Fix 0xC0262100 Graphics No Video Memory Error

Quick Answer

Drop your resolution or texture quality in the app, close Chrome and Discord, and restart the app. If that doesn't fix it, check for a GPU driver update or rollback.

What Actually Causes This

0xC0262100 is DirectX's way of saying your GPU has no free VRAM left. The culprit here is almost always one of three things: a game or app that's trying to use more VRAM than you have, a memory leak in the driver or app, or another program eating VRAM in the background (looking at you, Chrome with 20 tabs).

I've seen this on everything from a 4GB GTX 1650 to a 24GB RTX 4090 — it's not just a 'low-end card' problem. On high-end cards, it's almost always a driver bug or a memory leak. On lower-end cards, you're probably just asking for more than the card can give.

This error pops up most often in recent games like Hogwarts Legacy, Starfield, and Cyberpunk 2077 at ultra settings, or in 3D rendering software like Blender or AutoCAD with large scenes.

Step-by-Step Fix

Close everything using VRAM. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc). Go to the 'Performance' tab, click 'GPU 0' (or your GPU name). Look at 'Dedicated GPU memory usage'. If it's near 100%, kill the biggest offenders — usually Chrome, Discord, Slack, or OBS. Right-click and 'End task'. Then restart the problem app.
Lower the in-app settings. Drop texture quality from Ultra to High or Medium. Reduce resolution by one step (e.g., 1440p to 1080p). Turn off ray tracing completely — that's a VRAM hog. This buys you breathing room fast.
Update your GPU driver. Go to the manufacturer's site (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel). Download the latest driver for your exact card model. Run the installer with a clean install option (NVIDIA calls it 'Custom Installation > Perform a clean installation'). Reboot after.
If you just updated the driver, roll it back. Open Device Manager (Win+X > Device Manager). Expand 'Display adapters'. Right-click your GPU > Properties > Driver tab > 'Roll Back Driver'. If that's grayed out, download the previous driver version from the manufacturer's site and install it over the current one.
Check for a memory leak. Open Task Manager, go to 'Details' tab. Find the app that shows the error. Watch its 'Memory' column. If it's steadily climbing over 30 seconds, you've got a leak. Update the app or game, or check the developer's forums for a patch.

Alternative Fixes If the Above Fails

Disable hardware acceleration in browsers. In Chrome: Settings > System > turn off 'Use hardware acceleration when available'. Restart Chrome. This frees up a surprising amount of VRAM.
Increase your page file. Go to Settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Performance > Advanced > Virtual memory. Uncheck 'Automatically manage'. Set a custom size — start with 1.5x your RAM for initial, 3x for maximum. Apply and reboot. This won't directly add VRAM, but Windows can fall back to system RAM for non-GPU-critical stuff.
Use DDU to nuke the driver. Download Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU). Boot into Safe Mode. Run DDU, select your GPU brand, and click 'Clean and restart'. Then install the latest driver fresh. This clears out any corrupted driver files.
If you're on a laptop with switchable graphics, force the app to use the dedicated GPU. Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics. Find the app, click Options, set to 'High performance' (NVIDIA) or 'High performance' (AMD). Apply.

Prevention Tips

Don't run 40 Chrome tabs while gaming. Keep your GPU driver up to date but don't install the day-1 driver — wait a week to see if it's buggy. Set a VRAM usage monitor (MSI Afterburner works well) and learn what your card's limit is. If you keep hitting this, it might be time to upgrade to a card with more VRAM — 8GB is the new minimum for modern games at 1440p.

Note: If you're on Windows 10 or 11 with an NVIDIA card and this error happens in every game, try the 531.61 driver. It's the last stable release before a known VRAM leak in later drivers.