How to Easily Fix Fail to initialize DirectX Error

Microsoft DirectX is a set of application programming interfaces that handle all tasks regarding multimedia such as game programming & video on Microsoft platforms. Most APIs begin with “Direct” such as Direct3D, DirectDraw, DirectMusic, DirectPlay, DirectSound, and more. But somehow PC users can’t be able to play video games due to the Fail to initialize DirectX Error. Similarly, users may also get Fail to initialize DirectX Audio or Fail to initialize video device-related errors which are very frustrating. Now, if you’re also one of them, you can follow this troubleshooting guide.

Basically, the Windows system thinks that your active graphics card doesn’t support the DirectX version for some reasons which isn’t true. Now, to be very precise, there are a couple of reasons behind this issue that we should understand and try to fix them properly. It includes updating the graphics driver, updating the DirectX version, installing Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables, disabling hardware acceleration, etc. Meanwhile, freshly installing the graphics driver can also fix this issue.

How to Easily Fix Fail to initialize DirectX Error

Now, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into the steps below.

1. Update DirectX Version

As the problem is related to the DirectX version on your Windows OS build, it’s highly recommended to update your installed DirectX version properly. An outdated DirectX version will obviously gonna incompatible with some of the video games and programs which are required to run on the latest one. To do so:

• Well, there is no need to separately update your DirectX version because it comes by default with Windows OS build. So, updating the Windows version or build will do the job.
• Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings > Click on Update & Security.

• Now, select Check for updates > It’ll automatically check for available updates.
• if there is an update available, you can select Download and Install.
• Once done, you can restart your computer to apply changes.
• Make sure to install all the pending cumulative updates and security patches too.

2. Update Graphics Driver

Updating your graphics driver on your Windows computer will fix multiple issues regarding visual glitches, crashes, DirectX issues, and more. Just like Windows OS build, updating the graphics driver is also necessary. To do this:

• Right-click on the Start Menu to open up the Quick Access Menu.
• Click on Device Manager from the list.
• Now, double-click on the Display adapters category to expand the list.
• Then right-click on the dedicated graphics card name.

• Select Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
• If there is an update available, it’ll automatically download and install the latest version.
• Once done, make sure to reboot your computer to change effects.

Alternatively, you can manually download the latest version of the graphics driver and install it directly from the official website according to your graphics card manufacturer. Such as Nvidia graphics card users can visit the Nvidia official site and AMD graphics card users can visit the AMD website to get the latest driver.

3. Install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables

Make sure to reinstall the Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime on your computer to fix multiple gaming issues or errors completely. To do that:

• Press the Windows + I keys to open up Windows Settings.
• Click on Apps > Locate the Microsoft Visual C++ program(s) in the list.
• Select each program and click on Uninstall. Once uninstalled, restart your computer.
• Now, you can visit the official Microsoft website and download the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables.
• Once done, install it on your computer, and restart the system to change effects.

4. Disable Hardware Acceleration

In short, Hardware Acceleration is one kind of feature which is more powerful and efficient than software algorithms. However, sometimes the hardware acceleration can trigger performance issues and crashes to multiple games or apps on the Windows computer.

• Right-click on the desktop screen > Select Display settings.
• Go to Advanced display settings > Click on the Display adapter properties link.
• Click on Troubleshoot > If there is an option called ‘Change settings’.
• Click on it > The Display Adapter Troubleshooter window will appear.
• Now, drag the slider to the most left side to disable it.
• Once done, click on OK.

However, if this method doesn’t fix the Fail to initialize DirectX Error then you can follow the next method.

5. Freshly Install Graphics/Sound Driver

If in case, your video or sound driver becomes outdated or corrupted somehow, you should uninstall the driver and freshly install it again to remove all kinds of glitches or cache data issues. To do this:

• Press Windows + X keys to open the Quick Access Menu.
• Now, select Device Manager > Once it opens, double-click on Display adapters.
• Right-click on the active graphics card > Select Uninstall device.

• Once done, you should do the same for the sound drivers (Sound, video, and game controllers) also.
• Restart your computer > Head over to your respective manufacturer’s website according to your computer model and download the latest version of the graphics/sound driver.
• Now, install both of them one by one and make sure to restart your computer to apply changes.

If in case, you’re using any third-party driver updater tool on your Windows, that software will also help you to update or install all the necessary or latest drivers on your computer.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.