How can I stop my cheesecake from cracking in several places?

open door, but leave cake in until completely cool -- may take an hour!

try beating your cheesecake batter less intensely and for a shorter time

Use a water bath when baking. Check accuracy of oven with oven thermometer. Many are off by alot and even 20 degrees too hot can make a difference. Also run thin knife around edge to loosen. Finally, have ingredients for an emergency topping on hand because sometimes cracks just happen!

Are you baking your cheesecake in a water bath? This will help moisten the cake and present a lot of the cracking.

From https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/05/24/prevent-cracks-cheesecake/

Preparing

• Use room temperature cream cheese. Cold cream cheese is more difficult to mix and will typically leave lumps.
• Be sure to mix the cheesecake ingredients (minus the eggs) very well, eliminating any possible lumps in the cream cheese.
• Eggs hold air inside the batter, which could rise up and cause cracks. So, mix the eggs as little as possible once you’ve added them.
• Always use a springform pan.
• Waterbath. This is the best way to avoid cheesecake cracks. Read more details about my easy water bath technique below.

Baking

• Avoid opening the oven door while the cheesecake is baking inside. Big cracks are often caused by drafts and temperature changes.
• Avoid overbaking! This is the most common culprit of cracking. When the cheesecake is done, there will still be a 2-inch to 3-inch wobbly spot in the center of the cheesecake. Also, the edges will be slightly puffed.

Cooling

• Once the cheesecake is done in the oven, simply turn the oven off and crack open the door. Leave the cheesecake inside for about 1 hour. Again, sudden changes in temperature often cause cracking.
• Once the cheesecake is at room temperature, cover tightly with plastic wrap and chill 4-8 hours or overnight (my preferred length of time).

What is a water bath?

Cheesecakes are often baked in water baths. This simply means that the cheesecake is baked in its round springform pan, then the pan is placed into a larger pan with hot water inside. This method is used because the hot water steam will ensure even baking, thus lessening the likelihood of cracking on top.

Here is how I make a water bath:

Wrap the pan with aluminum foil on the bottom and up the sides (a photo of my typical cheesecake pan is below). I usually do this before pre-baking the crust – if the recipe calls for pre-baking the crust, of course.

Then, place the cheesecake pan in a large roasting pan. Fill the cheesecake pan with filling. Then, fill the roasting pan with about 1/2 inch – 1 inch of hot water. I usually fill with water once placed in the oven to bake because it is hard to transfer a water-filled roasting pan with a cheesecake inside of it into the oven and not spill. So that is why there is no water in the pan in the photo below.

Are you baking it in a "bath?" Cover the entire pan with a very large sheet of heavy aluminum foil, set all of it into a larger contain with about 2" of water. Put pan in, start oven from cold; bake; then crack door of oven when it is done to let it cool gradually.