This often happens because of a bad or outdated graphics card driver, especially if you just updated Windows or your drivers. Other possible reasons include broken DirectX files or graphics cards running too fast because of overclocking. Now that you know what might be causing this problem, let’s walk through the solutions that have worked for many other users.
1. Disable DLSS via GeForce Experience (if applicable)
One of the most common reasons for this issue, if you have an Nvidia GPU, is when DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is enabled. Note: DLSS is a video rendering technology exclusive to Nvidia cards. It uses AI to boost performance without a big loss in visual quality. While DLSS can be great, some users find it makes games like Battlefield 2042 less stable. If you’re using an Nvidia card and have DLSS turned on when the crash occurs, start by disabling DLSS and see if the game runs smoothly. You can usually find this option in the in-game Display > Video settings. Note: These steps work if you can launch the game and access the menu before it crashes. If your game crashes every time at launch, skip to the next fix.
2. Update GPU drivers
Many earlier issues that caused these DirectX errors were fixed by Nvidia and AMD through driver updates. You can benefit from these fixes by making sure your graphics drivers are up to date. Use Nvidia Experience or AMD Adrenalin, depending on your GPU.
2.1. Update your Nvidia GPU driver
Uninstall old Nvidia drivers before installing new ones to avoid potential file conflicts from older driver leftovers.
2.2. Update your AMD GPU driver
If you have an AMD graphics card, we recommend running the AMD Cleanup Utility first to ensure a clean driver install.
3. Install every missing DirectX package
Battlefield 2042 uses several different DirectX libraries. If any are missing, you might get severe DirectX errors. To avoid this, make sure every version of DirectX is installed on your computer.
4. Edit the game Profile
Sometimes, DirectX 12 can be enabled in Battlefield 2042’s settings even if your PC doesn’t support it. This can happen, for example, if you’ve recently changed your graphics card. If you can’t open the game to change this setting, you can edit the configuration file instead.
5. Disable Future Frame Rendering (if Applicable)
Future Frame Rendering is a helpful feature if you have a strong GPU and a weaker CPU, as it shifts some workload from the CPU to the GPU. But for some setups, it can cause instability and more DirectX crashes, especially on AMD graphics cards.
6. Edit the Machine GUID registry key
Less commonly, a Windows registry key might point to the wrong dependency, which can cause crashes at startup for Battlefield 2042.
