"World of Warcraft was unable to start 3D acceleration" - Fix

Undoubtedly for anyone wanting an experience in a new world, downloading and installing World of Warcraft is a great option, even so, if you're having trouble, read on. Today we bring you the solution to the error "World of Warcraft 3D acceleration could not be started", one of the most common and annoying WoW errors. To solve this problem you can try the following.

Causes of the error "World of Warcraft 3D acceleration could not be started"

If you are about to enter the World of Warcraft map but everything stops at the pop-up window 'Failed to start 3D acceleration' don't worry, this problem is more common than you think, users also claim that DON'T lo ago is something unique to some versions of the game , but on the contrary it is a universal mistake. 



This error, as the name announces, is related to 3D graphics , as users running the game in 2D claim that it works normally. Among the causes that can cause this error we can mention incorrect video settings, outdated drivers or poor screen optimization.

Fix: World of Warcraft was unable to start 3D acceleration

If you wonder where and how I can buy World of Warcraft Battle.net is the answer, but it is also a space where you can solve some problems.

  • Go to the program of Battle.net startup.
  • Once you are there, you will need to go to the configuration options, just right click on the Launcher icon located in the Windows toolbar. The " Settings «, Click on it.
  • The Battle.net Launcher settings will appear. Find the card » Game settings ". World of Warcraft should appear here. You will see an option called " Additional command line arguments «.
  • You will notice that a small text box is displayed at the bottom, there you will have to write -windowed (to play in windowed mode) or -fullscreen (to play in full screen mode).
  • Write the one that best suits your needs, after you have finished just click on » Done »At the bottom right of the menu.
  • Now you just have to start the game, which will start directly in the mode you selected earlier. In this way, the error "World of Warcraft 3D acceleration could not be started" should be corrected.

Make sure you meet the minimum requirements

World of Warcraft is a video game released in 2004, so you might think the minimum requirements are low. Anyway, in recent years, the video game has changed a lot, so much so that the current minimum requirements are much higher than what the game had when it first came out.



Failure to comply minimum requirements it can cause inconvenience during the game or the inability to do so. For this reason, if you get the error "Do not start 3D acceleration", please note that you meet the minimum requirements of World of Warcraft.

  • To play World of Warcraft correctly, you will need a operating system to 64 bit, from Windows 7 onwards.
  • At least one processor is required i5 third generation (i5 3450) o un AMD FX 8300.
  • As for the graphics card, you will need a graphics card with at least 2GB of video memory. From Nvidia it will be enough a GTX 760, while for AMD we are talking about RX 560 as the basis on which to play.
  • As for RAM, the minimum amount you need is 4 GB, but certainly the most recommended is to have 8 GB.
  • Finally, you will need a hard drive with at least 100 GB of free space

Make sure your graphics card is compatible

If your graphics card does not meet the minimum requirements to start the game, otherwise you will not be able to fix the problem. It is recommended that you purchase one NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 graphics card o AMD Radeon RX 560.

Update your drivers

The "World of Warcraft 3D Acceleration Could Not Start" error refers to a video error, so it wouldn't be bad update video drivers. It's definitely something rare, but if you have too old a version, it's best to try downloading the video drivers for your graphics.


In fact, there's also the possibility that you simply don't have the video drivers installed. In this case, the error is common, the solution is to install them from scratch.


Incompatible programs

When we talk about incompatible programs, we mean the version of Windows you have on your computer. For example, if your computer has 32-bit Windows, this version will no longer be compatible with the game, the solution would be to format your computer and install 64-bit windows to run the game .

Other solutions to the error "World of Warcraft 3D acceleration cannot be started"

If, on the other hand, your computer has a suitable graphics card and also a compatible operating system, but continues to present the error "Failed to start 3D acceleration", here is other options that might fix the problem in so you can continue playing quietly.


Disable full screen optimizations

Many users claim to get the error "Could not start 3D acceleration" when they disable the full screen optimizations. To achieve this you just have to follow these simple steps

  1. You must locate the game folder and right-click on the file executable "wow.exe"
  2. Then click on properties and locate the "compatibility" option
  3. Finally you have to make sure that the "disable full screen options" box is checked and select and voila, press "apply".

You must bear in mind that this procedure will have to be followed every time you go to play World of Warcraft to avoid any inconvenience.

Update or reinstall your graphics card drivers

Keep in mind that the controls of your video card are responsible for the correct development of the 3D graphics, if these are out of date they can generate various problems within the game, including the inability to start the 3D acceleration, to get an update you have to go to the device administrator, right click on the video card and "update driver" Once the update is obtained, select, install and restart your computer. 


If that doesn't work, try uninstalling and reinstalling the video card drivers. This way you 'refresh' the program and you can fix the problem.

Update DirectX

DirectX libraries are very important for correct operation of many applications. In fact, they include a large number of APIs that are required for many games to function properly. For this reason, updating DirectX to the latest version is something every gamer should consider.

In fact, outdated DirectX libraries are very likely to cause system instability to the point that many games do not work or the error "World of Warcraft cannot start 3D acceleration" appears.

Restore the original settings

If the other alternatives don't work, you can try resetting the game to its original settings using the Blizzard app. To do this you just need to log into your Battle.net account and click on the Blizzard logo, select the settings, go to the game settings and finally click on 'reset game options' , once you have finished this procedure go back to run your session silently.

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