Role playing and real time strategy games have found its popularity based on the thrill that critical thinking and communication skills provide in competitive virtual environments. Games like League of Legends and DOTA 2 are still one the most popular games, with the former having the largest footprints of any game in streaming media communities.
However, many users have reported an error in these games, where in critical moments the game quits and shows the following error:
“Failed to create the D3D9 device! This can happen if the desktop is locked. Exiting…”
Read here what is the D3D9 device responsible for, and how you can solve the D3D9 desktop locked error.
Why Do I Get The D3D9 Error On My Device?
To find out why you get this error, you first need to understand what the D3D9 device does.
If you open the task manager while playing games on your computer, you will notice the d3d9.dll running under the processes tab. The d3d9.dll is actually the 3D graphics API responsible for adding the Direct X functionality to various Windows games and multimedia tasks.
(Also read: How To Improve Gaming Performance By Disabling HPET Settings)
When you see error messages related to the d3d9.dll file, it means that there is something wrong with a certain program that uses Microsoft DirectX. There are four major reasons why you may get this error on your desktop, which are:
- Missing or invalid d3d9.dll registry entries may be causing the D3D9 error on your system.
- A virus or malware infecting the d3d9.dll file is one of the most common reasons that users have reported they get this error on their device.
- A hardware failure can result in resolution mismatch, thereby causing the multimedia tasks not being handled properly.
- An outdated graphics driver can also lead to your hardware not being able to function properly, and you get the ‘Failed to create D3D9 device’ error message.
How Do I Solve The ‘Failed To Create The D3D9 Device’ Error Message On My Device?
Now that you know why you may be getting this error, let us take a look at the potential solutions that you can apply, to solve the D3D9 desktop locked error.
Solution 1: Adjust The Screen Resolution
The d3d9.dll errors are usually caused by incorrectly configured game settings. Users usually get this error when the display resolution is not compatible with the computer hardware. You can solve the ‘Failed to create the D3D9 device! This can happen if the desktop is locked’ error message by adjusting the resolution matching your hardware.
To adjust the resolution of the game, follow these steps:
- First, confirm your current screen resolution. To do this, right click on any empty desktop area, and click on Display settings/Screen resolution. Here, you will find the current resolution of your screen.
- If you are able to launch your game, change the settings from within the game. Or else, follow the next step.
- Go to the installation folder of the game in File Explorer. You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + E.
- Open the configuration file of your game. It should have a .ini You can use any text editor to open this type of file.
- Change the resolution to your current resolution.
If you use Steam to launch your games, you can follow these steps:
- Open File explorer. You can use the keyboard shortcut Win + E.
- Go to the following folder:
steam/steamapps/common/<Name of the game XYZ>/<XYZGame>/config - Open a configuration file named ini
- Edit out the semicolon(;) from the following values:
;ResX=1024
;ResY=768 - Save the file and launch the game. It should now launch without any issues.
Alternatively, you can change the resolution from the SET LAUNCH OPTIONS button in your Game properties window.
Solution 2: Reinstall The DirectX Runtimes Libraries
As mentioned earlier, the D3D9 file is responsible for adding the DirectX functionalities on your games. If the DirectX runtimes are not running on your computer, this may end up causing the game to crash with the ‘Failed to create D3D9 device’ message.
To reinstall the DirectX runtimes, follow these steps:
- Visit the Microsoft’s DirectX End-User Runtimes download site.
- Download the Runtimes to your computer.
- Open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the software on your computer.
Now check if the game runs without any D3D9 desktop locked error message.
Solution 3: Update Your Graphics Drivers
Drivers are the configuration files that facilitate the communication between your hardware and operating system. If the drivers on your system are outdated, or there is a mismatch in the driver version required and the one installed, your game can crash unexpectedly or not run in full screen.
To update your drivers:
- Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R
- Type devmgmt.msc and press Enter to open Device Manager.
- Here locate and right-click on the name of your graphics card.
- Select Update Driver.
Either you can let Windows search for the most recent drivers for your card, or you can visit the manufacturer’s site to download manually the latest drivers, and then choose the Browse my computer option to install the latest drivers for your Graphics card on your system.
Also, update your Windows version to the latest one available. This is to ensure that if a Windows bug was causing your error, which would have been solved in the latest Windows update.
Solution 4: Check For Virus And Malware
Many computer issues are caused by hidden malware and virus that hamper your experience with your device. You need to get rid of these viruses to stop “Failed to create the D3D9 device” error on your device.
You can choose from a variety of free antiviruses like Avast Free Antivirus and antimalware programs like Malwarebytes Free in order to tackle this issue. Run a full scan of your PC and then try running your games.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. The ‘Failed to create the D3D9 device’ error message that prevented you from playing your game should now be resolved. Did you find this useful? Comment below if you did, and to discuss further the same.
