2020’s Doom Eternal is an action first-person shooter gore violent video game that has been developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. It’s an epic doom slayer game where players can get an exceptional experience due to its stunning graphics, gaming controls, and best-in-class background music. However, it seems that some unfortunate DOOM Eternal players are facing the No Physical Devices Error on their PC recently.
Now, if you’re also one of the victims to encounter such an issue then you can follow this troubleshooting guide completely to fix it. There are a couple of possible workarounds for you that should gonna come in handy in most cases. Plenty of reports are appearing on multiple forums like Microsoft Answers, Steam Community, and even on the BethesdaSoftworks subreddit forum. Well, to be very precise, it’s one kind of graphics card or driver-related issue.
Fix: DOOM Eternal No Physical Devices Error
It looks like that particular no physical devices error on the PC did appear to the Doom Eternal players since the game releases. However, it was fixed for plenty of players after receiving the patch updates. Now, the problem has arrived once again as a widespread error that’s bothering a lot of players. Some are claiming that the physical graphics card or the graphics driver issue can be a major reason. While some say the latest game update broke it.
But not to worry because you can try following all the methods below one by one until the problem gets fixed completely. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.
1. Check for the game update
First of all, you should check out if the Doom Eternal game is running the latest patch version or not. If the game is outdated then the chances are high that it becomes buggy or incompatible with the system resources or graphics driver to run properly. To do that:
- Open the Steam client > Go to Library.
- Click on Doom Eternal from the list of installed games at the left pane.
- Now, the client will automatically search for the available update.
- If there is an update available, click on the Update option.
- Just wait for the game to be updated and reboot the PC to apply the changes.
- Finally, launch the Doom Eternal game again via Steam, and check for the issue.
If in case, you’re using the Xbox Game Pass application to install and run the Doom Eternal game, then make sure to open the Xbox app and update the game to the latest version (if available). Don’t forget to reboot the system.
2. Update Graphics Driver
Make sure to check for the latest graphics driver update because an outdated version can become unstable and over a period of time, it’ll also become buggy or incompatible with the system. To do so:
- Right-click on the Start Menu to open up the Quick Access Menu.
- Click on Device Manager from the list to open the interface.
- Now, you’ll need to double-click on Display adapters to expand it.
- Then right-click on the active graphics card.
- Next, click on Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
- The system will automatically check for the available update.
- If an update is available, it’ll automatically download and install the latest version.
- Once done, make sure to restart your PC to apply the changes.
If you cannot find any update, then make sure to head over to the official graphics card website and search manually for the latest update. If a new version is available, just download the file on your PC and install it. Whatever graphics card you use, jump to the link below as per the manufacturer.
3. Get the GeForce Game Ready 442.74 WHQL Driver
Back in 2020, Nvidia launched an optimized version of the GeForce Game Ready 442.74 WHQL GPU driver for the Doom Eternal game especially. If in case, your Nvidia GeForce driver becomes outdated and not running on the latest version then make sure to manually visit the GeForce Game Ready 442.74 WHQL driver link and download it on the PC. Just like any other programs, you’ll need to manually run the installer and install the latest driver.
4. Use a dedicated GPU card (External)
You should always use a dedicated (external) graphics card that you’re connected to the PC setup to get a better result in gaming or any kind of graphics-intensive work. Integrated HD graphics on the processor like AMD chipsets do work well for graphics requirements up to some extent without using any kind of external graphics card. But the heavy AAA games, photo editing, video editing, video rendering, etc requires a separate graphics card (if any).
For Nvidia GPU:
- Right-click on the desktop screen to open the context menu.
- Now, click on Nvidia Control Panel to open it.
- Head over to 3D Settings > Select Manage 3D Settings.
- Open the Program Settings tab and choose Doom Eternal from the drop-down menu.
- Next, select the preferred graphics processor for this program from another drop-down menu.
- Finally, your Nvidia GPU should show as High-Performance Nvidia Processor.
- Save the changes and reboot the PC.
For AMD GPU:
- Right-click on the desktop screen to open the context menu.
- Now, open Radeon Settings > Navigate to Additional Settings.
- Go to Preferences > Select Power > Choose Switchable Graphics Application Settings.
- Select Doom Eternal from the list of installed applications. [If the game isn’t in the list, you can select Add Application and include the game exe file]
- Finally, select High Performance from the Graphics Settings, option > Reboot the PC.
5. Update Windows
It’s also highly recommended to check for the available Windows OS and build version updates on the PC on a weekly or monthly basis. Microsoft is active enough to release periodic system updates to Windows for everyone. It can be a cumulative update, a major system OS update, or a security patch update. So, make sure to follow the steps below to manually check and install the latest update (if any).
- Press Windows+I keys to open up Windows Settings.
- Click on Windows Update from the left pane > Check for updates.
- If there is an update available, you should select Download and Install.
- Wait for the update process to be completed.
- Once done, reboot your PC to apply changes.
6. Check for Optional Updates
You should also check for the optional updates by following the steps below because some of the device driver updates and security patch updates may appear in a separate section.
- Press Windows + I keys to open up the Windows Settings menu.
- Click on Windows Update from the left pane > Click on Advanced Options.
- Now, scroll down to find the Additional options section.
- Click on Optional updates > If there is an update available, make sure to select the update.
- Click on Download & install > Reopen the system once the update is installed.
7. Verify and Repair Game Files
Sometimes missing or corrupted game files that have been installed on the PC may trigger several issues or conflicts with the Windows system running properly. It’s highly recommended to verify and repair the game files manually by following the steps below. Fortunately, most of the game launchers do come with a useful repairing feature that verifies game files online. To do so:
- Launch the Steam client > Click on Library.
- Right-click on Doom Eternal from the list of installed games.
- Now, click on Properties > Go to Local Files.
- Click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- You’ll have to wait for the process until it gets completed.
- Once done, just restart your computer, and check for the DOOM Eternal No Physical Devices Error again.
8. Adjust Nvidia Control Panel Settings
You can also try configuring or adjusting the recommended Nvidia control panel settings that we’ve provided below to ensure there is no issue with the gameplay. To do that:
- Right-click on the desktop screen (blank) to open the context menu.
- Now, select Nvidia Control Panel to open it > Select Manage 3D settings.
- Click on Program Settings > Select Doom Eternal from the list. [If not available, click on Browse and add it to the list]
- Make sure to change or adjust some of the settings mentioned below:
- Image sharpening – Off
- Low latency mode – Off
- Power Management – Prefer maximum performance
- Texture filtering – Quality – Performance
- Threaded optimization – On
- Once done, save changes, and reboot the PC to change effects immediately.
You should also set the FPS (Frame Rate) limit to 60 for optimal gaming performance.
The DDU (Display Drivers Uninstaller) tool will help you to easily uninstall the NVIDIA GPU driver from your computer in a clean format. Well, it’s necessary because the normal app uninstallation process may not completely delete the installed files from the PC. Therefore, the residual files of the older graphics driver may cause issues even if you reinstall the driver a second time. So, a clean installation is highly recommended.
- First, download the latest Display Drivers Uninstaller software on your PC.
- Next, simply install the tool > Then turn off the internet connection on your PC to just uninstall the driver.
- Launch the DDU tool first then select your graphics driver (NVIDIA) from the drop-down list.
- Click on Clean and restart (Highly Recommended).
- Once the driver is uninstalled from the PC, it will ask you to restart your computer.
- Make sure to reboot your PC. Now, follow the next method to reinstall the graphics driver as usual.
You can also visit the respective graphics card manufacturer’s website from the browser and download the latest graphics driver for the specific model number. Then make sure to install it on the PC. Head over to method 2 or method 3 for the same.
10. Repair and Restore the Xbox App (Only For Xbox App Users)
It seems that several affected Doom Eternal players have found this trick helpful. If you’re also using the Xbox app to install and run the Doom Eternal game then you should try this method to restore the Xbox app to the factory defaults.
- Press the Windows+I keys to open Windows Settings.
- Now, click on Apps from the left pane > Select App & Features from the right pane.
- Scroll down the list of installed programs and search for the Xbox app.
- Click on the three dots icon next to the Xbox app > Select Advanced options.
- Here you’ll get the Repair option. Just click on it.
- Once done, make sure to click on Reset.
- Finally, reboot the PC then open the Xbox app again and log into the account.
11. Reinstall Microsoft Game Services (Only For Xbox Game Pass)
You can also try redownloading and reinstalling the Microsoft Game Services on the PC by using the steps below. Some affected users did find this trick useful.
- Click on the Windows icon on the taskbar to open the Start menu.
- Now, search for Windows PowerShell and right-click on it to open the context menu.
- Select Run as administrator [Click on Yes, if prompted by User Account Control).
- You’ll have to type the following command line inside the command prompt window and hit Enter to execute it.
get-appxpackage Microsoft.GamingServices | remove-Appxpackage –allusers
- Wait for the process to finish and then restart the PC to apply the changes immediately.
- Finally, open the Xbox Game Pass application and reinstall the Microsoft Gaming Services once again.
This should resolve the DOOM Eternal No Physical Devices Error on your computer straightaway.
If none of the workarounds fix the issue for you, make sure to try to restore your installed Windows OS via the Installation Media Tool. Sometimes corrupted or missing system files on the PC may also trigger multiple issues with the programs running properly. All the procedures are mentioned in the respective link whatever Windows OS version you’re using.
13. Submit the Report to Bethesda Support
Last but not least, if you’re still encountering the same kind of error with the Doom Eternal game then you should contact Bethesda Support and submit the report properly. Make sure to create a ticket here so the developers can deeply investigate the issue and try fixing it asap.
That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For additional queries, you can comment below.
Trying to boot up Doom Eternal after a while of not playing, getting a GPU driver error saying ‘no physical devices’ how can I go about fixing this?