Failed To Create D3D Device | Best Ways To Fix

The Direct 3D device, better known as the D3D device, is essential in creating a good gaming experience. It is basically a graphics application programming interface and is directly related to your graphics adapter and driver. Now, errors pertaining to the D3D device in the form of ‘failed to create D3D device’ aren’t uncommon.

The best ways to fix this error are restarting the machine, reducing the video resolution, using the auto-config launch option, etc.

This issue generally arises when you’re running a particular game at a setting that your respective machine is unable to support. It could also arise as a result of broken or outdated video drivers. It could also be because you may be running an outdated version of windows.

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How To Fix “Failed To Create D3D Device” Error?

If talking specifics, the ‘D3D error’ generally comes up when launching games via Steam. These generally include games like CS: GO, Left 4 Dead 2, and Rocket League. Therefore, to help you fix the ‘failed to create D3D device’ error, we have devised a list of the top 6 working solutions. So without further ado, let’s get into it.

Restarting The Machine

The easiest of all solutions in this list of fixing ‘Failed to Create D3D Device’ is to simply reboot your PC. This is generally the first solution that comes to mind when an electronic device doesn’t seem to work. This is because there are chances of your PC being in an unusual state after being turned on. Restarting the PC will clear the full memory and allow it to reload the files it needs to execute an action. Restarting your device is fairly straightforward.

Go to ‘start,’ then ‘power’, and finally, click ‘Restart.’ Now check to see if your ‘D3D error steam’ has been fixed. If not, read on.

Reducing The Video Resolution

Fixing the video resolution has been reported to work for several users. If you recently did change your video resolution, we recommend to change it back to its way. Once you revert the resolution to a setting, it previously worked on, re-test the error. We also suggest playing at a lower resolution henceforth if possible.

Using The Auto-config Launch Option

You could also have the game set the ideal settings for playing it on your machine. You can do so by employing the use of the auto-config launch option. Here is how you can set it.

Login to you ‘Steam’ account and go into the library
Now, right-click on the game that has to be reconfigured.
Choose ‘Properties’ from the drop-down menu
Next, pick ‘Set launch options’ and remove all options that you can see
Finally, input ‘-auto-config’ in the given space.

This ought to fix your system’s ‘failed to create D3D device’ error.

Upgrading Windows To Its Latest Version

It is also most likely that you’re facing this issue because your windows hasn’t been updated to its latest version. The Windows OS roles out updates frequently to fix any bugs or related issues. Therefore, it is highly beneficial to keep your system up to date. To check if Windows has been updated to the latest version, commence as follows.

Go to ‘settings.’
Next, go into ‘Updates & Security’
Now, go into ‘Windows Updates’ from the list of options on the right-hand corner of your screen.
Click on ‘Check for updates’

These updates have the potential to fix major issues, including the ‘failed to create D3D device’ error.

Updating DirectX To Its Latest Version

The ‘failed creating the direct3d device’ issue has been reported to be fixed when several users tried updating the DirectX to its latest version. Since the cause for error can be an outdated DirectX version, your best bet is to update it. Also, there are reports that the solution fix errors related to launching games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as well. Therefore, if you’re facing the CS: GO D3D error, then this solution might just be the one that works. Therefore, commence as follows-

Open up your web browser and click here to open up a link to another web page.
Pick the installer language and proceed to download
On the following screen, uncheck all the bloatware that Microsoft shows.
Next, select the ‘No thanks and continue with Direct X End-User Runtime Web installer’ button.
Wait for the download to finish. Once done, follow the onscreen instructions to proceed.
Finally, restart your device.

Changing The Launch Option

If none of these solutions so far seemed to have worked for you, try changing the game’s launch options.

For games like CS: GO, Left 4 Dead, Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2, etc., set the launch option to ‘-dxlevel 90’. For any other game, set it to ‘-dxlevel 81’.

Relaunch the game that you’re playing to see if the error continues to persist.

Conclusion

So here are our top 6 solutions to fixing the ‘failed to create D3D device’. These solutions have worked out perfectly for several users. However, if the error continues to persist, try isolating the cause to figure out the next best course of action. Have a great day!

Tony Polanco

Tony, computing writer at Automaticable, covers laptops, tablets, Windows, iOS. Off-duty, he indulges in comics, gaming, speculative fiction, and excessive Twitter use. Non-nerdy side includes rocking out at concerts and hitting NYC bars.