How to Fix HL2.Exe Has Stopped Working?

Fix HL2.Exe Has Stopped Working – HL2.Exe is for the VALVe games Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2. Sam Gabella hl2.exe is a program that runs Half-Life 2 and most Valve-powered games are run by the Source video game engine. This is not a harmless program for Windows or other operating systems.

Fix HL2.Exe Has Stopped Working

What Causes the HL2.Exe has Stopped Working Error?

After having to go through the different steps and workarounds commonly used to fix this, we decided to jot down the reasons due to which the error might occur on your computer.

  • Antivirus: Sometimes, in order to fix the HI2.exe has a Stopped Working issue, we suggest that you disable the Antivirus temporarily and then check to see if doing so has fixed the issue.
  • Outdated GPU Drivers: In certain cases, it is possible that the older GPU Drivers installed on your computer might have less compatibility with the Half-Life 2 game.
  • Refresh Rate: The refresh rate of the monitor might prevent the game from running properly if it isn’t configured properly.
  • Missing Permissions: In certain situations, your computer might be missing certain privileges that are required to properly run the game and execute all of its files. Therefore, we suggest running the game in administrative mode as mentioned below.

How to Fix the ”HL2.exe Has Stopped Working” Error in Windows?

Run the Game as an Administrator And in a Compatibility Mode

As we already stated, even though the ”hl2.exe” points towards Half-Life 2, all other Valve-produced games with slight Source engine variations can be affected by this error. The first thought goes to incompatibility with Windows 10. Some of those games, like Counter-Strike 1.6 or Half-Life 2 are quite old. That’s the main cause for this error in the first place.

  1. Navigate to the game’s installation folder. Mostly found in C: ProgramsSteam.
  2. Locate the exe file, right-click on it, and open Properties.
  3. Select the Compatibility tab.
  4. Check the ”Run this program in compatibility mode for” box and select another iteration of Windows from the drop-down list. The one that’s noted in the game’s system requirements is the preferred one.
  5. Furthermore, check the ”Run this program as an administrator” box.
  6. Confirm changes and try starting the game.

If the crashes with the distinctive error are persistent, check the other solutions.

Update Drivers Automatically Through DriverFix

There is another way to fix these driver issues by simply installing a popular driver update assistant named DriverFix.  

  1. After installing the software, simply launch the software, click on the Scan option and wait for it to scan and detect all your computer’s faulty drivers. When the scanning is complete, simply select the ones that need fixing and wait for the software to download and install the latest files. Restart your PC and try launching Half-Life 2 again.

Temporarily disable Third-Party Antivirus

Some antivirus software detects the Half-Life 2 files as suspicious and marks them as viruses or infected files. As a result, antivirus removes and deletes these files as a safety measure. Two options can be implemented to stop the antivirus from removing these files that are listed below:

1. Pause Protection

  1. To pause protection and disable the antivirus, simply navigate to the “Show Hidden Icons” option on the right side of the taskbar, locate your antivirus, and right-click on it.
  2. Select the option “Pause Protection” or “Disable Antivirus” (the option may vary depending upon your antivirus) and click on it.
     Disable antivirus
  3. A warning prompt window will appear and click on the “OK” button.

 2. Add file/folder to the exception list

  1. Find the “Show Hidden Icons” option on the right side of the taskbar, locate your antivirus, and right-click on it.
  2. Navigate to the “Settings” option and then find the “Advanced Settings” option.
  3. Locate the “Exceptions” option and add the game’s installation folder link to the exceptions list. Save these settings and then exit the antivirus.

Disable the Steam Service and Other Background Programs

Fix HL2.Exe Has Stopped Working – Tasks running in the background can also cause the game to crash and as a result, generate this error. Restricting the activity of background running tasks can also fix this issue. To disable the background running tasks, follow the below-mentioned steps

  1. Right-click on the taskbar and open Task Manager.
  2. Click on the Startup tab.
  3. Disable all startup programs in the list and restart your PC.
  4. Start the game from the installation folder and look for improvements.

Also Read: How to Fix the Pending Transaction Steam Error?

Fix HL2.Exe Has Stopped Working  – Reinstall the Game

In the end, if the problem proves more resilient than we initially expected, you can reinstall the game or use the game client (Steam) to validate the integrity of the game files. However, instead of a classical reinstallation, we advise you to clean all of the remaining files before you install the game again.

But, before we move to reinstallation, try running the tool within Steam in order to validate the integrity of the game files. They can get corrupted or incomplete over time due to virus infection (or antivirus false detections) and misuse. Here’s how to repair the game integrity with the Steam client:

  1. Open the Steam desktop client.
  2. Open Library.
  3. Right-click on the affected game and open Properties.
  4. Open Local Files.
  5. Click on the ”Verify integrity of game files…” button.

Finally, if even this doesn’t help, follow these steps to perform a clean reinstallation:

  1. Open Steam.
  2. Under Libraryright-click on the affected game and Uninstall it.
  3. Navigate to the installation folder and delete all the remaining files.
  4. Use a professional removal tool to clear the associated registry entries.
  5. Get back to Steam and install the game from the Library.

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