How to Fix “CS GO is unable to continue due to pack file”?

When I launch the latest CS, an “CS GO is unable to continue due to pack file” error appears. There is also some VPK file listed in the message, but I have no idea what it is. Tried to remove that file, but nothing has changed. Actually, it did change and now it points to a different file. All in all, it is not a good situation. Anybody had the same problem?

Solution

“CSGO is unable to continue due to pack file corruption” is a very common problem among Counter Strike Global Offensive players. The error can happen after reinstalling Windows, reinstalling CSGO itself or even just at random times.

To solve this problem, try the following:

• Check the integrity of game files. Even in the message itself Valve suggests to player to run a check on the integrity of the game files, as there is obviously something wrong with them. If some of the files fail the check, Steam will reload them. Be sure to restart your PC after restoring the integrity of CS GO!
• Remove the “materials” and “models” folders. Go to the root folder of CSGO, then open the csgo folder. In that folder, remove the materials and models folders. Don’t worry: these folders and the files in them will be loaded automatically by the game itself.
• Delete the pak.vpk files. Open CSGO root folder and remove all pak files from it — from pak01 to pakxv_loveliness. The error message indicates a problem with one of these files.
• Launch the Steam client as an administrator. Strange solution, but if to rely on several posts on the net (mostly from Reddit), launching Steam as admin can help in this situation. Click on the Steam.exe file and select “Run as administrator”. Now run CSGO and check if the problem has been fixed.
• Deactivate the XMP profile. There are rare reports on the net that the error “unable to continue due to pack file corruption” disappears after disabling the XMP profile for RAM in the BIOS/UEFI settings. Try it.

Authordman