Application Blocked Accessing Graphics Hardware

You’re getting bored, so you decide to play your favorite computer game like Minecraft or FIFA or any other title. When you’re open the game, a message pops out – “Application has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware” along with the sub-message “Application *insert game name here*.exe has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware,” and then you can’t play the game and get rid of your boredom. Pretty frustrating, right?

If you’re the person who is facing this issue and you want to get rid of it, you’ve come to the right place. The Application has been blocked from accessing graphics is a reasonably standard error for users with Nvidia graphics card, and hence we’ll be providing you with a tested and working fix. Surely you can try these fixes if you have graphics cards from other companies like AMD & Intel. So let’s get to discussing the holes of the problem.

Table of Contents

Reinstall the Graphics Drivers

Most of the time, the Application’s cause has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware error due to outdated graphics drivers or the drivers not correctly installed. Fixing this is easy. Do the following steps-

Step 1: Search for “Device Manager” in the Search Bar and click on the result.

Step 2: Search for “Display Adapters” and click on it to see your Graphics Card driver.

Step 3: Your Graphics Card driver name will pop out (Remember the name. It might prove to be useful for future work). Right-click on it and press uninstall.

Step 4: Reboot your device.

On rebooting your device, the Graphics Card drivers will automatically be reinstalled. Try playing your game again, and if it’s still not working, it means that drivers were installed correctly, but they are out of date.

Fixing Graphic Card

To fix this, firstly, you need to know what Graphics Card you’re having. If you’d followed all the steps above carefully, you would know which brand’s Graphics Card you’re having. If not, you can quickly go to the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (by pressing Win + R and then typing “dxdiag” and then hitting enter).

Once the DirectX Diagnostic Tool Window opens, navigate to the Display Tab (you’ll find it on the top right), and in the Device section, you’ll get the name of your Graphics Card. You can use the following links if you’re using the specific graphic card –

Intel – https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/80939/Graphics
AMD – https://www.amd.com/en/support
Nvidia – https://www.nvidia.in/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-in

Make sure that you only install the drivers specific to your Graphics Card and not any other. If you’re having some problem with it, you can also try auto-updating your Graphics Card drivers from trusted third party application software. Try re-running your game.

If the question “Application has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware” persists, try the below fixes.

Use The SFCS And The DISM Tool

System File Checker Scan or better known as SFCS, is a tool for checking for corrupt files. The problem of applications blocked from accessing graphics hardware sometimes may arise from some corrupted Windows file, which doesn’t let the OS interact with the Graphics Hardware. To look for such corrupted files, we can always use the System File Checker Scan. To run the scan, open the Command Prompt as administrator and type the following command –

sfc /scannow

Now, wait for the complete scanning of all the files and directories on your device. You can use the Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool or better known as the DISM tool. To use it, open the Command Prompt as administrator and type the following command one by one

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

Reboot your computer. Try running your game and see if you’ve got rid of the “Application has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware” problem.

Also read: Dell Laptop Plugged In But Not Charging

Run The Troubleshooter

If you don’t know the source of the error “Application has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware,” you can always run the Windows Troubleshooter. To run the troubleshooter, you can go to the Search Bar present in the Task Bar and search for “Settings.” Once the Settings window has opened, look for the “Updates and Security” and click on it. Once the respective window has opened in the left menu, look for “Troubleshoot.” Select “Hardware & Devices” and run the troubleshooter.

Give it some time while it detects the problems in your PC. Maybe the computer removes source that’s causing the error “Application has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware,” after finishing the scan. Follow the on-screen prompt for fixing the error (it will ask for permission to make changes to files and folders), and once the wizard has done its work, reboot your device and try running the game.

Editing The Registry

This is one of those “More Technical” fixes. But don’t worry. With our step-to-step guide, you’ll be back to playing your favorite game in no time. To open the Registry Editor, type “Registry Editor” in the Search Bar present in the Task Bar.

Follow the steps below very carefully once the Registry Editor opens-

In the left menu, look for “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” and click on the left arrow, which will unfurl a list.

Look for “SYSTEM” and then press on the arrow to unfurl yet another list.

In the list, look for “CurrentControlSet” and press the arrow.

Look for “Control” and press the arrow and then look for “GraphicsDrivers” and click on the folder.

Perform a right-click on the space (not on the files already present there) and then select “New.”

Select “DWORD (32-bit) Value” and name the file as “TdrDelay” (This means Time-Detection and Recovery)

Double click the newly created TdrDelay file and put the ValueData as “8” and the Base as “Hexadecimal.”

Click Ok and exit the Registry Editor.
Reboot your computer.

Once the reboot has completed, restart your game, and you should have no problem running it, thus resolving the issue of “Application has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware.”

Conclusion

We have provided solutions for the “Application has been blocked from accessing Graphics Hardware” issue. Several issues like corrupted files, outdated drivers, or some registry issue causes this. Still, if you have followed our solutions carefully, you’ll get back to enjoying your gaming experience in no time. Moreover, if you face errors related to Windows, feel free to surf through our site. We have got it all!

Tony Polanco

Tony, computing writer at Automaticable, covers laptops, tablets, Windows, iOS. Off-duty, he indulges in comics, gaming, speculative fiction, and excessive Twitter use. Non-nerdy side includes rocking out at concerts and hitting NYC bars.

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