What is Direct 3D, DirectDraw or DirectX?
Before we begin, let me briefly familiarize you with a few terms-
Direct3D is a Windows API that helps render 3-dimensional graphics on applications where performance is pertinent. The utility is able to do that with the help of Hardware Acceleration, provided the graphics card offers it. In short, it offers great help to use apps at a higher level, graphics-wise. You can find out if your PC sports Direct3D by launching the DirectX Diagnostic Tool.DirectDraw is deprecated. It is now is a subset of DirectX.DirectX contains Direct3D which is the primary graphics handling portion of DirectX. It is associated with DirectX API, and it helps to render 2D graphics in any program on a Windows computer.
Why are Direct3D and DirectDraw acceleration not available on Windows?
Your PC’s hardware may not conform with the minimum requirements to load the particular 3D graphicsDirectDraw acceleration has been disabled or not installed on your PCYour video adapter is running short of memoryThe latest version of DirectX downloaded on your PC was interrupted or corrupted
Direct3D and DirectDraw acceleration not available on Windows PC
The issue under discussion here is when your PC displays that Direct3D or DirectDraw is not available, and here is how you can remediate.
1] Verify that Direct3D and DirectDraw acceleration are enabled
Before you begin maneuvering, it is best to make sure that the setting is enabled or not. Here’s how you can do it:
Open the Run dialog box and enter ‘dxdiag’ command thereThis will open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. From the list of tabs on top, select DisplayHere, under DirectX features, you’ll find both Direct3D and DirectDraw acceleration. Check if it says Available next to themIf it doesn’t, you can proceed to implement the changes talked about below
If you find that neither of these options shows that they’re available. proceed to take the following actions.
2] Enable Hardware Acceleration
Here’s how you can enable Hardware Acceleration on your Windows PC:
Open the Run dialog box and enter ‘desk.cpl’. This will open the Desktop settings. Scroll down and click on Advanced display settingsIn this separate window, you’ll see an option that says ‘Display adapter properties for display’. Click on itIn the Graphics properties dialog box, select the Troubleshoot tab, if you do not see this tab, update your drivers and check againHere, select Change settings, and from the subsequent dialog box, adjust the Hardware Acceleration slider.For the purposes of enabling Direct3D acceleration, you would want to increase it
3] Restart Windows in Clean Boot State
If the DirectDraw utility is being affected by a third-party service, that may cause this issue to arise as well. A solution to that is to restart Windows on your PC only with Microsoft’s services. Here’s how:
Open the Run dialog box and enter the command ‘msconfig’ to open the Microsoft System Configuration boxSelect the ‘Services’ tab here and check-mark the ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ box on your bottom rightNow, click on Disable All, then Apply and finally Ok to restart your system only with the Windows 10 services
5Wait a while for the process to get over and check if you are now able to use DirectPlay services or not.
4] Enable Legacy DirectPlay from the Control Panel
Open the Control Panel, click to View by Category and select the Programs optionFurther select Programs and features and from the options to your left, select Turn on or off Windows featuresThis will open a separate dialog box with a list of options, locate Legacy Components here and expand it to view DirectPlayCheck-mark the DirectPlay box and apply these changes to enable the installation of DirectPlay on your PC
Doing so should help you remediate the issue with your Direct3D and DirectDraw utilities.
How do I check my DirectX feature level?
A common error faced with DirectX is when a feature upgrade is required by your engine. In such cases, you may have to find out at what level your DirectX feature stands, so that you can look for the relevant feature level upgrade. Here’s how you can do that:
Open the Run dialog box and execute the ‘dxdiag’ command hereThis will open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. The default tab, System, is where you have all the System informationOn the bottom of your system properties is the DirectX version. This is your DirectX features level
These are the most commonly applicable solution to the issue when Direct3D and DirectView acceleration isn’t available on your PC. If none of them work, you can also try accessing the utility from a new user account. We hope that this article was of help to you and that you’re now able to make use of the DirectX toolkit features.
