If you have both an integrated Intel/AMD GPU and a discrete NVIDIA/AMD GPU, Windows might switch devices mid-emulation, causing a "Device Lost."
The error occurs in the Dolphin Emulator when using the Vulkan graphics backend. It means the GPU stopped responding or crashed, causing the emulator to lose connection to the graphics device. dolphin vk error device lost
Dolphine uses "Uber Shaders" and other modern rendering techniques that can be extremely heavy. If your GPU takes longer than 2 seconds to compile a shader or render a complex frame, Windows pulls the plug, resulting in a Device Lost error. If you have both an integrated Intel/AMD GPU
If a single frame takes too long to render (more than 2 seconds by default), Windows’ GPU watchdog resets the driver. Dolphin interprets this as a lost device. If your GPU takes longer than 2 seconds
Internal settings can sometimes push the Vulkan API beyond what your current hardware/driver combo can handle.
Navigate to and uncheck Enable Dual Core .