Additionally, advanced rendering features like Frame Generation and third-party upscaling technologies (e.g., DLSS mods or reshade injectors) have been known to trigger crashes under specific conditions. Now that we’ve identified the likely causes, let’s move on to the most effective solutions to resolve this error.
Before You Begin:
Make sure Windows is up to date (Settings > Windows Update).Close all background applications (Overlays, MSI Afterburner, Discord, OBS).Ensure the game is installed on an SSD.Confirm your GPU temperatures stay below 85°C under load (use HWiNFO or MSI Afterburner).
Also, undo any GPU or VRAM overclocking and disable undervolting if applied. Overclocked or undervolted GPUs may pass benchmarks but still crash in specific games like The Last of Us Part II Remastered, especially during shader compilation or heavy scene transitions. Restoring default clock and voltage settings ensures maximum stability during gameplay.
1. Disable NVIDIA Reflex
NVIDIA Reflex is designed to reduce system latency by minimizing the delay between input and on-screen response. While it benefits competitive gameplay, in some cases, Reflex may interfere with frame delivery if your GPU is under heavy load or your drivers are unstable. This can cause crashes or stutters during gameplay. Disabling this feature can reduce the processing pressure on the GPU, allowing frames to render more consistently and improving overall system stability. This can resolve the “DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG” error in some setups.
2. Increase Virtual Memory
Virtual memory is a reserved portion of your hard drive or SSD that Windows uses as an extension of your physical RAM. If your system exceeds commit limits or runs out of available page file space during gameplay, it can lead to instability and trigger errors like “DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG”—especially in demanding titles. By increasing virtual memory, you give Windows more flexibility to handle memory spikes, ensuring that the game has a fallback when physical RAM is fully utilized. This can help reduce the chances of crashes caused by memory-related limitations.
3. Disable Frame Generation and Upscaling Features
Frame Generation, and upscaling serve different purposes, but each adds GPU-side processing that can destabilize frame timing on unstable systems. Frame Generation inserts AI-generated frames, while upscaling reconstructs lower-resolution frames to improve image quality. Disabling these features reduces scheduling complexity and helps prevent DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG crashes. If the issue persists, try lowering Ray Tracing and Shader Quality, as both can spike GPU usage and increase crash risk in demanding scenes.
4. Clean Install of Graphics Drivers
Outdated, unstable, or improperly installed drivers are one of the most common causes of crashes and errors like “DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG”. Performing a clean install removes all existing driver components, including those that may be conflicting or unstable, and replaces them with a fresh, stable version. While you can uninstall drivers using Device Manager, it isn’t optimal because Device Manager only removes parts of the driver, often leaving behind files or registry entries that can still cause conflicts. For a complete removal, it’s recommended to use DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller)—a specialized tool that wipes out all traces of your current GPU driver, allowing you to perform a truly clean install.
5. Disable Intel Turbo Boost (Advanced Users Only)
Intel Turbo Boost temporarily increases CPU clock speeds to enhance performance. On systems with poor cooling—especially laptops—this can lead to power or thermal fluctuations that may trigger GPU instability. While not a direct cause of DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG, disabling Turbo Boost has reduced crash frequency for some users. It helps maintain stable system behavior during heavy GPU workloads. Also, high CPU usage from background apps (e.g., browsers, recording tools, antivirus) can indirectly cause driver timeouts. Close these before launching the game. Note: Disabling Turbo Boost may significantly reduce CPU performance in some workloads, but it will retain stability.
6. Increase TDR Delay (Advanced Users Only)
The “DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG” error is caused by a GPU timeout—when Windows thinks your graphics card has stopped responding and forcefully resets it. By default, this timeout period is set to just 2 seconds. Increasing this value gives the GPU more time to recover during intensive workloads before Windows intervenes, which can prevent unnecessary crashes. This tweak tells Windows to wait 10 seconds (instead of the default 2) before declaring that the GPU has hung. It doesn’t fix driver-level issues but can prevent premature resets during heavy GPU usage.
