Fix Overwatch No Compatible Graphics Hardware Was Found

Overwatch is a popular team based first person shooter game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. The game allows two teams of six players each to work together to secure a control point or escort a payload across the map. Although this is a solid performing game there are instances when certain issues can occur. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Overwatch no compatible graphics hardware was found issue.

Fix Overwatch No Compatible Graphics Hardware Was Found

Before performing the recommended troubleshooting steps for this particular problem I suggest that you try restarting your computer first. This will refresh the operating system as well as remove corrupt temporary data and is quite effective in fixing most software related issues.

You should also make sure that your computer meets the system requirements needed to play the game.

Minimum requirements

  • CPU: Intel Core i3 or AMD Phenom X3 8650
  • CPU SPEED: Info
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • OS: Windows Vista/7/ 8/10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
  • VIDEO CARD: Nvidia GeForce GTX 460, ATI Radeon HD 4850, or Intel HD Graphics 4400
  • PIXEL SHADER: 4.0
  • VERTEX SHADER: 4.0
  • FREE DISK SPACE: 30 GB
  • DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 768 MB

Recommended requirements

  • CPU: Intel Core i5 or AMD Phenom II X3, 2.8 GHz
  • CPU SPEED: Info
  • RAM: 6 GB
  • OS: Windows Vista/7/ 8/10 64-bit (latest Service Pack)
  • VIDEO CARD: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or ATI Radeon HD 7950
  • PIXEL SHADER: 5.0
  • VERTEX SHADER: 5.0
  • FREE DISK SPACE: 30 GB
  • DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 2 GB

There are several factors that can cause this particular problem ranging from a setting issue to a graphics driver problem. Listed below are the troubleshooting steps you need to do to fix this problem.

If you have an AMD graphics card then try to enable GPU scaling

GPU scaling is a feature that  allows the image output of the game to fit the screen. This is important when the GPU is trying to output a different resolution as compared to the native resolution of the monitor.

  • Right-click on any empty space on your desktop and click “AMD Radeon Settings”.
  • In AMD Radeon settings, click on the “Display” present near the top of the screen.
  • Turn the GPU Scaling option to “On” instead of “Off”.
  • After applying the necessary changes, restart your computer

Check if the  Overwatch no compatible graphics hardware was found issue still occurs.

Make sure Windows is running on the latest updates

Microsoft constantly releases updates to windows 10 to improve its performance and fix certain bugs. You should make sure that your computer has the latest updates installed to eliminate the possibility of the problem caused by system bugs.

  • Press Windows + S button to launch your start menu’s search bar. In the dialogue box type “Windows update”. Click the first search result which comes forward.
  • Once in the update settings, click on the button which says “Check for updates”. Now Windows will automatically check for updates available and install them. It may even prompt you for a restart.
  • After updating, restart your computer

Check if you are still experiencing the same problem with Overwatch.

Try changing the monitor resolution

If you are using a high resolution monitor then the game might not be able to support this. Try changing the resolution of your monitor then check if the issue still occurs.

  • Right-click on any empty space on your desktop and select “Display settings”.
  • Browse to the end of the settings page and select “Advanced display settings”.
  • Change the resolution to some other value rather than the one set.
  • Press Apply to save your changes and exit. 

Check if the issue still occurs.

Uninstall then reinstall the graphics drivers

There’s a possibility that the problem is caused by outdated or corrupted display drivers in your computer. To check if this is what’s causing the problem you will need to reinstall these drivers.

If you have an NVIDIA graphics card then follow the steps listed below.

  • Press Win+R (Windows logo key and R key) at the same time to invoke the Run box.
  • Type msconfig and click OK. Then the System Configurations will open.
  • When System Configuration opens, click the Boot tab. Under Boot options, check Safe boot then click OK.
  • When you’re prompted to restart your computer to apply these changes, click Restart then you will boot into Safe Mode.
  • Go to your local hard disk by clicking on This PC then Local Disk C. You should be able to see the NVIDIA folder right there. Right-click on it and choose Delete.
  • Click Start and type Run. Select Run, the Run dialog box will appear.
  • Type “devmgmt.msc” in the run box and click the OK button which should open the Device Manager Window.
  • Expand the “Display Adapters” field. This will list all network adapters that the machine has installed. Right click on the Nvidia adapter you want to uninstall and select “Uninstall”.
  • Click “OK” when prompted to uninstall the device. This will remove the adapter from the list and uninstall the driver.
  • Press Win+R (Windows logo key and R key) at the same time to invoke the Run box.
  • Type msconfig and click OK. Then the System Configurations will open.
  • When System Configuration opens, click the Boot tab. Under Boot options, uncheck Safe boot then click OK.
  • When you’re prompted to restart your computer to apply these changes, click Restart.
  • Download the latest NVIDIA driver for your computer from here https://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx.
  • Run the setup file and follow the instructions which appear on screen. Choose the Custom installation option and check all the boxes in the custom install options windows. Also check the box which states “perform clean install”.
  • Restart your computer 

If you have an AMD graphics card then follow the steps listed below.

  • Download the AMD Cleanup Utility from here https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-601.
  • Locate the file where it was saved and double-click on the “AMDCleanupUtility.exe’ file.
  • A dialogue box should appear stating AMD Cleanup Utility has detected the system is not in safe mode and provide an option to reboot the system to run the Utility in safe mode:
  • Click “Yes” the system will be rebooted and AMD Cleanup Utility will run in safe mode.
  • The next dialogue box provides a warning message stating that the AMD Cleanup Utility will remove all AMD driver and application components.
  • Click “OK” to continue
  • After clicking “OK” the Utility will be minimized to the notification area (system tray) and the progress will be displayed as a tool tip.
  • The cleanup process will continue to run in the background.  To check the progress, hover the mouse over the AMD icon in the notification area.
  • Once the cleanup process is finished, a message is displayed stating it has successfully completed. Click “View Report” to see the list of components that were uninstalled, otherwise click “Finish” to exit the Utility.
  • Reboot your computer.

Once the drivers have been uninstalled it’s time to install the latest driver update. You can do this with the help of the AMD Driver Auto-detect tool  which you can download from https://www.amd.com/en/support

  • Visit the AMD Driver and Support page and see section Auto-Detect and Install Radeon Graphics Drivers for Windows.
  • Click the DOWNLOAD NOW button to begin downloading the executable file for the tool.
  • Once download is complete, run the file to launch the Installer.
  • Click Install to extract the needed files.
  • After file extraction is complete the tool should automatically launch.
  • Review the End User License Agreement and information about the User Experience Improvement Program.
  • Click Accept and Install to continue or close the window to exit the AMD Driver Auto-detect tool.
  • After clicking Accept and Install, the tool will attempt to detect the installed AMD graphics product and operating system.
  • Upon successful detection of your system configuration, the tool will display the latest Recommended and Optional driver packages that are compatible with your graphics product, as well as the currently installed driver version 
  • Select the desired version and choose Express installation.
  • After the driver package has been downloaded, installation should begin automatically. 
  • Restart your computer

If you have an integrated graphics (Intel)

  • Press the Windows Logo key + R to launch a Run
  • Type devmgmt.msc into the Run dialog and press Enter to launch the Device Manager.
  • In the Device Manager, expand the Display adapters
  • Right-click on your graphics drivers, click on Uninstall and then go through the uninstallation wizard to uninstall the drivers. 
  • Restart your computer. Once your computer boots up, it should automatically reinstall the same version of the graphics drivers. 

Check if the  Overwatch no compatible graphics hardware was found issue still occurs.

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