Template:Infobox game/row/winporterWarnings
- For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.
Key points
- Reports indicate this title is a poor port.[1][2]
General information
- Rockstar Support
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
Template:Availability Table
- All versions require Games for Windows Live.
Essential improvements
No introduction movies
Performance improvement
- When running the game, you can use command line modifiers to optimize performance:
Patches
- The 1.0.6.0+ patch no longer requires Rockstar Social Club to be launched in order to run the game.[3]
Modifications
- It is strongly recommended to make a backup of any files modifications may replace or amend in the event of corruption.
XLiveLess
If you want to be able to add modifications to your GTA IV base game you will need to proceed with the steps below.
- XLiveLess will disable all multiplayer functionality to prevent cheating.
Game data
Save game location
Template:Game Location Table
- Both folders constitute the save game, as the save data is bound to the Games for Windows Live profile.
Template:Save Game Cloud Syncing
Video settings
Template:Video settings
Input settings
Template:Input Settings
PS3 Controller Buttons
If using a PS2/PS3 controller, you might want to change the Xbox 360 buttons to the PS2/PS3 buttons. In order to do so, follow the instructions below.
Audio settings
Template:Audio settings
Issues unresolved
Issues fixed
Memory leaks
Fatal error RMN20 upon attempted launch
Game fails to start
There is an issue in which the Steam Version of the game (And possibly non-steam) will fail to start. The Rockstar Social club login pops up, but after you sign in, or go offline, the game fails to start. This is caused by an out of date Games for Windows Live Client. Install the Games for Windows Marketplace Client to get the latest version. You may have to start run this program each time you want to play.
- If problems persist see Cannot connect in-game.
- If the game loads as a process under Task Manager, but disappears after a while, run GTAIV.exe under compatibility mode for Windows XP SP3 or higher. In Windows 7, this can be found under the Programs tab of the Control Panel.
- The game may fail to start if you have uninstalled the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant which is known to cause issues with the WDTV Live.[4]
ATI Radeon water fix
There is a problem where the water loses its features and details after a while. Follow the instructions below to resolve this.
Algonquin Bridge lag issue
ATI rain effects glitch
Invisible fonts glitch
- An invisible fonts glitch may occur which involves game menu text disappearing, follow the instructions below to resolve it.
Game minimizes after clicking start
Game will load with minimal graphic settings and won't let you change them
Windows 8 retail disk installation
"Cannot connect to LIVE" error when trying to registering the game
The issue comes up when you first launch the game and have to register your product key.
Other information
Custom music
Grand Theft Auto IV allows users to play their own music on a custom radio station, Independence FM. Simply place any WAV, WMA, or MP3 songs in the %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\User Music folder, and tune into the station in-game. If the music library is on an external HDD, a shortcut placed in the %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\Rockstar Games\GTA IV\User Music folder will work too.
Command Line
By creating a file called commandline.txt and saving it to your root game folder you can alter the way your game runs. If you are using Steam; go to the game in your library, right-click and click Properties, select Set Launch Options... and enter the commands separated by spaces.
The table below describes the majority of commands usable in the command line file.
| Command Line |
Definition |
Example Usage
|
| width |
sets the horizontal resolution |
-width 1280
|
| height |
sets the vertical resolution |
-height 720
|
| texturequality |
changes texture quality low/med/high (0-2) |
-texturequality 1
|
| shadowdensity |
adjusts shadows thrown up by car lights (0-16) |
-shadowdensity 3
|
| renderquality |
adjusts the render quality of the game (0- 4) |
-renderquality 3
|
| viewdistance |
adjusts the view distance (0-99) |
-viewdistance 25
|
| detailquality |
adjusts the detail distance (0-99) |
-detailquality 30
|
| norestrictions |
removes memory restrictions on graphic settings |
-norestrictions
|
| novblank |
removes good ole v-sync |
-novblank
|
| safemode |
runs GTA 4 with everything set to as low as you can go |
-safemode
|
| fullscreen |
runs GTA 4 fullscreen |
-fullscreen
|
| windowed |
runs GTA 4 windowed |
-windowed
|
| availablevidmem |
allocates some system ram as additional vram |
-availablevidmem 1.5
|
| percentvidmem |
how much vram of your gpu GTA 4 can use, 1.0 will be all of it and 0.5 will be half |
-percentvidmem 0.5
|
| frameLimit |
limits your framerate to the refresh rate |
-frameLimit 1
|
| refreshrate |
adjusts the refresh rate (oddly enough) be careful do not set a refresh rate your monitor can't do |
-refreshrate 60
|
| fullspecaudio |
enable high-end cpu audio |
-fullspecaudio
|
| minspecaudio |
enable low-end cpu audio |
-minspecaudio
|
| noprecache |
turns precache off |
-noprecache
|
| nomemrestrict |
turns all memory restrictions off |
-nomemrestrict
|
| benchmark |
starts the in game benchmark and then quits the game |
-benchmark
|
| help |
lists the commands and usage but doesn't look as snazzy as this |
-help
|
System requirements
| Windows |
|
Minimum |
| Operating system (OS) |
XP SP3/Vista SP1 |
| Processor (CPU) |
|
| System memory (RAM) |
|
| Hard disk drive (HDD) |
16 GB |
| Video card (GPU) |
GeForce 7900
ATI X1900
256 MB of VRAM |
- Online play requires log-in to Games for Windows Live.
References
