What causes a DirectX device removed error and how can I fix it?

[GraceT]

I keep getting a DirectX error that crashes my game to desktop right after the main menu. The message says something about a "device removed" situation, and I have no idea what’s triggering it since my drivers are up to date.

[AdamVH]

I ran into that once. right after the main menu the game crashed with a device removed error. The card was running hot and the driver reset. I pulled back the overclock, tightened the fan curve, and clocks stayed a bit lower. Things stabilized for a while, though it still came back when temps climbed.

[Thomas_H]

I verified the game files and even reinstalled the launcher, then cleaned out the shader cache so it rebuilds on start. It bought me a couple of good sessions before it returned.

[Brandon31]

Maybe it's not the game at all. I fiddled with Windows power settings, tried a higher performance plan, kept the machine on AC. It helped a little, but it didn't fix the root cause.

[StevenM]

What GPU are you on, and have you tried running in windowed mode to see if the crash still happens?