Why Won't My Surface Pro 7 Run Any Games That Previously Ran Fine?

Question

I have had my Surface Pro 7 for several years and have never had a problem with running several games, such as Minecraft and The Sims 3. I have not played since December of 2023, and today I tried to boot up The Sims 3. It will not launch without my screen freezing. I have also tried booting up several other more easy-going games and the same thing has happened, leading me to believe that this is not an issue with the game or the gaming platform but with my PC. I have restarted it several times and disconnected my external hard drive, to no avail. I am running Windows 11 and have no pending updates. Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone know how to fix it? I understand that the Surface Pro is not an optimal gaming laptop by any means, but I have never once had an issue running any of the games that I tried to run today.

Answer 1

Hello Jordan,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

I appreciate you raising this concern to us, and I understand that you're having issues with your Surface Pro 7.

There are a few things you can try to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check for updates: Even if you don't have any pending updates, it's worth checking to see if there are any optional updates available for your device. To do this, go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates.
2. Reinstall your graphics driver: Outdated graphics drivers can cause issues with running games. You can update your graphics driver by going to Device Manager > Display adapters > Right-click on your graphics card > Uninstall driver.
3. Check your power settings: Make sure your Surface Pro 7 is set to High Performance mode when running games. To do this, go to Settings > System > Power & sleep > Additional power settings > High performance.
4. Check your storage: Make sure you have enough free space on your device to run games. If your storage is full, it can cause performance issues.
5. Run a virus scan: It's possible that your device has been infected with malware or a virus, which can cause performance issues. Run a full virus scan using Windows Security or your preferred antivirus software.
6. Download Drivers and firmware: Download Surface Pro 7 Drivers and Firmware. from Official Microsoft Download Center

Please let me know how it goes and hopefully it helps!

Best regards,

Rolando S.

Answer 2

Did you find something that works? I have the same problem

Answer 3

I had the same problem, reinstalling the graphics driver with the windows 11 version is what fixed it for me.

Answer 4

Hello Jordan,

We haven't heard from you yet, so we're assuming your issue has been resolved. We won't be monitoring the subsequent progress of this thread, so if you need further help, please click this link to create a new thread to discuss these issues: Create a new issue (microsoft.com).

Thank you for your understanding.

greeting

Rolando S.

Answer 5

Hi, I'm having the exact same issue and tried reinstalling the graphics driver. Didn't work unfortunately :( is there any other possible way to fix this issue?