Video DXGNRL Fatal Error when playing games.

mecwithadot 0 Reputation points
2026-09-14T14:05:55.72+00:00

Hello. For the past month or so I have been getting this screen frequently whilst playing games. My screen blinks and the audio buzzes for a few seconds, then the game just crashes. After a few seconds the laptop itself gets the fatal error and crashes. This happens more frequently in certain games like Assasin's Creed Valhalla or Shift At Midnight, making it impossible to play the game. But rarely or even none at all in other games like Overwatch, Sons of The Forest, Ready or Not.

So far I have tried resetting my pc, updating my display drivers, uninstalling then reinstalling the latest display drivers, uninstalling then reinstalling all the games, installing the latest Microsoft updates. I have researched the problem but was unable to find a solution to my problem.

Laptop: MSI Stealth 14 Studio A13VF
OS: Windows 11 Home
GPU: 4060 RTX Laptop

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

3 answers

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  1. mecwithadot 0 Reputation points
    2026-09-14T14:59:23.2433333+00:00

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  2. David-M 126.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-14T14:39:38.2766667+00:00

    Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

    This behavior can occur for a few reasons. It is necessary to investigate.

    Please see if your computer created minidump files.

    These files are in C:\Windows\Minidump.

    (If you don't have a Minidump folder, check if it is in the plural Minidumps.)

    Copy any files you have to your desktop and store them in a ZIP file. Then, upload the ZIP file to the cloud (OneDrive), choose to share it, and get the link.

    Then, post the link to the ZIP file here so I can have a look.

    Looking forward to your reply.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-09-14T14:06:18.8833333+00:00

    VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR indicates that the Microsoft DirectX graphics kernel subsystem detected a violation. Given that this happens mainly during games, with screen blinking, audio buzzing, and then a crash, the most relevant path is graphics-driver and graphics-stack troubleshooting.

    Since resetting Windows, reinstalling games, and reinstalling the latest display drivers were already tried, focus on these steps:

    1. If a driver name appears on the blue screen or in the stop message, disable that driver or get an updated version from the laptop manufacturer.
    2. Make sure all graphics-related software is current, including DirectX and OpenGL components, and ensure the affected games are fully patched.
    3. Check whether any recently added hardware or peripherals are involved, and confirm they are compatible with the installed Windows version.
    4. Use Safe Mode to isolate whether the issue is tied to a full graphics driver stack:
      • Open Settings → Update and Security → Recovery
      • Select Advanced startup
      • Go to Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart
      • After restart, choose option 4, 5, or 6 for Safe Mode If the system is stable there, that points more strongly to a driver or related software issue.
    5. Run Windows Memory Diagnostics:
      • In Control Panel search, type Memory
      • Select Diagnose your computer's memory problems
      • After the test, open Event Viewer → System log
      • Look for MemoryDiagnostics-Results
    6. Run the hardware diagnostics provided by MSI for the laptop.

    Relevant background: Windows uses Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) for GPU hangs. During heavy graphics workloads, the system can appear frozen while the GPU is busy. If recovery succeeds, Windows can show that the display driver stopped responding and recovered; if recovery fails, bug checks such as video TDR failures can occur.

    If the crashes are limited to only a few specific games, also check whether those games have known issues or patches. There is also a documented Windows known issue where certain games crash or restart systems because of RGB-related drivers with names similar to inpoutx64, not because of Windows itself. If RGB control software or related device drivers are installed on the laptop, that is worth checking.

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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