If you’ve been diving into the gritty and immersive world of Red Dead Online on PC, you’ve likely spent a good chunk of time tweaking settings to get the perfect balance of performance and aesthetics. But what happens when those settings just won’t save? Not only can this be incredibly frustrating, but if left unresolved, it can significantly hamper your gaming experience. Thankfully, this issue is both common and fixable — and we’ll guide you through the process step by step.

TL;DR

If your Red Dead Online settings on PC aren’t saving, it may be due to corrupted configuration files, incorrect file permissions, or cloud syncing errors. Start by disabling cloud sync and editing the config files manually. Make sure to run the game as administrator and ensure that all related folders are not set as “read-only.” These steps can typically solve most of the problems quickly and safely.

Common Reasons Why Settings Don’t Save

Before diving into solutions, understanding the possible causes can help us troubleshoot more effectively. Here are the most frequent culprits:

• Cloud synchronization errors: Conflicts between local and cloud-stored settings can overwrite your changes.
• Read-only config files: Certain configuration files may have been inadvertently set as read-only.
• Lack of administrative rights: The game might not have permission to write new settings.
• Corrupted or missing files: Updates or third-party mods can occasionally corrupt your settings files.

Quick Fixes You Can Try First

Let’s begin with some of the simplest things you can try before digging into more technical territory.

1. Restart Your PC
   Rebooting your computer can clear temporary conflicts or software glitches that might be preventing settings from saving.
2. Disable Any Third-party Mods
   If you’re using mods or external tools that modify the game, deactivate or uninstall them and check if the problem persists.
3. Run as Administrator
   Right-click on the game’s shortcut or .exe file and select “Run as Administrator.” This ensures the game has the necessary permissions to write to files.

Disable Rockstar Cloud Saves

Sometimes, Rockstar Games’ cloud sync feature can overwrite local settings with older, cloud-stored versions. Disabling this feature can prevent that from happening.

1. Open the Rockstar Games Launcher.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Under My installed games, select Red Dead Redemption 2.
4. Scroll down and locate Cloud Saves, then toggle the option OFF.

Once this is done, restart the game and adjust your settings. Make sure to test whether the settings now save properly after a reboot or another game session.

Check and Modify Game Config Files

The game stores its configuration in a special folder, and sometimes the files here become corrupted or set to read-only, making any changes ineffective.

Navigate to the folder:

C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Rockstar Games\Red Dead Redemption 2\Settings

Now check the following:

• Right-Click > Properties on files like system.xml and settings.xml.
• Ensure the Read-only box is unchecked.

Additionally, check file contents if you’re comfortable. Open system.xml using a basic text editor (like Notepad) and review the saved settings. Make sure nothing seems out of the ordinary or corrupted.

Verify Game Files Through Rockstar Launcher

Missing or damaged files can also prevent settings from being saved. Thankfully, Rockstar provides an official way to verify and repair any corrupted segments of the game.

1. Open the Rockstar Games Launcher.
2. Click on Settings.
3. Select Red Dead Redemption 2 from the list of installed games.
4. Click on Verify Integrity.

This process can take 5–15 minutes depending on your hardware and game installation size. Once complete, restart your PC and test if settings now save correctly.

Make Sure Windows Folder Permissions Are Set Correctly

Sometimes, Windows permissions can interfere with how applications are allowed to read and write data to folders. Follow these steps to ensure there’s no unwanted restriction:

1. Navigate to: C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Rockstar Games
2. Right-click the Red Dead Redemption 2 folder and choose Properties.
3. Go to the Security tab and check if your user account has Full Control.
4. If not, click Edit and enable Full Control for your user profile.

Once permissions are updated, make sure to relaunch the game through the Rockstar Launcher as an administrator and try saving your settings again.

Delete the Config Files (Only If Necessary)

If everything else fails, you may need to start fresh by deleting your local configuration files.

1. Navigate to the directory:

   C:\Users\[YourUsername]\Documents\Rockstar Games\Red Dead Redemption 2\Settings

2. Make a backup of this folder (just in case).
3. Delete all files inside the Settings folder.
4. Launch the game — it will regenerate fresh default settings files.

After restarting, set up your preferences again to see if the changes now persist.

Extra Tip: GPU Control Panels

Sometimes, the graphics driver software (such as NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Radeon Software) can override in-game graphics settings. Open your graphics control panel and make sure it’s not enforcing specific options for Red Dead Redemption 2.

Contact Rockstar Support

If you’re still facing problems after trying all the above steps, your best course of action is to reach out to Rockstar Support. Prepare to provide system specs, log files, and a detailed description of what you’ve tried so far. Support might offer a patch, hotfix, or specific workaround tailored to your system setup.

Visit the official help page here: https://support.rockstargames.com/.

Conclusion

While it can be annoying to deal with persistent settings issues in a game as large and detailed as Red Dead Online, most of the time it’s nothing more than a simple mispermission or a cloud sync hiccup. By working through the solutions above—from disabling cloud syncing to checking folder permissions—you should be able to resolve the issue and get back into the frontier in no time.

Ultimately, a bit of patience and the right steps can fix even the most stubborn settings problems. And once you do, the vast and dangerous lands of the American Old West will once again be yours to shape as you see fit.