Windows Insider builds are known to have bugs, as Microsoft rolls out and tests new features with voluntary users. Insiders have been hit with a particularly nasty issue with build 27808, however, which went out on March 7. Users are reporting crashes with applications that use DirectX 9, and Microsoft has now confirmed the issue in build 27808.

DirectX 9 games are crashing on the latest Windows Insider build

And users suggest it could be related to Nvidia GPUs

Microsoft posted an update to its Windows Blog that originally announced build 2708, as spotted by Neowin:

• [NEW] We are investigating a d3d9.dll crash which is causing multiple apps to fail to launch starting with Build 27802 for some Insiders.

Although the crashes are primarily focused on older games that use the DirectX 9 graphics API, they aren't exclusive to them. Reportedly, any application that uses DirectX 9 can crash with build 27808. Microsoft says it's still working on a fix. Thankfully, the bug is only impacting users in the Canary channel, which receives the latest, most feature-rich builds of Windows 11 -- along with the most bugs.

Some users found that replacing the d3d9.dll file in the build with one from an older build could resolve the issue. Reports from users suggest that the issue impacts those with Nvidia GPUs, and that you'll need to disable your Nvidia GPU in the device manager before swapping the DLL file.

Microsoft hasn't confirmed that the issue is related to Nvidia GPUs, but it wouldn't be surprising. The company's latest RTX 50-series graphics cards have introduced a host of problems. There are some hardware issues like burning power connectors and missing ROPs, but also software issues like a nasty bug that will crash games and leave you on an unresponsive black screen.

The issue should be fully resolved by the time Microsoft pushes the build to more stable channels in the Windows Insider program. If you're in the Canary channel, you can try to swap the DLL file and disable your Nvidia GPU in Device Manager, though it's probably best to roll back to a previous Canary build or to move to a more stable channel. We have an archive of Windows 11 updates where you can find and install older builds.

Although users have suggested the issue is related to Nvidia GPUs, that hasn't been confirmed by Microsoft or Nvidia. Given the prevalence of Nvidia GPUs compared to AMD and Intel, there could be some level of confirmation bias going on. Thankfully, this isn't something you need to worry about if you're in the general release channel for Windows 11, or even one of the more stable Insider channels.