesn’t meet the following requirements you may face crashes and errors during your gameplay.
Verify Game Files:
Sometimes, game files can become corrupted or incomplete, leading to errors.
Verifying game files can resolve issues with game files that have become corrupted due to various reasons such as incomplete downloads, software conflicts, or hardware issues.
Here how to do so:
Epic Games:
To verify the game files of Dakar Desert Rally on the Epic Games Launcher, follow these steps:
- Open the Epic Games Launcher on your PC.
- Go to your Library and find Dakar Desert Rally
- Click the three dots on the right side of the game’s line.
- Select Manage from the dropdown menu.
- Click the Verify button.
- Wait for the validation process to complete.
- It may take a while to verify all your files.
Steam:
If you have purchase the game via steam, you can follow the steps below:
- Open the Steam application on your computer.
- Navigate to your game library.
- Right-click on “Dakar Desert Rally” in the list of games.
- Select “Properties” from the dropdown menu.
- In the Properties window, go to the “Local Files” tab.
- Click on the “Verify Integrity of Game Files” button.
Steam will automatically download and replace the corrupted or missing files.
If everything is successful, you can close the properties window and try launching the Dakar Desert Rally again.
Run as Administrator:
Running the game as an administrator can sometimes resolve permission-related issues.
The game shortcut is typically located on your desktop if you’ve installed Dakar Desert Rally through a platform like Steam or Epic Games Store.
If you don’t have a desktop shortcut, you can locate the game’s executable file in the installation directory.
To find the installation directory, right-click on the game’s shortcut in your Steam library, select “Properties,” go to the “Local Files” tab, and click “Browse Local Files.”
This will open the folder where the game is installed.
To Run as Administrator:
- Once you have located the game shortcut or executable file, right-click on it.
- In the context menu that appears, select “Run as administrator.”
- If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click “Yes” to confirm.
Alternatively,
- Right-click on the Dakar Desert Rally executable (either in Steam or Epic Games).
- Choose Properties.
- Under the Compatibility tab, check “Run this program as an administrator”.
- Click OK to save the changes.
This elevates the game’s privileges, allowing it to access system resources that may be restricted under normal circumstances.
Update Graphics Drivers:
Make sure you have installed the latest version of your graphic driver.
Outdated or corrupt graphics drivers can cause crashes and errors in games.
Here how to update:
For Nvidia Graphic Cards:
- Visit the NVIDIA Driver Downloads website
- Input your graphics card details (series, product type, operating system, etc.).
- Click on the ‘Search’ or ‘Start Search’ button.
- Download the latest driver that matches your hardware and operating system.
- Run the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver
For AMD Graphic Cards:
- Go to the AMD Driver Download website
- Enter your graphics card information (product family, product, operating system, etc.).
- Click on the ‘Submit’ button.
- Download the latest driver available for your graphics card and operating system.
- Run the downloaded file and follow the installation prompt.
After updating graphics drivers, restart your pc and launch the game again.
Lower Graphic Settings:
Go to your game settings and lower the graphics.
Many users found this helpful.
Lower each setting and apply the changes.
Test the game after each adjustment to see if the issue persists.
Keep in mind that lowering graphics settings may affect the visual quality of the game.
Find a balance between performance and visual fidelity that suits your preferences.
You may need to compromise on certain visual effects or details to achieve smoother performance.
After applying the new graphics settings, restart Dakar Desert Rally to ensure that the changes take effect properly.
Clear Steam or Epic Games Cache:
Clearing the cache in Steam or Epic Games can help resolve various issues, including performance issues, download problems.
Clearing the cache in Steam or Epic Games Launcher will not delete your installed games or saved data.
It only removes temporary files and cached data that may be causing issues.
Always make sure to exit the Steam or Epic Games Launcher completely before attempting to clear the cache.
Here how to do so:
Steam:
Make sure Steam is completely closed before you proceed.
Navigate to the Steam installation directory on your computer.
The default path is usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\.
Locate and delete the following folders:
- appcache
- httpcache
- ShaderCache
- Steam/appcache/httpcache
Clear Download Cache:
- Open Steam and go to “Steam” in the top-left corner of the window.
- Select “Settings” from the dropdown menu.
- In the Settings window, navigate to the “Downloads” tab.
- Click on the “Clear Download Cache” button and confirm any prompts to clear the cache.
- After clearing the cache files, restart Steam to apply the changes.
Epic Games Launcher:
Make sure the Epic Games Launcher is completely closed before you proceed.
Navigate to the following directory on your computer:
C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData\Local\EpicGamesLauncher
Note: The AppData folder is hidden by default.
You can access it by typing %localappdata% into the Windows search bar and pressing Enter.
Delete the following folders:
- webcache
- webcache_old
Clear Launcher Cache:
- Open the Run dialog by pressing Win + R on your keyboard.
- Type %localappdata% into the Run dialog and press Enter.
- Find and open the “EpicGamesLauncher” folder.
- Delete the EpicGamesLauncher folder.
- After deleting the cache files and launcher cache, restart the Epic Games Launcher to apply the changes.
Disable Overlays and Conflicting Programs:
Disabling overlays and conflicting programs can help resolve various issues, including crashes, performance issues, and conflicts with Dakar Desert Rally.
Here’s how to do so:
Steam Overlay: In Steam Library, right-click on Dakar Desert Rally > Properties > Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game > Disable.
Nvidia Overlay: Open Nvidia GeForce Experience > Settings > General > In-Game Overlay > Disable.
Task Manager:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard to open Task Manager.
- Go to the “Processes” tab.
- Look for any programs that may be running in the background and could potentially conflict with Dakar Desert Rally.
- Right-click on the program and select “End Task” to close it temporarily.
Test Dakar Desert Rally to see if the issue persists.
You can also try unplugging any external devices like racing wheels that might conflict with the game.
Contact Support:
If you have tried the above steps and are still experiencing the Fatal Error in Dakar Desert Rally, consider reaching out to the game’s developer for further assistance.
They may have additional troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue.