GTA IV gets 1.01 patch, freezing not fixed [Update]

by Majed Athab { May 7th 2008 at 1:10PM }

Looks like Grand Theft Auto IV got a little band-aid patchwork today with a 1.01 update. It's a small little tweak at 18 MB, and it supposedly will fix up those freezing problems everyone's been getting antsy over. So far, we've been playing with the new patch for the past few minutes and everything seems to be going smoothly.

[Update: Looks like the freezing issue has not been fixed after all. Many gamers are stating the problem is persisting. Apparently, this update is supposed to fix multiplayer connectivity issues which cause the game to lockup. Eurogamer notes: "reducing the loads on the servers at GameSpy and hopefully the completely random hangs that some users have seen".]

[Thanks Lee!]

Tags: grand-theft-auto, grand-theft-auto-4, grand-theft-auto-iv, gta-vi, gtaiv, patches, rockstar

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Glen @ May 7th 2008 1:13PM

Yay.

gumby @ May 7th 2008 1:13PM

woot!

ajiezer @ May 7th 2008 1:15PM

Great today I pick up my copy, hopefully everYthing will go smooth

Dave @ May 7th 2008 1:16PM

glad i waited for this and avoided damaging my ps3

skech775 @ May 7th 2008 1:19PM

where did u hear about this game damaging your ps3 due to freezing?

Nate @ May 7th 2008 1:29PM

Damaging? No one's said anything about damaging... and honestly, software damaging your hardware is next to impossible.

Young Thoas @ May 7th 2008 1:32PM

It bricked Xbox 360's not PS3's

Phil @ May 7th 2008 1:32PM

I think he meant damaging it, as in him breaking it cause the game didn't work not the game causing it.

RSly @ May 7th 2008 2:01PM

Um yes it has been bricking PS3s. I just sent mine to Sony for a replacement. Check out the Sony forums, lots of people have been sending theirs in for replacement

Kyrra @ May 7th 2008 2:08PM

So, All I've been seeing is people saying "GTA4 trashed my PS3." with no real word as the the symptoms or other details about how it is breaking their hardware. Anyone care to fill me in?

RSly @ May 7th 2008 2:25PM

@Kyrra - Heres what is happening - after GTA freezes and you powered off/powered on, the PS3 will not read any game discs, DVDs, or Blu-rays. Like I said, to people who think this isnt happening - check the forums, and it also took me literally 30 seconds of describing the problem to customer service for them to tell me they would send me new one.

thinkofmeasmra @ May 7th 2008 3:16PM

@ Nate (#6)

Thats the stupidest thing ive ever heard. You either have no clue how the software/hardware relationship works, or your just an idiot. Software is what controls the hardware. Therefore if the software controls the hardware it can screw up the hardware in several ways. Whether it be writing invalid data to a harddrive or screwing the sectors, currupting critical data, even say leaving the cpu to fry by not automatically turning on the fan which the software is supposed to do. I could go on and on and on about software screwing hardware. You know how viruses work dont you? Some are software level yes, but some target hardware. Even the ECU in a car can fuck up the "hardware" if it were to fail in limiting the engine rev limit (causing a driver to potentially blow the engine)

Lars @ May 7th 2008 6:50PM

It's gotten harder to damage hardware through code these days, but it's definitely far from impossible.

frankym @ May 7th 2008 1:18PM

Finished the game last night

baef @ May 7th 2008 2:50PM

Must be nice to not have a life...

Lars @ May 7th 2008 6:49PM

Nah, he has a life... it just exists in a virtual world. And now, apparently his life is over.

hplcman @ May 7th 2008 1:20PM

Thank 9lb, 3oz Jesus!

halebound00 @ May 7th 2008 1:49PM

lol, baby jesus.....voting you up for that one

Richie S @ May 7th 2008 1:20PM

Glad this worked for the guy but bad news
The update was ineffective.
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=933036&topic=42997066
No online problems were fixed and freezing is still happening by the looks of it.

JAH75157 @ May 7th 2008 1:33PM

they need a patch where when the host leaves in multiplayer you don't have to go all the way back to sp mode, to get back into a game to have the host leave again..... etc.

ustna @ May 7th 2008 2:44PM

Can't you just push the "select" button?

mo @ May 7th 2008 1:34PM

I sure hope this fixes the online debacle. I love GTA, however a major reason for me to not wait on buying it was to kick my buddy's ass online. and without fail connecting to the netwwork freezes the game :-/

MCX @ May 7th 2008 1:59PM

Still didnt work. Freezed right at the end of the intro. So sad still no play :(

Devin @ May 7th 2008 2:04PM

Sign out of PSN and reload the game. Fixed my friend's.

mike @ May 7th 2008 2:00PM

WTF, there's something wrong with GTA4?

My PS3 hasn't had a single issue

True_Darknight @ May 7th 2008 2:12PM

Sooo glad i got no probs.. and my 120GB still trucking along!!!

NECTAR!!

chicken blade @ May 7th 2008 2:13PM

I get to 3% on downloading the patch and the media server disconects then account goes to hell then error accurred (80710723) aaaaaa.

I cant win....

dusty @ May 10th 2008 1:20AM

me to any luck in fixing the problem i have the same thing someone help us , ive tried everything . aaaahahahhhhhh

andre @ Jun 13th 2008 12:21PM

same issue here. you ever fix it?

Brodie-san @ May 7th 2008 2:13PM

Good news if this patch fixes the freezing issues. I wonder if R* will come out and actually categorically say what the bug was and how they fixed it.

I'd let you know if it had any impact on my GTAIV gaming experience but all the shops I went to over the weekend were sold out!

Probably a good thing. I have 8 games sitting there BEGGING to be played ;)

silverdragon @ May 7th 2008 2:19PM

I got the new patch played for about 30 min and everything was going fine intill my ps3 froze once again. This patch did not fix anything my ps3 is still freezing!!!

andrew @ May 7th 2008 2:28PM

umm thanks for the patch even though I have yet to see a problem since getting this over the weekend

lorderk @ May 7th 2008 2:42PM

My issue has been the infinite load after the intro plays. Reinstalling each time fixes this, so does disabling network connection. I hope this fixes my issues. Seeing as I can't really play online with my network disconnected.

Ripcord83 @ May 7th 2008 2:47PM

this is what happended to me a few times.
i dont reinstall or diable the net.
try deleting the Browser Cache, works everytime for me.

Tony @ May 7th 2008 2:49PM

I did the reinstall and it didn't really work--at first. after a couple hours it was smooth and hasn't froze since.

Tombio @ May 7th 2008 2:59PM

Thanks for nothing. Mine hasn't frozen a single time even before this patch. Now bring on the 1080p update and GTA IV actually might not be the last Rockstar game I'll BUY

Ron @ May 7th 2008 3:44PM

1080p support? Read the manual. Go to display settings, select custom, disable 720p, leave 1080p selected, and start game. Now you are in 1080p, same goes for games like Ratchet and Clank Future and Call of Duty 4.

Tombio @ May 7th 2008 5:01PM

Like I didn't know how to make PS3 and my TV to run in 1080p. It would be nice though to have the game running also natively in that resolution. If I wanted to play barely vga resolution games I would surely still have my Sega Mega Drive up and running.

Popfrogs @ May 7th 2008 3:02PM

From what other sites are saying, this isn't a patch for the freezing. This patch just fixes the online multiplayer.

The freezing patch should be coming from Sony with a firmware update soon.

Rob @ May 7th 2008 3:11PM

I bought GTA IV the morning of it's release. I haven't had a single issue yet and my playtime is over 40 hours so far. I also have the Launch 60GB PS3 that is suppose to be the one having all these problems. I... feel... lucky (for once)...

leedsunited92 @ May 7th 2008 3:15PM

Rockstar have said that the patch does not fix freezing, it just fixes multiplayer problems, such as players not been able to exit after a game has finished

Mike @ May 7th 2008 3:15PM

I just got a used copy and I have a 60gb-what probs are the 60gb launch ps3's having and what should I do to avoid them. I rented a copy of gtaiv on the 360 and the load times, pop in and anti aliasing are not very good. I could care less about acheivements-so Iam happy to get the ps3 version but want to do what I can to avoid any issues. thanks for the help!

davebo @ May 7th 2008 3:39PM

I have a launch 60gig and it's been playing gta4 just fine. What you need to look out for is the game locking up during the loading process. Either way you might want to get the patch before you start playing just to have it, then if it happens anyway consult rockstar's site and they'll just tell you to delete the game data. And it'll either work or it won't.

HaloEleven @ May 7th 2008 3:37PM

To solve the freezing problem, I just deleted my GTA IV Profile file in the Save Game Data folder. Haven't had a problem since and I didn't lose any game progress - just settings. Hope it works for you!

scou89 @ May 7th 2008 3:42PM

has anyone had there ps3's fan boost up a gear after the update?
i downloaded the update and start platying gta then about 10mins into the game the fan just started going faster, but for the last few day before the update i was playing the game for hours at a time and nothing happened with the fan.

Riley Freeman @ May 7th 2008 3:45PM

im scared to download this. mine froze at first i did their 12 ghetto steps except for disabling auto save and anti flicker. and its been working since. i get the feeling if i put this crap on its gonnna start up again. anyway well see. tonight is smallville and law and orde so probably wont touch it

Creidim @ May 7th 2008 3:56PM

I also have a 60GB, and had the freeze when loading, however I didn't follow the 12 step program, as I am a Gamer, not an addict. I just disabled autologin for the PSN, and launched all my MP via Niko's phone. Given the rash of complaints that are vague as hell, plus the out and out lies on some sites (Like R* told someone it was the EE chip, even though the EE/GS only are accessed if you boot a PS2 disc) I think that for every legitimate complaint, there are probably 20 people with 0 problems, and 5 lying trolls, or shills, take your pick.