Purpose: Ensuring a Smooth and Modern Visual Experience

To ensure your computer provides a smooth, responsive, and modern visual experience, we perform routine health checks on all devices. This specific check verifies that your computer’s graphics system—the part responsible for everything you see on your screen—meets the standard required by Windows 11.

This is important for the look and feel of the operating system, from crisp window animations to clear video playback, ensuring a more productive and pleasant user experience.

How it Works: The Language of Graphics

Think of your computer’s graphics card as a specialized artist that draws all the windows, text, and videos on your screen. To work effectively with a modern operating system like Windows 11, this artist needs two things:

1. To speak the right language (DirectX 12): This is the modern programming language that software uses to tell the artist what to draw.
2. To follow the latest rules (WDDM 2.0): This is a set of rules from Microsoft that ensures the artist works reliably and efficiently with the rest of the computer.

Our health check simply confirms that your computer’s graphics system speaks this modern language and follows the current rules.

What Your Results Mean

The check determines if your graphics hardware and software are up to the Windows 11 standard.

Status	What It Means	What To Do
PASS	Modern Graphics System Detected Your computer’s graphics system is fully compatible with Windows 11 and can handle all its visual features smoothly.	No action is required. Your system is up to date.
ACTION REQUIRED(Fail)	Outdated Graphics System Detected Your computer’s graphics hardware is older and does not support the modern standards. This can cause visual glitches, poor performance, and is not compatible with Windows 11.	This is typically a hardware limitation. You may first try running Windows Update to see if a newer driver is available. If the issue persists, please contact the IT Help Desk to schedule a device replacement.

Frequently Asked Questions

My screen works fine. Why did this check fail?

• While your screen can display a basic image, older graphics hardware may struggle with the demands of a modern operating system. This can lead to stuttering animations, screen-sharing issues in Teams, or general sluggishness because the hardware isn’t efficient enough. This check ensures your device provides a high-quality visual experience, not just a basic one.

Can’t you just install an update to fix this?

• Sometimes a driver update can help, but often this issue is tied to the physical graphics chip in the computer. If the chip itself was not built to support DirectX 12, no software update can add that capability. It’s like trying to make an old television show a high-definition movie—the underlying technology just isn’t there.

Did I do something wrong?

• Not at all. This result is based on the hardware your computer was built with. Our goal is to proactively identify devices that won’t provide a good experience with modern software and get them replaced.