How to Fix “d3d12.dll is missing” Error on Windows?

“Missing d3d12.dll error” appears on the screen when the d3d12.dll is corrupted or missing from your windows files, or your graphics card does not support DirectX 12. d3d12.dll is a required file of DirectX so if it’s missing then your DirectX components won’t work properly and give you issues such as this one.

When you install a program it assumes that you have a DirectX library and mandatory components but when the program is unable to find d3d12.dll for some reason. This message will show up on the screen.

There are multiple causes for this issue to occur, we have listed some common causes below:-

• Corrupted DLL – This usually happens when windows deleted d3d12.dll and the files get corrupted. For example, suppose you are trying to save a file and the file gets crashed during the saving process so that file will count in corrupting files, and windows will detect it and delete it immediately.
• Deleted DLL – In most cases, some applications if they are downloaded from third-party sources they remove the DLL file as it can cause some issues.
• Malicious DLL File – Your antivirus can also delete this DLL file if the file is downloaded from a third-party website it might be malicious and can run in the background, so most of the time your anti-virus can detect the file and remove it from your computer. In that case, we will have to download the original or fresh DLL file from the official website.

Now that we know the causes, let’s jump straight to the solutions. Before we start fixing this issue, we are hoping that you checked the system requirements of the game, to check the system requirements, search on Google type your game system requirement for example Valorant system requirements.

If the requirement of the game says windows 10 or higher and you have windows 7 or less, in this case, you have to install the operating system according to the requirements because the older Windows version doesn’t support DirectX 12.

Manually Re-download the D3D12.dll file

As we mentioned before d3d12.dll is a required file of DirectX, so we will start with this one. In most cases, if you download the correct file into system32, then reinstalling the d3d12.dll will solve your issue,  and I personally fixed this.

To download click here or open your favorite browser type d3d12.dll download.

1. Go to the first link download the d3d12.dll file according to your compatible Windows version.

   

2. After the download, go to the download folder we need to extract the d3d12 zip folder, To extract it, Right-click on the zip folder click on the extract. once it’s done open the d3d12 folder. You can use WinRar for this process.

   

3. Open file explorer, go to the C disk, click on the Windows directory then click on the system32. All the DLL files are located in the system32 folder, paste your copied file here, a small window should pop up and it will ask for Administrator permission, Click on the continue button to give the Administrator permission. once it is finished check the improvement.
   
4. If you are using the 64-bit version and still facing the error. Go back to the previous directory, Open the SysWOW64 folder, paste that copied file here, once it is finished check the result.
   

Recover d3d12.dll using Command Prompt,

This command will scan all protected system files, and replace corrupted files with a cached copy, to do this

1. Click on the start menu button on the bottom left then type Command Prompt in the search box.
2. Right-click on the command prompt then click on the Run as Administrator.
3. type the below command, then press enter.

   sfc /scannow

4. This command will surely recover your d3d23.dll file.

Update Your Windows

The best approach is to update the Windows to the latest, to update the windows.

1. Click on the start menu button or press the Windows key and search windows update, click on the windows update setting.
   
2. Then go for check for updates. It will download all the available updates for your windows once it’s done check if the error is gone.
   

Download DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer

Downloading the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer may fix your d3d12.dll missing error, basically, this is a collection of DirectX libraries and components, these collections and libraries are required to run several graphical interfaces on Windows. This program will download all the currently available versions of DirectX, for download click here or open your favorite browser type DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer download.

1. Click on the download button, once the download is done, double-click on the installer which is located in the download folder on your computer.
   
2. After the installation, click on the finish button and check if your DLL error is gone.

Malware Infection

If you have downloaded the application from a third-party source then malicious viruses might be hidden in the application as a DLL file and run in the background, your Antivirus or Windows defender found and deleted malware files and d3d12.dll file might be deleted with those files to prevent this, you have to download the application/game from the official website. You can also try to disable your antivirus temporarily and download the official file then try if your game is working.

Re-install the Application/Game

Reinstalling the application will fix the missing d3d12.dll error, uninstall your application/game from the control panel then restart your PC, and download the application from the official source. if your application offers the repair option, you should choose that first and check if it helps.

We hope you have successfully solved the D3d12.dll error if you have any doubts we would like to hear in the comments.