FIX: How To Fix GPU Crashes or D3D Device Removed?

These errors are unique to a well-known gaming engine named Unreal Engine.

Unreal Engine is an advanced software that helps you develop games and animated movies. It supports famous programming languages, including Python and C++, to help you realize your dreams and ideas. It is also compatible with the latest computer and VR hardware.

It is very annoying when it crashes repeatedly, showing the same error. It not only affects the development process, but it is also very irritating. Waste of time is another overhead. This article discusses fixing “GPU crashes” or “D3D device removed” errors.

How To Fix GPU Crashes or D3D Device Removed?

Updating Windows’ Registry (TdrDelay), updating or reinstalling Unreal Engine and device drivers should fix the issue. Further, verify files in the stream, disable the NVIDIA Geforce Experience battery boost, and change the default graphics card. Changing project reflection capture resolution works too. 

If the issue is still present, change your computer’s power plan, disable antivirus software, check your computer hardware, disable GPU overclock, and switch to NVIDIA Studio drivers. In the end, reinstall Windows 11.

Update Windows Registry (TdrDelay)

Before updating the registry, you must back up your Windows operating system. After that, open the “Start Menu” and type “Registry Editor.” Open the editor and navigate to “computer,” “HKEY Local Machine,” “System,” “current control set,” “control,” and “graphics drivers.”

Here look for “TdrDelay” and “TdrDdiDelay.” Double-click on one to open a small dialogue box, select “Decimal,” and type “60” in the “Video Data” named textbox. In the end, press the “OK” button. Do this for the other one as well. Hopefully, it will solve the problem.

If you don’t have these, create them by right-clicking and selecting “DWORD” or “QWORD.” The first is for a 32-bit operating system, and the second is for a 64-bit OS. Don’t forget to rename them as we suggested. Here “DWORD” means “Double-Word,” and “QWORD” means “Quad-Word.”

Change The Reflection Capture Resolution of Your Project

For this, open your UE game or animation project showing the error. After this, right-click on the folder containing your project’s content and select the “Show in explorer” option. Now, go to the root of this folder by left-clicking on its name in the address bar.

Next, open the “Config” folder and the “Default Engine” file in the notepad. Then, press the “Ctrl + F” combination to find “ReflectionCaptureResolution.” Drop its value down a bit according to the multiples of 2 until the error is gone.

Its value should be lower for bigger maps and higher for small maps, as a higher value for bigger maps becomes an overload on your graphics card. You can change it to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, depending on the size of your map and the power of your GPU. In the end, save the file and open your project.

Disable NVIDIA Geforce Experience Battery Boost

Geforce Experience shows you the “Battery Boost” option when your computer is a laptop. Enabling it decreases the performance of your GPU as it consumes less power from your laptop battery. It does this so you can use your laptop for gaming and graphics-based apps for a longer time.

Open the Geforce Experience app and press the toggle button to disable it. Make sure that the button is toward the left side. You should download and install it from its official website if you do not have it. It will allow you to install the drivers for your GPU.

Update or Reinstall Unreal Engine

The developers of such software keep removing the bugs and keep adding new functionalities to their software products. Hence, your gaming engine must get updated ASAP. Ensure your computer is connected to a high-speed internet network during this process.

For updating, open Unreal Engine and look for a certain version. After this, press the “Update” button. Ensure you have selected the version in which you are building your game or animated movie. Close other unnecessary apps during updates, and restart your computer.

If the problem is consistent, reinstall Unreal Engine. Ensure to save your projects before uninstalling. Copy your projects to a different drive or storage, such as USB, to make a backup. After installing Unreal Engine again, paste the projects into the folder you copied them from.

Update GPU & Device Drivers

Device drivers make your computer hardware functional. In the absence of them, your hardware cannot work properly. You may be seeing this error because of the faulty drivers. To update them automatically, you can download and install software that detects the missing drivers in your computer and installs them.

To do this manually, go to your computer manufacturer’s website and download the demanded drivers. If you are a Windows user, this process is much easier. Press the combination of the “Windows + I” button and select “Windows Update.”

For updating your GPU drivers, open the app that controls your graphics cards and optimizes your games. After this, go to the “Drivers” tab. By pressing the three dots, you can switch between different drivers, such as “Studio” and “Game Ready.” The “Check for Updates” button will allow you to update your GPU drivers.

Switch To NVIDIA Studio Drivers

It is recommended when you use graphics-based apps like video editors, photo editors, modeling software, etc. Studio Drivers are specifically made for such apps. It should solve the problem which you are experiencing. On the other hand, Game Ready Drivers are only for games, as the name shows.

Switch To a More Powerful Graphics Card

Open the “NVIDIA Control Panel” app hidden in the tray on your right-hand side on the “taskbar.” As the app opens, select “Manage 3D settings” from the list on your left-hand side on the UI. In the “global settings” tab, open the “Preferred graphics processor” drop-down menu and select the most powerful GPU.

You may have more than one graphics card installed, or you might have an integrated GPU. You must switch to the most powerful GPU in both cases to avoid such errors. Your operating system will choose your integrated GPU as the default graphics processing unit.

Verify Files in Stream

If this error occurs during your gameplay, you must verify the files in Steam to eliminate this error. For this, open the Steam app and left-click the “Library” named label in the top-left corner. Next, right-click on the game showing the error and select the “Properties” option.

After this, navigate to the “Local Files” tab and press the button saying “Verify integrity of game files.” Let Steam verify your game’s files, as the error occurs when a game is cracked or illegal to play in your region. If the verification is successful, you can play the game.

Disable GPU Overclock

Overclock increases the power consumption and operating frequency of your graphics processor. All computers cannot bear GPU overclocking. Hence, disabling it to avoid crashes and errors is a good idea. You must upgrade your computer in order to enable overclocking. 

Prioritize Your Graphics Card

For this, open your “Start menu,” type “Graphics settings,” and press “Enter.” First, turn on “Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling. After this, select the “Desktop App” option from the drop-down menu under “Choose an app to set preference.” In the end, press the browse button and select the app.

This app must be the one that controls your GPU drivers and optimizes your games, such as GeForce Experience. After this, close the “Graphics Settings” and Restart your computer. Without any reboot, the changes will not be applied. Your graphics card is the default instead of the built-in or integrated GPU.

Change Your Computer’s Power Plan

Open the start menu and type “Edit power plan.” Open this app, as it will allow you to choose the best power plan for your computer. As it opens, go to the address bar and select “Power Options.” If the selected plan is “Power Saver,” it can be a reason for such an error.

Switch to the “Balanced” or “High Performance” plan and check which resolves your issue. If you cannot see the other plan, left-click on the title saying “Show additional plans,” as it will reveal the hidden power plan. Hopefully, it will solve your problem.

Disable Antivirus

Disabling your antivirus software scanning for viruses in the background while developing your project in Unreal Engine is a good idea. It is because conflicts occur among different software sometimes as they need vital computer resources like RAM, CPU, GPU, etc., simultaneously.

Reseat Your Graphics Card in Its Slot

First, shut down your computer and unplug it to avoid any electric shocks. Next, open its side case while it is facing the ceiling. Carefully unlock the GPU latch when pulling your graphics card out. After this, clean the PCIe slot using a blower or brush. In the end, install the GPU back in its slot.

Check Your Computer Hardware

The Windows operating system has a perfect built-in tool to check the health of your memory modules, as bad RAMs can cause such errors. To check your memory modules, open the start menu, type “Memory Diagnostic,” and open the app. Next, select “Restart now and check for problems.”

Make sure your progress is saved before you restart your computer. Just after the restart, it will diagnose your memory modules individually. After completing the diagnosis, Windows will start normally and show you the statistics about the problems in your RAM. It will let you know if the RAMs are good.

Similarly, there are apps and tools to check the health of your CPU and GPU. If your computer hardware is dusty, clean it properly using a blower and dry brush. If it is overheating, reduce your room temperature to 25 Celsius, install an advanced GPU cooler, and install faster case fans.

Reinstall Windows 11

If none of the methods works, we recommend you reinstall your operating system (OS). Sometimes old OS becomes buggy, especially because of power cuts. As a result, you start to experience different hardware and software-related issues. If updating it hasn’t worked for you, reinstalling them will work.

How Do I Update My Direct3D (D3D) Device Drivers?

There are three methods to update Direct3D drivers. The easiest method is to download and install a tool that finds the missing drivers in your computer and installs them individually. The other method is to press the combination of the “Windows + I” key and the “Windows Updates” button.

It will take you to an interface where you press the “Check for updates” button. After this, windows will download and install new updates for the missing drivers. Thirdly, right-click on the start menu and open “Device Manager.” It will allow you to install the drivers either automatically or manually.

What Are Direct3D (D3D) Device Drivers?

It is a Device Driver Interface (DDI) developed by Microsoft, allowing GPU vendors to provide hardware acceleration for Direct3D. The uniqueness of these drivers is that they provide acceleration according to hardware capabilities. It means they boost the performance of your graphics processing unit.

Direct3D is essential for developing games for the Windows operating system and Xbox gaming console. It makes your games compatible with the latter platforms. It is not only limited to visualization, but it also plays an important role when designing objects in CAM and CAD.

Conclusion

Changing the reflection capture resolution of your project will remove this error. Its value can be any multiple of 2, such as 128, 256, 512, 1024, etc. Updating the Windows registry (TdrDelay) will also solve this issue. But make sure to create a backup just in case something goes wrong.

Updating the device drivers should also solve the problem, as they are responsible for making your GPU functional. Update Unreal Engine first, but if the problem is consistent, reinstall it. If a game in Steam shows you the error, verify its files. Disable NVIDIA Geforce Experience Battery boost.

Prioritize your graphics card by opening the “Graphics Settings” because it is essential. Similarly, switch to the most powerful GPU, especially when your computer has multiple graphics cards installed through the NVIDIA control panel. Your default graphics processor must not be the Integrated GPU.

Choose the best power plan for your computer. Disable antivirus and its frequent scans. Diagnose your computer hardware’s health, such as RAMs, GPU, CPU, etc. Disable GPU overclock if your graphics processor becomes unstable. Switch to NVIDIA studio drivers. If none is working, then reinstall Windows 11.