If you’re here, chances are your Call of Duty game keeps crashing with that infamous error:
“DirectX encountered an unrecoverable error.”
You’re not alone. Whether you’re playing Warzone, Modern Warfare 2, MW3, Black Ops Cold War, Zombies, or even Battlefield, this crash has become an all-too-common frustration for many gamers — even on high-end systems.
Let’s break down the real reasons and the final solution that could fix it for you.
First, The Usual Fixes (You Probably Tried Already)
This isn’t your first rodeo. Like many, you’ve likely tried:
Reinstalling Windows completely (even reverting from Windows 24H2 to the more stable 23H2)
Using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) to clean out GPU drivers and reinstalling older versions
Reinstalling the game and deleting the COD player folder
BIOS updates, chipset driver updates
Disabling all overclocks (including CPU, RAM/XMP, and GPU OC settings via MSI Afterburner)
Undervolting or underclocking your GPU
Closing background apps and overlays (Discord, Steam, Nvidia, MSI Afterburner)
Lowering in-game graphics settings
Increasing page file (virtual memory) to at least 8GB
Disabling antivirus, including Windows Defender
If you’ve done all this and still get DirectX errors — there’s one more trick that often works…
Toggle HAGS (Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling)
This setting — Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) — is a common culprit (or savior) when it comes to DirectX stability issues.
What is HAGS?
In short, HAGS allows your GPU to manage its own memory more efficiently. It’s required for modern features like DLSS (Nvidia) and FSR (AMD), especially with frame generation. But in certain setups, it can introduce instability.
When Should You Disable or Enable HAGS?
Low VRAM GPUs (8GB or less) → Disable HAGS for more stability.
DLSS/FSR users or new-gen GPUs (12GB+ VRAM) → Try enabling HAGS, especially if you want better performance.
If you’re getting crashes, the best way to test this:
Toggle HAGS on or off (whichever it isn’t currently)
Restart your PC after making the change
How to Toggle HAGS in Windows
For NVIDIA GPUs
Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics
Scroll down and click “Change default graphics settings”
Toggle Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling
Restart your PC
On Windows 11: System > Display > Graphics > Default graphics settings
On Windows 10: Same path, but requires one extra click
For AMD GPUs
Only Radeon 7000/9000 series and new Ryzen APUs have the toggle
Older AMD cards don’t show the toggle — but HAGS is still in use under the hood
One beta driver previously added the toggle, but it’s not widely available
For Intel Arc GPUs
Model A: No support
Model B: Claimed to support it, but current drivers may not enable it
Pro Tip: Know Your Hardware Limits
If your GPU has only 8GB of VRAM, you’re working with what’s now considered an entry-level card. While DLSS and fancy features are nice, stability should come first. Disabling HAGS in these cases may improve your experience — even if it means losing some visual enhancements.
Final Thoughts
DirectX errors in Call of Duty are frustrating — especially after you’ve tried every trick in the book. In many cases, simply toggling HAGS can be the difference between constant crashes and stable gameplay.
Try it both enabled and disabled (with a system reboot each time), and you just might solve your crashing problem for good.