Keep your games running smoothly with
updated video drivers
How to check your graphics driver, update it, and fix the "No 3D Hardware Acceleration Found" error.
What is a video (graphics) driver?
A video driver, also called a graphics driver, is a small piece of software that helps your computer communicate with its graphics hardware. It's what allows games, videos and other graphics-heavy programs to display correctly.
If your graphics driver is out of date, it can cause:
- Visual glitches
- Slower performance
- Games or programs closing unexpectedly ("crashing")
Even new computers can benefit from updated drivers, because manufacturers regularly release improvements and fixes.
How to find your video driver information
Using Device Manager
- Click the Start button and type Device Manager, then open it.
- Expand Display adapters. You'll see your graphics hardware, for example Intel, AMD Radeon or NVIDIA.
- Right-click your graphics adapter, select Properties, then open the Driver tab to see the installed driver version and date.
Important: If Display adapters only shows Microsoft Basic Display Adapter, your computer doesn't have a proper graphics driver installed. Games may not run until you install the correct driver from your manufacturer, using the links below.
Using the DirectX Diagnostic Tool
- Press the Windows key + R.
- Type dxdiag and press Enter.
- Click the Display tab to see your graphics driver details. Some computers show more than one Display tab, or a Render tab, if they have more than one graphics card.
How to update your video drivers
Once you know your graphics hardware, download the latest driver from the manufacturer's official page:
| Manufacturer | Official download page |
|---|---|
| Intel | Intel Driver & Support Assistant |
| AMD / Radeon | AMD Drivers & Support |
| NVIDIA / GeForce | NVIDIA Driver Downloads |
Tips:
- Use the auto-detect tools on these pages to find the right driver for your computer automatically.
- Using a laptop? Check your laptop manufacturer's support page first (for example HP, Dell, Lenovo or ASUS). Some laptops need the manufacturer's own version of the driver.
- If your computer has two graphics adapters (for example Intel and NVIDIA), update both.
- Windows Update can provide some driver updates, but the manufacturer pages often have the latest fixes.
- Only download drivers from official websites, to keep your computer safe.
After updating your drivers
- ✓ Restart your computer so the new driver takes effect.
- ✓ Seeing a missing DirectX file error? Some older games need DirectX 9 files that aren't included in Windows by default, even on Windows 10 and 11. If a game mentions a missing file such as d3dx9_43.dll, install the Microsoft DirectX End-User Runtime.
- ✓ Still having problems? Make sure Windows and the WildTangent Games App are fully up to date.
"No 3D Hardware Acceleration Found" error
This error means the game can't detect the 3D graphics hardware it needs to run. Here's what to do:
- Update your video driver. Even if your hardware meets the requirements, an outdated or missing driver can stop the game from recognizing your graphics card. Follow the steps above to check and update it.
- Check your graphics card. Your computer needs a 3D graphics card with at least 16 MB of video memory. Almost all computers made in the last 20 years far exceed this.
- Restart your computer and try launching the game again.
Good to know: This error can also appear if you're playing over a Remote Desktop connection or in a virtual machine, because these often don't give games access to the graphics card. Try playing directly on the computer instead.
Still seeing graphics problems?
Our Customer Support team is happy to help.
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