How to Fix The Last of Us Part 1 Compiling Shaders Issue

ByCarl Posted on Updated on

The Last of Us Part 1 compiling shaders issue on PC usually means the game is either stuck at a certain percentage during the initial shader build, crashing mid-compilation, or taking an unreasonably long time to finish. The most common causes as of 2026 are insufficient virtual memory, Resizable BAR (ReBAR) interference, overheating CPUs (especially Intel 13th/14th gen chips with known voltage instability), and corrupted shader cache files.

Shader compilation is a one-time process that happens when you first launch the game (or after a driver update). The game pre-compiles shaders to reduce in-game stuttering. On a modern system with an SSD, this should take roughly 15–25 minutes. If yours is crashing, freezing, or taking over an hour, something is wrong — and the fixes below address each root cause, starting with what works for the most people.

Fix 1: Increase Your Page File (Virtual Memory)

This is the single most effective fix reported across community forums. The Last of Us Part 1’s shader compiler is extremely memory-hungry and can exceed your physical RAM, causing a crash if Windows doesn’t have enough virtual memory to compensate.

Set a 64 GB page file on your SSD:

  1. Press Windows + R, type sysdm.cpl, and press Enter.
  2. Go to the Advanced tab → click Settings under Performance.
  3. In the Performance Options window, go to the Advanced tab → click Change under Virtual Memory.
  4. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
  5. Select the drive where your SSD is (ideally where the game is installed).
  6. Choose Custom size and set both Initial and Maximum to 65536 MB.
  7. Click Set, then OK, and restart your PC.

After restart, launch the game and let shader compilation run. Most users who were crashing at 50–90% report this fix alone resolved the issue.

Fix 2: Disable Resizable BAR (ReBAR)

Resizable BAR gives your CPU full access to your GPU’s VRAM, but it actively interferes with The Last of Us Part 1’s shader compilation. Multiple community reports confirm that disabling ReBAR dramatically speeds up compilation and prevents crashes during the process.

How to disable ReBAR:

  • NVIDIA: Open NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D Settings → find Resizable BAR and set it to Off (either globally or just for tlou-i.exe).
  • AMD: Disable Smart Access Memory (SAM) in your motherboard BIOS under PCI settings → look for Above 4G Decoding and Re-Size BAR Support and set both to Disabled.

You can re-enable ReBAR after shader compilation completes if you want it active during gameplay.

Fix 3: Lower Graphics Settings Before Compilation

The shader compiler builds shaders for your current graphics settings. Lowering everything reduces the workload and prevents GPU/CPU stress crashes during compilation.

  1. Launch the game — if you can get to the settings menu before it starts compiling, set: Resolution: 720p, Graphics Preset: Low, Upscaling: FSR 2 Ultra Performance.
  2. Let shader compilation complete at these settings.
  3. After compilation finishes, raise your settings to your preferred quality. The game will recompile the additional shaders incrementally.

This approach is especially helpful if your system is borderline on VRAM (4–6 GB cards).

Fix 4: Update Your BIOS (Intel 13th/14th Gen CPUs — Critical)

If you’re running an Intel Core i5-13600K, i7-13700K, i9-13900K, or any 14th gen equivalent, your crashes during shader compilation may be caused by a well-documented Intel CPU voltage instability bug — not the game itself. Intel released a microcode update (0x129) in August 2024 that motherboard manufacturers rolled into BIOS updates.

What to do:

  1. Check your motherboard manufacturer’s support page (ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock) for the latest BIOS version.
  2. Download and flash the update following your manufacturer’s instructions.
  3. After updating, load optimized defaults in BIOS before booting into Windows.

This fix has resolved shader compilation crashes for a large number of Intel users. If you can’t update your BIOS immediately, a temporary workaround is to lock your CPU core clocks to 3.6 GHz and disable E-Cores in BIOS to reduce the voltage instability during the high CPU load of shader compilation.

Fix 5: Clear the DirectX Shader Cache

A corrupted shader cache from a previous failed compilation attempt can cause the process to hang or crash on subsequent launches.

Clear it from Windows Settings:

  1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
  2. Go to System → Storage → Temporary Files.
  3. Uncheck everything except DirectX Shader Cache.
  4. Click Remove Files.

Also delete the game’s local shader cache:

  1. Navigate to C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\The Last of Us Part I\ (this folder may be hidden — enable hidden files in File Explorer).
  2. Delete the entire shader_cache folder.
  3. Relaunch the game to start a fresh shader build.

Fix 6: Update Your GPU Drivers

Outdated GPU drivers are a common source of shader compilation failures, and both NVIDIA and AMD have released multiple driver updates since the game launched that specifically address The Last of Us Part 1 stability.

NVIDIA users:

  1. Open GeForce Experience or go to nvidia.com/drivers.
  2. Download and install the latest Game Ready driver.
  3. Choose Clean Installation during the install process to remove old shader caches.

AMD users:

  1. Open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition or go to amd.com/support.
  2. Download the latest Recommended driver.
  3. Use the Factory Reset option during installation.

After installing new drivers, the game will automatically rebuild shaders on next launch — this is normal.

Fix 7: Install the Game on an SSD

Naughty Dog explicitly requires an SSD for The Last of Us Part 1, and this isn’t just a suggestion. The shader compiler writes gigabytes of data (approximately 2.8–3 GB of shader files) during compilation. On a mechanical hard drive, this process can take hours or time out entirely, causing what appears to be a freeze or crash.

If your game is currently on an HDD:

  1. In Steam: right-click the game → Properties → Installed Files → Move Install Folder → select your SSD.
  2. In Epic Games Store: you’ll need to uninstall and reinstall to a different drive.

Fix 8: Replace the Oodle Decompression Library

A community-discovered fix involves replacing the Oodle decompression library that shipped with the game (version 2.9.6), which has known memory leak issues, with version 2.9.5.

  1. Download oo2core_9_win64.dll version 2.9.5 (search for “Oodle 2.9.5 DLL download” — you can find it bundled with other games or from developer resources).
  2. Navigate to your game installation folder (e.g., Steam\steamapps\common\The Last of Us Part I\).
  3. Back up the existing oo2core_9_win64.dll.
  4. Replace it with the version 2.9.5 file.

Note: This is a community workaround and may be overwritten by game updates. Back up both versions so you can swap as needed.

Fix 9: Verify Game Files

Corrupted or missing game files can cause shader compilation to fail partway through.

On Steam:

  1. Open your Steam Library.
  2. Right-click The Last of Us Part I → Properties.
  3. Go to the Installed Files tab → click Verify integrity of game files.

On Epic Games Store:

  1. Open your Library.
  2. Click the three dots (…) next to the game → Manage → Verify.

This process checks every file against the server version and replaces anything corrupted. After verification, the game will likely need to recompile shaders from scratch.

Fix 10: Monitor CPU Temperatures During Compilation

Shader compilation is one of the most CPU-intensive tasks the game performs. If your CPU thermal throttles or shuts down during compilation, the problem isn’t the game — it’s your cooling.

  1. Download HWMonitor or HWiNFO64 (both free).
  2. Run it alongside the game during shader compilation.
  3. Watch your CPU temperature — if it exceeds 90°C, your cooling is insufficient.

If temperatures are too high:

  • Clean dust from your CPU cooler and case fans.
  • Reapply thermal paste if it’s been more than 2–3 years.
  • Ensure your case has adequate airflow (front intake, rear/top exhaust).
  • Consider upgrading to a better CPU cooler if you’re using a stock one.

What If Shaders Keep Recompiling Every Launch?

If the game rebuilds shaders every time you start it instead of just once:

  • Check your antivirus — some antivirus software deletes the shader cache files because they’re large binary files in AppData. Add an exclusion for C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\The Last of Us Part I\.
  • Make sure your page file is on a drive with enough space — if the page file drive is nearly full, shader cache writes can silently fail.
  • Don’t alt-tab during compilation — some users report that minimizing the game during shader compilation can cause it to fail silently, leading to recompilation on next launch.

Minimum System Requirements (Quick Reference)

ComponentMinimum (720p/30 FPS)
CPUIntel Core i7-4770K or AMD equivalent
GPUNVIDIA GTX 970 / GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 470 / RX 6500 XT (4 GB VRAM)
RAM16 GB
Storage100 GB on SSD (required)
OSWindows 10 64-bit version 1909+

If your system doesn’t meet these specs, shader compilation issues may be a symptom of the hardware simply not being able to handle the game.

Still Crashing? Contact Naughty Dog Support

If you’ve tried every fix above and shader compilation still crashes, you may have a hardware-specific issue that needs developer attention:

  • Naughty Dog Support: https://feedback.naughtydog.com
  • Steam Community Hub: Search the game’s discussion forum for your specific GPU/CPU combination — other users with identical hardware may have found a fix.
  • Include in your report: GPU model, CPU model, RAM amount, driver version, and the exact percentage where compilation crashes.

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