Direct3D Acceleration disabled, Graphics Card not detected by Windows

aceylone777 · 09 May 2012

Hi, I've been having a bevy of issues with my computer ever since I restored it after getting a virus. After reinstalling W7, I've never been able to play a single video game on my computer (really defeating the purpose of an Alienware). When I try to run Unreal Tournament 2004, the error message reads CRITICAL ERROR: Please enable Direct3D acceleration. You can do this by starting dxdiag and enabling it in Display tab after installing DirectX 8.1b (or later) and latest drivers. Woohoo. So I went to dxdiag, and it says that DirectDraw Acce;, Direct3D Accel, and AGP Texture Accel are all disabled. I went to see what the graphics card is, because I forget...and Windows can't even tell me what card it is. I have no clue. Also, I can't even use the ethernet port on the computer to hard wire a internet connection; I have to use my wireless usb plug in from Netgear. Help, please!

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Intel i7 Quad Core @ 1.73 GHz
4 GB ram
Unknown graphics card!

bobkn · 09 May 2012

aceylone777 said:

Hi, I've been having a bevy of issues with my computer ever since I restored it after getting a virus. After reinstalling W7, I've never been able to play a single video game on my computer (really defeating the purpose of an Alienware). When I try to run Unreal Tournament 2004, the error message reads CRITICAL ERROR: Please enable Direct3D acceleration. You can do this by starting dxdiag and enabling it in Display tab after installing DirectX 8.1b (or later) and latest drivers. Woohoo. So I went to dxdiag, and it says that DirectDraw Acce;, Direct3D Accel, and AGP Texture Accel are all disabled. I went to see what the graphics card is, because I forget...and Windows can't even tell me what card it is. I have no clue. Also, I can't even use the ethernet port on the computer to hard wire a internet connection; I have to use my wireless usb plug in from Netgear. Help, please!

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Intel i7 Quad Core @ 1.73 GHz
4 GB ram
Unknown graphics card!

Sounds like you need a few drivers, beginning with the ethernet and graphics drivers.

I assume that an Alienware laptop has a service tag, like other Dell products. Take the tag information to support.dell.com. You'll end up here:

Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

Switch the OS choice to Win 7 X64. Entering the Service Tag should cause only updates for your specific hardware to appear. (The M15X laptop appears to have been built using either AMD or nVidia graphics.)