DXGI Error Device Hung | Common Fixes

The DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG error is a common issue when playing games or running graphics-intensive applications on Windows.

It typically means the graphics driver stopped responding, often due to a bad driver, overheating GPU, unstable overclocking, or API/engine conflicts.

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🔧 What It Means

DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG = “The application’s device failed due to badly formed commands sent by the application. This is an design-time issue that should be investigated and fixed.”
— Microsoft DirectX Graphics Infrastructure (DXGI)

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✅ Common Fixes

Here’s a breakdown of how you can fix or troubleshoot it:

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1. Update Your Graphics Drivers

• Go to NVIDIA / AMD / Intel‘s website and download the latest stable driver.

• Avoid beta drivers unless needed.

• Consider doing a clean install:

  • Use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) in Safe Mode.

  • Then install the driver fresh.

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2. Disable Overclocking

• Reset GPU, CPU, RAM to factory clock speeds.

• Even factory overclocks (like “OC Edition” cards) can cause instability in some cases.

• Try MSI Afterburner or your BIOS to check and disable overclock settings.

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3. Lower In-Game Settings

• Reduce settings like:

  • Texture Quality

  • Shadow Quality

  • Ray Tracing (if applicable)

• Turn off V-Sync, G-Sync, or FreeSync as a test.

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4. Increase TDR Delay (Advanced)

Windows can terminate GPU tasks it thinks are frozen. Increasing this timeout can help.

Steps:

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. Navigate to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers


3. Right-click → New → DWORD (32-bit) Value

   • Name: TdrDelay

   • Value: 10 (Decimal) → this is 10 seconds

4. Reboot.

🛑 Be cautious editing the registry.

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5. Check for Heat and Stability

• Monitor GPU temps with HWMonitor, GPU-Z, or MSI Afterburner.

• Clean out dust from your case, check airflow.

• Run stress tests like FurMark, Heaven Benchmark, or 3DMark.

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6. Check for Game-Specific Bugs

• Some games (e.g., COD, Apex, Starfield) are known to trigger this error more.

• Look for:

  • Patches or hotfixes

  • Game forums for known issues and workarounds

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7. Reinstall DirectX & Visual C++ Redistributables

• Download and reinstall:

  • DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer

  • Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables

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8. Test Different Power Plans

• Go to Control Panel → Power Options

• Set to High Performance or Ultimate Performance

• Also, make sure NVIDIA Control Panel → Manage 3D settings → Power management mode is set to Prefer maximum performance

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🧪 If All Else Fails

• Try an older GPU driver (sometimes new drivers break certain games)

• Try the game on DirectX 11 vs. DirectX 12 (if supported)

• Reinstall the game or verify integrity via Steam/Epic/etc.

• Check Windows Event Viewer for related logs.