As of this writing in late September 2016, GTA IV has several issues that prevent the game from launching initially.

The game also requires a few commands to enable changing of the graphics settings.

This guide will be quick and easy to follow.

At first, if you try to launch the game it won't do anything.

First, navigate to your Steam GTA IV folder. Commonly, this would be found at the following location:

C:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\common\Grand Theft Auto IV\GTAIV

To make it easy, open a new Windows folder view and copy that address into the title bar like this:

If you have installed Steam or your games to a different drive, you'll have to change the location manually.

Next, look for "LaunchGTAIV.exe" and open it.


Follow the setup instructions and input your Steam key into the verification boxes when it asks for it.

You should get a prompt to log in to Social Club. Input your Social Club details, and click login. Once it fails, it should remember your login and you should be able to use the offline mode. As mentioned in my review, multiplayer is also no longer available because Social Club does not work for GTA IV as of this writing.

If you get this error:
A required security module cannot be activated. This program cannot be executed (8016)

This means you have an ASUS motherboard with an outdated BIOS. (Source: Rockstar Support)[support.rockstargames.com] You will have to flash your BIOS to be able to run the program. BE CAREFUL WHEN UPDATING THE BIOS. If you install the wrong BIOS driver you will brick your motherboard.

Next, before launching the game, go to your Steam library window and open the properties of GTA IV:


Once you have the launch command window open, copy these two commands as they are into the box:

-nomemrestrict -norestrictions

These commands will allow the game to have the graphics settings be changeable. By default, GTAIV can only read 2GB of memory, and if you have more it will think you have none, thus locking you to the minimums. These commands disable the locking. (Source: Tom's Hardware[www.tomshardware.com])

As you launch the game, check and see if the graphics can be changed. The red warning text will always be visible, but ignore it if you followed the last step.

Games for Windows Live (GfWL) may be deprecated, but it still works in GTAIV PC.

GfWL will require several updates and game restarts in order to patch it completely.

If you're on Windows 10, try manually downloading Live:
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/Live/PC/DownloadClient

The login for GfWL will either be:
1. Your Xbox Live login
2. Your GfWL login
3. Your Microsoft login

All three of those are the same for myself, but in case you don't have one or two of them, try them in that order. I used my Xbox login, so I cannot verify that the Microsoft login will work. (Please verify it worked for you and let me know if you try this method)

Windows Live is used to track your achievements and Gamerscore. If you don't care about those for whatever reason, you can disable Windows Live by using X Live Less.

You'll have to Google the link for it because Steam censors X Live Less.

X Live Less bypasses the Windows Live system and does some other things. I don't use it, so I cannot help you make that work. Just follow the instructions for it.

If you followed the guide correctly, you should now be able to launch and play the game correctly.

Enjoy.