Exit Codes 222-231 and 1028
You have landed on this page because the game detected an error and terminated.
This occurs when the game loses access to the physical graphics device (i.e. the GPU).
Although the problem can be caused by bugs or a flaw in the game itself, it's also possible for it to be caused by factors outside of the game. Please follow the steps below to rule these factors out. If none of them help, please follow the steps under 'Requesting further support' and we'll get in touch to try and figure out the underlying issue.
Overclocked system
An overclocked system is the most probable cause for encountering this issue. If you have overclocked your system (the most relevant would be an overclocked GPU, although the same issue can also occur when overclocking the CPU and/or the RAM), please revert the overclocking and see if this resolves the problem.
Undervolted system / MSI Afterburner
One customer reported running into this problem after undervolting the GPU in MSI Afterburner. If you are running MSI Afterburner, revert to the default settings and see if this resolves the problem.
Driver issues
The problem can also be caused by driver issues. Beta drivers, in particular, are known to cause instabilities and trigger the temporary loss of a device. We therefore suggest that you install the latest recommended (or optional — but NOT beta) version of your graphics card drivers. You can find the official drivers here:
Hardware malfunction/overheating
In certain situations the graphics card can temporarily become detached from the game if it overheats. This should not usually happen for non-overclocked GPUs, but if the graphics card (or some other hardware) is malfunctioning, it can also occur even on such a system. This is particularly likely to be the cause if your system is generally unstable and you regularly run into bluescreen errors and/or crashes with other applications and games. To rule out this possibility, try turning down the graphics settings in-game to see if this prevents the issue (this should reduce the load on your system). If this solves the problem, we strongly suggest that you try to determine the underlying cause, since your system is likely to become more and more unstable over time, and might eventually stop working altogether.
Installing driver updates
You should not try to update the driver while the game is running. If you have done so, and therefore run into this issue, be aware that this is expected behaviour. In this case, the graphics device will temporarily detach from the game and X4 will terminate.
Detaching external graphics cards / deactivating graphics cards
If you have an external graphics card and detach it while running the game, or use other means to deactivate the graphics card, you will trigger this situation. Again, simply don't do that while the game is running.
Interfering third-party tools / malware / viruses
Certain third-party tools can trigger the GPU to reset in the same way as certain malware and viruses can. Try terminating any third-party program that you suspect may be interfering with the GPU, and see if this prevents the termination of the game. If you are aware of a third-party tool which triggers this issue, we'd like know so that we can update our list of third-party tools known to cause problems. Send a mail to prioritysupport@egosoft.com (Subject: Exitcode 1028) and state the name of the tool that you suspect to be the cause.
Also verify that your system is not infected by malware or a virus. If you don't have a virus scanner installed (and/or rely on the built-in Windows Defender) we suggest that you temporarily scan your system with one of the free antivirus systems available on the internet. Also scan for potential malware. There are multiple free malware detection tools available on the web.
Requesting further support
If you have ended up on this page and ruled out all of the potential causes above, please send a mail to prioritysupport@egosoft.com (Subject: Exitcode lost device) with a screenshot of the popup error and your dxdiag as well as the vulkaninfo attached. This Wiki entry explains how to create this information.
Technical background
The technical explanation for this scenario (i.e. Exitcode 222-231 or 1028) is that a so-called lost device event occurred. This happens if the graphics card becomes detached from the application/game, even if only temporarily. This usually presents itself as all screens going blank for a few seconds (i.e. the graphics card is resetting). As explained above, there are multiple triggers for this. Most common are hardware malfunctions or driver issues which trigger the reset of the device. However, it can also be caused by bugs in the game's graphics engine, e.g. when it issues incorrect/unsupported calls to the graphics card. In such a case the graphics card may also reset itself.
