Welp. The original GRID is probably the best in the series but the PC port, at least nowadays, is absolutely busted. It wasn't always this bad but in this guide I will go through step by step how I got this game to work. Although there are some people to thank for this.

• PC Gaming Wiki (This is a fantastic source of information for glitches and fixes for this game. Almost all of the fixes and or info will come from here so big thanks to them https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Race_Driver:_Grid)
  
• Xator (For creating an easy to use patcher to help make this game playable once more)

I will also provide some basic system specs to give you and idea of what I am working with here.

• OS: Windows 11 Home
  
• Processor: Intel i7-12700H 2700 mhz 20 Cores
  
• RAM: 16gb
  
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop

I'm also going into this assuming you have some basic knowledge of how to navigate files. Nothing too complex but if you can't find your documents folder or the games root folder, you're in trouble because I ain't playing tech support. One final note, these programs for patching may trigger anti-virus programs. I personally have used these download sources and can say I'm fine but use your discretion. If this makes you uncomfortable STOP NOW beacause these patchers are 100% required to make this game run without constant crashes.

This is also my first time make a legit guide in a while so the formatting is prolly gonna be ass. These aren't great but they work for near flawless gameplay at 60fps (we'll get back to why 60 later). Now onto the start. (Guide updated on 6/19/25)

Kind of an obvious step but its a good start. ABSOLUTELY 0 MODS OR ADDED DLC (we'll get to this later. In ADDITIONAL SECTION: Mods and DLC)

• Uninstall GRID from your current system and clear the folder out entirely.
  
• Install GRID on your C:/ drive (not preferable for some people but it prevents crashes in my case)

Easy enough right? Before we start the game, we will need to do a couple more steps.

YAY TIME TO DOWNLOAD THINGS JUST MAKE A GAME WORK. ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?

• Download OpenAL (this can be found here https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/10-openal/)
  
• Once downloaded, on the zip file and place the exe in you GRID root folder. Although I said i wasn't gonna be tech support, I will show a quick way to find the root folder. In your steam library right click GRID. Go down to manage then browse local files. KEEP THIS FOLDER OPEN because we'll be using it again.
  
• With the exe extracted in the folder, run it. Pretty self explanatory.
  
• Optional: Once done you can delete the OpenAL exe

Time to move onto our next step. The main patch.

This is arguably the most important step. This will patch the games main EXE and make a new updated one. Follow the steps along with the images on the website here: https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Race_Driver:_Grid and this'll be easy.

• We'll be heading over to the wiki once more to download the EXE. Go to the "Issues Fixed area and click on the area circled in the pic
  
• Then download the file here (circled in the pic)
  
• Pick the "WaterVapor" version (circled in pic)
  
• This new updated patcher shouldn't trip anti virus programs or Google Chrome protection. Unfortunately if it does trip your program, you may have to find a way to get the program to not flip out on the exe. (Not tech support so you gonna have to figure that part out.) If Chrome says its dangerous, go click on the downloads button and go down to full download history. Then find the file and click on the 3 dots. Then click download "dangerous" file. Images in respective order.
  
• Once downloaded, move the exe to your GRiD root folder
  
• Once moved, run the program. It will open a CMD and do all of the adjustments for you. Let it run and eventually you will get a notification to allow the 4gb patcher to run, allow this (screenshot not available). Then the program will finish up and close itself.
  
• OPTIONAL: Delete the EXE patcher.
  
• Now your GRiD is patched. Run it and set your graphics options. This patch also removes restrictions on resolutions allowing you to go past 1280x720.

Ok one more step to help prevent visual glitches and crashes. Almost there.

This game seems more unstable in fullscreen mode. More crashes but mainly flickering shadows and trees. Why does it do this? I dunno, I didn't make the game. Anyways final main step.

• Once the game has been run, go to your Documents folder.
  
• Then go to the Codemasters folder.
  
• Then to the GRID folder
  
• Then to hardwaresettings folder
  
• Open the hardware_settings_config.xml in notepad. (Right click the XML and go to Open with. Its in the pic)
  
• Once open, find the line that says this <resolution width="1920" height="1080" aspect="normal" fullscreen="true" vsync="1" oldWidth="1920" oldHeight="1080"> (It'll be in the next picture)
  
• Change the fullscreen=true to a false
  
• Save the XML.

Congrats. Now the game should run perfectly fine with no crashes and almost no graphical glitches. There will be some additional chapters I will add as this guide is up. Mainly stuff that may add to the experience or some general fixes.

"Uhm well acktually doing this loses the games true artistic vision" like ok stfu dweeb. Anyways here is how to make the game less yellow and pretty

• Open you hardware_settings_config xml in documents/codemasters/grid/hardwaresettings
  
• Find the line <postprocess enabled="true" blur="true" /> and change the true to false. (Example in the picture)
  
• Save the file

Now the game should be less yellow and blurry.
Important notes:

• The replay flashback camera flashes won't show up since they're a part of the post processing
  
• Since yellow is a lighter color, nighttime areas may seem much darker.

There is still a chance that you may get flickering trees, mainly Okutama. Its a simple fix (atleast should be)

• While in game in GRID, go to the main menu.
  
• Go into the graphics settings then go into advanced settings
  
• Turn the Trees setting to low.

Honestly I don't think the low option trees are too noticeable, in terms of looking like crap.

Hate to say but in my personal experience the DLC and Mods seem to make this game unstable. I've gotten way more crashes (crash to desktop on certain career races), graphical glitches (cars missing windows, stange headlight textures), and even audio glitches (cars having no engine sound but has gearbox sound). I personally cannot recommend using mods or DLC from my experience.

Note: As of the making of this guide these mods still seem outdated and the DLC seems to not function properly. I would steer clear of mods and DLC if you want a stable build.

But hey I can run my game at (insert you fps here). Why should I go with 60? Well 2 things.

• Mainly the flashbacks. The higher your FPS, the shorter the flashbacks. That's just the way the game handles flashback replays.
  
• Stability. I can run this game at 165fps however sometimes I get the occasional bad stutter/stutters or even in some cases a crash to desktop. 60fps has caused 0 crashes and no stutters for me.

You can run a higher FPS but be warned it may cause issues.

Hopefully the guide was able to help at least a couple of people. I'm not an expert at this game but i figured I'd share my personal experience getting the game to work. If you have questions, I may have answers so leave a comment. https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Race_Driver:_Grid may provide some answers to questions you may have. If you know anyone else that's struggling to get this game to work, send them this guide and maybe it will help.

Thanks for reading and viewing. Have Fun!