Fix: Could Not Initialize Graphics System on Windows 10

Recently, Windows 10 users have repeatedly talked about an error named “Could Not Initialize Graphics System.” The said error commonly appears while the user is playing a game, more specifically, the “Age of Empires.” One commonly found the reason behind its occurrence is the compatibility issues between the video card or driver with the DirectDraw.

How to fix the “Could Not Initialize Graphics System” Error on Windows 10?

DirectDraw is an API that once used to be a component of Microsoft’s DirectX API. It allows the application to run full screen or get embedded in a window. Also, it provides graphics in applications that demand high performance. As the issue is basically related to DirectDraw, the solutions below will possibly fix the error within no time. There can be some other specific reasons as well which are explained with the fixes. Let’s learn how:

FIX 1: Update Your Graphics Drivers:

Outdated or corrupt drivers are one of the common causes of various errors in Windows 10. Hence if you are repeatedly experiencing the “Could Not Initialize Graphics System” error, it could be because of outdated or corrupt Graphics Drivers. For updating them, you can follow one of these ways:

Update through Device Manage or Update through your Device Manufacturer’s website

Update through Device Manager:

Firstly, launch the RUN prompt via pressing WINDOWS + R altogether.
In the empty text box, type “devmgmt.msc” and then click on OK or press Enter.
Now on the Device Manager window, navigate to Display adaptor on the list and click on the arrow mark to expand its menu.
Here right-click on the device you want to update and then select the option Update Driver from the submenu.
On the next prompt, click on the option Search automatically for updated driver software. Your system will auto search and install the latest drivers. (Make sure you have an active internet connection).

Update through your Device Manufacturer’s website:

In some rare cases, updating Graphic drivers via Device Manager might not always provide you with the desired results. Here it is recommended to directly navigate to the NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel website and install the most recent driver updates without any issue.

Once you have successfully updated the Graphic driver, open the relevant program/ game showing you the said error and check whether it is resolved.

FIX 2: Run the particular Game in Compatibility Mode:

The applications that create issues while generally running in Windows 10 can sometimes work efficiently in the Compatibility Mode. Compatibility mode is responsible for older programs running on latest operating system versions. It altering the system’s settings so that the applications and programs work swiftly without an issue.

For running the game in Compatibility mode, follow the steps given below:

Firstly, navigate to the installation folder (of the particular gaming application) and right-click on the game.
Now from the Context menu, click on Properties, and it will land you in another window.
Here navigate to the Compatibility tab and click on the drop-down menu under the Compatibility mode section.
Here, choose the older version of Windows that you want your game to get compatible with.
After that under the Settings section, tick the checkboxes before the options: Run this program as an administrator and Disable Fullscreen optimizations.
Now click on Apply and then OK.

Once done, try to relaunch the game and check whether the “Could Not Initialize Graphics System” error is still showing up or if it is resolved.

FIX 3: Install DirectX update Manually:

Microsoft Directx is a series of API’s (Application Programming Interface) for handling and managing multimedia tasks, especially for game programming, video rendering and 3D modelling. Hence it is recommended to keep it updated. For Installing the DirectX update Manually follow the steps given below;

Firstly, navigate to the Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime Installer official webpage.
Here set the language from the drop-down and then click on the Download tab.
Now run the dxwebsetup.exe file and navigate further as per the on-screen instructions.
The installation process might take some time. Make sure you avoid any additional installation during the process.

Once the installation process is done, restart your system, re-run the program that was showing up the “Could Not Initialize Graphics System” error, and check whether it is resolved or not.

Some of the DirectX is not available other than within Windows update; thus, make sure you check this beforehand.

FIX 4: Modify the Display Resolution:

As per some of the suffered users, modifying their Display’s resolution resolved the “Could Not Initialize Graphics System” error swiftly for them. Let’s learn how:

Firstly, right-click anywhere on the blank area of your display screen and then select the option Display Settings from the menu which appears.
On the Settings window, click on the drop-down menu under Display resolution and change the resolution to something other than it originally is.

Now re-run the game in modified resolution and check whether it stills shows up the error. If no, then the issue is resolved for you. If yes, then move down to the next solution.

FIX 5: Install the latest Windows update:

Every Windows 10 update smoothen down your system’s functioning and fix various of the existing errors and glitches. Therefore, it is advisable to install all the available updates from time to time. For doing so,

Firstly, on the desktop search bar, type Updates and select the option Windows update settings from the search results.
On the next screen, click on the Check for Updates tab. It will auto-locate for all the available updates and install them into your system.
Now once the updates are installed, restart your system to make them useful.

After that, re-run the relevant game and check whether the said issue is resolved or not.

While the users are playing any game in their system, the “Could Not Initialize Graphics System” error spoils their experience by reappearing on their screen. However, the above fixes are efficient to fix the said issue in most of the cases.

Moreover, it is always recommend to keep your system updated with the latest Windows 10 updates. It will bring in new benefits and keep various errors away from your operating system. If you have any queries or feedback, please write down the comment in the below comment box.