Enshrouded Error VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST Vulkan Device Lost (Solved)

Keen Games GmbH has recently released Enshrouded, an open-world survival role-playing video game that allows up to 16 players to get into the co-op mode. Though the title is running under the early access stage, it has already received plenty of positive reviews on Steam for the PC platform. Meanwhile, it looks like some of the players are encountering the Enshrouded Error VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST Vulkan Device Lost on the computer quite often during startup.

It seems that whenever Enshrouded players run into the online multiplayer mode, this specific error notice appears on the screen. This particular error hinders their overall gaming experience and becomes frustrating a lot. Now, if you’re also one of the victims to encounter such an error then don’t worry. To be precise, this error notice indicates that your active graphics card has encountered an issue and is no longer accessible. Well, this error says “Enshrouded Error VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST – Vulkan Device Lost” to the affected players.

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Steps to Fix Enshrouded Error VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST Vulkan Device Lost

Steps to Fix Enshrouded Error VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST Vulkan Device Lost

This VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST Error can happen due to several possible reasons such as hardware incompatibility conflicts, an outdated graphics driver issue, an outdated game patch version, corrupted game files, lack of the system admin access, corrupted or missing Vulkan runtime library, antivirus & firewall blocking issues, an outdated Windows, game installation issues, etc. So, it’s better to check all of these aspects at your end manually to ensure everything works fine.

Fortunately, here we’ve shared with you some potential workarounds that should come in handy. Make sure to follow all troubleshooting methods until the problem has been fixed. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.

1. Relaunch the Game

We suggest you force close and relaunch the Enshrouded game on your computer to ensure there is no conflict with the game cache data.

Exit the game and the launcher on your PC.
Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys to open Task Manager.
Click on the Processes tab.
Select the Enshrouded.exe task.
Click on End Task and close the Steam task too.
Next, restart your PC to apply changes.

2. Reboot the PC

The second thing you can do is reboot the computer manually to refresh any kind of temporary system glitches or cache data issues. You can check the steps below.

Open the Start menu > Click on the Power menu.
Click on Restart > Wait for the system to boot again.

3. Check the System Requirements

You might also need to check for the system requirements of Enshrouded for the PC version. It looks like your PC specification isn’t compatible enough to run the Enshrouded game smoothly. You should cross-check the minimum system requirements to ensure there is no compatibility issue with the configuration. In case, there is a compatibility issue, try upgrading the required software or hardware accordingly.

OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-6400 (2.7 GHz 4 Core) / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X (3.5 GHz 4 Core) or equivalent
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (req. 6GB VRAM) / AMD Radeon RX 580 (req. 6GB VRAM)
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 60 GB available space

4. Run Enshrouded as an Administrator

The chances are high that somehow your Enshrouded game app is having some conflicts without the system administrative access during startup. You might need to allow the system admin privilege so that the game can run smoothly.

Open the Start menu > Search for the Enshrouded game.
Right-click on the Enshrouded.exe app on your PC.
Go to Properties > Click on the Compatibility tab.

Turn On the Run this program as an administrator option.
Click on Apply and select OK to save changes.

5. Update Enshrouded

Sometimes an outdated game patch version might also trouble you a lot when it comes to the game running or in-game graphical conflicts. You should check for the game updates manually by following the steps below. If there is an update available, install it to avoid potential issues. Additionally, you’ll be able to get new features and improvements with a new patch update.

Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
Right-click on the Enshrouded game.
Click on Properties > Click on Updates.
Now, go to Automatic Updates.
Select Only update this game when I launch it.
Once done, reboot the system to apply changes.
Whenever available, the game update will be installed.

6. Verify and Repair the Game Files

The chances are high that somehow the missing or corrupted game files installed on the PC can trouble you a lot. This specific method will help in scanning and repairing the installed game files to fix multiple conflicts. You can follow the steps below to do so:

Open the Steam client.
Go to the Library.
Right-click on the Enshrouded game.
Go to Properties.
Now, click on Installed Files.
Click on Verify integrity of game files.
Wait for the process to complete.
Once done, restart the computer.

7. Update the Graphics Driver

Another thing you can do is to update the graphics card driver on the PC manually by following the steps below. Sometimes an outdated graphics card driver version can cause multiple issues with the in-game graphical glitches. There are both recommended and manual update methods mentioned below that might help.

Recommended Update:

Open the Start menu > Search and open Device Manager.
Double-click on Display Adapters.
Right-click on the dedicated graphics card.

Click on Update Driver.
Now, click on Search automatically for drivers.
If an update is available, download and install the latest version.
Once done, restart the system to apply changes.

Manual Update:

If a new update isn’t available, go to the official website of the specific graphics card manufacturer using the link below. Manually search for the graphics card model and then download the latest graphics driver on the PC. Then run the installer and completely install the GPU driver on your computer.

8. Set Enshrouded Priority to Realtime

You might also need to set the Enshrouded game task to real-time via Task Manager details to easily allocate enough system resources to run it properly. Sometimes insufficient system resources might trouble you a lot with the game startup and in-game graphical glitches.

Right-click on the Start Menu.
Select Task Manager.
Click on the Processes tab.
Right-click on the Enshrouded task.
Use Set Priority to Realtime.
Once done, you can run the game.

9. Update Vulkan Runtime Libraries

The Vulkan Runtime Libraries are one of the essential parts of Windows apps that use the Vulkan API. In case, the Vulkan API becomes outdated then it may lead to the VK_ERROR_DEVICE_LOST error while launching the Enshrouded game. To do so, check the steps below.

Visit the official LunarG Vulkan SDK website.
Download the latest Vulkan Runtime Libraries for your Windows PC.
Then you’ll have to install the runtime libraries by running the installation wizard.
Once done, you’ll have to restart your PC to apply the changes.

10. Whitelist Enshrouded in Antivirus

Sometimes adding an exclusion of Enshrouded on antivirus can help in resolving multiple issues with the aggressive blocking. This method will allow the game to run properly and avoid running ongoing game files without any preventions from the antivirus.

Press the Win+I keys to open Settings.
Click on Privacy & Security > Click on Windows Security.
Click on Virus & Threat Protection.
Now, click on Manage Ransomware Protection.
Turn ON the Controlled Folder Access toggle.
If prompted by UAC, click on Yes to proceed.
Click on Allow an app through controlled folder access.
If prompted by UAC, click on Yes.
Next, click on Add an allowed app.
Go to the installed game directory.
Select the Enshrouded.exe application.
Click on Open to add it.
Finally, restart the PC to apply changes.

11. Install Pending Windows Updates

An outdated Windows system version on the PC can also trigger multiple conflicts that we can’t deny. Issues with the system version might also appear due to some instability. It’s better to follow the steps below to manually check for system updates.

Press the Win+I keys to open Settings.
Click on Update & Security.

Click on the Check for updates button.
If there is a new update available, click on Download and Install.
Once done, reboot your PC to apply changes.

12. Install Visual C++ Redistributables

Several players have reported that installing the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables on the Windows PC did help. You can check the steps below to do so:

Open Settings by pressing the Win+I keys.
Click on Apps > Search for existing VCRedist and uninstall it.
Once done, reboot the PC > Go to the official MS website link.
Download the X86/X64 versions of Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022.
Install both programs and then reboot the system.
Now, run the game again to check for the error.

13. Increase Virtual Memory

The chances are high that your physical RAM capacity is lacking to run the game smoothly which can make a huge impact. However, increasing the virtual memory on the system can be useful enough. You can check the following steps below to do so. The paging file size should be higher than the RAM capacity for better results. You can follow the steps below to increase the virtual memory size on your PC.

Please Note: You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to complete this process. The network policy settings may also cause such issues if your computer is connected to a network.

Open the Start menu > Click on Control Panel.
Click on Performance and Maintenance > Go to System.
From the Advanced tab, click on Settings under Performance.

On the Advanced tab, click on Change under Virtual Memory.
Under Drive [Volume Label], click on the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.
Under Paging file size for the selected drive, click on System Managed Size.
Click on Set > If this option hasn’t been flagged previously, restart the PC after flagging it.
If the system paging file size is used to be System Managed then under Paging file size for selected drive, click on Custom size.

Now, type a new paging file size in megabytes in the Initial size (MB) or Maximum size (MB) box. [It should be 1.5x-2x higher than the physical RAM]
Click on Set and Save changes.
Restart the PC to apply changes.

14. Reinstall Enshrouded

If none of the workarounds come in handy then ensure to uninstall and reinstall the Enshrouded game on your PC by following the steps below. Any kind of game installation issues or conflicts might trouble the game startup.

Open the Steam client on your PC.
Go to Library > Right-click on Enshrouded.
Head over to Manage.
Click on Uninstall > If prompted, click on Uninstall.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete it.
Once done, restart the PC to apply changes.
Launch Steam, and reinstall the Enshrouded game. (install on another drive)
Finally, run the game to check for the Vulkan error.

15. Contact Support

Last but not least, you should contact Steam Support and submit a support ticket for the same issue to get dedicated help. It’ll allow the game developers to investigate the issue deeply & provide a patch fix for the same.

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