[11 Way] Fix Black Screen When Starting or Playing Games
The black screen for game problem can happen when you launch a game, during mid-gameplay, or after cutscenes. The screen goes black or the game freezes while the audio continues. Have no idea about the PC black screen while gaming? You can know all useful information and solutions here.
Guide List
When the Screen Goes Black While Gaming Why Games Show a Black Screen 5 Quick Fixes for Black Screen When Playing Games 6 Advanced Fixes to Troubleshot Black Screen for Game Best Game Recorder for BeginnersWhen the Screen Goes Black While Gaming
- • The gameplay video launches, but only shows a black screen.
- • After playing the intro videos or cutscenes, the game's black screen appears suddenly.
- • Have in-game blackouts while loading screens or transitions.
- • The game screen goes black while the sound is still playing.
- • The PC game displays a black screen in full-screen mode but works properly in windowed mode.
- • …
Why Games Show a Black Screen
Hardware issues often cause a black screen during gameplay. You can check the possible reasons below.
- • GPU driver conflicts, overlays, or corruption.
- • Insufficient or overheating GPU/CPU power.
- • DirectX/Vulkan/OpenGL compatibility errors.
- • Overlays interfering with Discord, Stream, GeForce Experience, and more.
- • Graphic settings mismatch, including resolution, unsupported refresh rate, etc.
- • Anti-virus software and firewall block some game extensions.
5 Quick Fixes for Black Screen When Playing Games
If you don't know why and want to get general black screen fixing methods, you can try the following troubleshooting first.
- • Restart your computer. Then relaunch your game.
- • Play the game in the windowed or borderless window mode, not the full-screen mode.
- • Decrease video resolution in the graphics settings.
- • Disable overlays on Xbox Game bar, Steam, Discord, etc.
- • Check whether the Internet connection runs fast and stably.
6 Advanced Fixes to Troubleshot Black Screen for Game
What if the above quick fixes don't work? No worries. Here are workable methods that gamers and tech experts provided on Reddit and other forums.
1. Update GPU Driver
- 1. Identify your GPU in Task Manager's Performance tab or Device Manager first.
- 2. Download the latest driver of NVIDIA GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin.
- 3. You can use Display Driver Uninstaller to complete the installation.
- 4. Check to see if it can fix the black screen on the forewarned and middle.
2. Check Game Files on Steam
- 1. Right-click on the game, which is located in the Steam library. Click the "Properties" button from the context menu.
- 2. Click the "Installed Files" tab. In there, click the "Verify integrity of game files" button.
- 3. Wait and complete the repair process. The game black screen issue can disappear after the file verification.
3. Disable CPU or GPU Overclocking
- 1. Search and uninstall overclocking software. (You can type appwiz.cpl and more to find it.)
- 2. Reboot your computer. Press the F1 (F2 or Del) key repeatedly to enter the BIOS mode.
- 3. Go to the "Advanced", "Performance", or "Tweaker" tab. Adjust all CPU ratio, frequency, or overclocking settings to the default or auto.
- 4. Save your changes and exit it to turn off the CPU overclocking.
- 5. Then open the NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Radeon Settings. Reset those settings to the default, which are "Overclocking", "Performance", or "GPU Settings".
4. Reinstall DirectX/Visual C++ Redistributables (or .NET framework)
Game black screen with sound often indicates DirectX errors. During this time, you can download the latest version from the official Microsoft site.
5. Adjust Compatibility and Launch Options
- 1. Right-click on the game's executable file.
- 2. Click the "Properties" button, then go to the "Compatibility" tab.
- 3. Click the "Run as administrator" button.
- 4. If the game black screen error appears on Windows 10/11, you can run it in Windows 7/8 compatibility mode.
To fix the black screen on Steam games, you can add launch options, such as -windows or -dx11.
6. Check Power Supply and GPU Temperatures
Overheating CPU/GPU and weak PSU can lead to black screens. To solve the problem, you can use HWMonitor or MSI Afterburner to check temperatures while playing games. Moreover, you can enable the high-performance mode in power settings to fix the PC black screen while gaming.
Best Game Recorder for Beginners
AnyRec Screen Recorder is a lightweight and powerful game recorder for PC and Mac users. You can use its Game Recorder mode to capture games on a desktop smoothly. It is supported to record the selected game window with audio and webcam. So you can keep other programs unrecorded. The advanced acceleration technology can keep you away from a black screen while playing games. Later, you can trim, convert, and compress long game recordings within the program.
Record gameplay with 4K UHD video up to 60FPS.
Capture games with your face and voiceover.
Record, edit, share, and save game clips in one stop.
Get GPU acceleration to capture games smoothly.
Secure Download
Secure Download
- 1. Open AnyRec Screen Recorder. Click the "Game Recorder" from the drop-down list.
- 2. Click the down arrow icon and select your current game window. Turn on the toggle button before "System Sound" to capture game audio.
- 3. Click the "REC" button to start recording PC games. Once you stop recording, you can preview, edit, save, and share the gameplay video.
Conclusion
Fixing a black screen during gameplay isn't always straightforward. Driver conflicts, power instability, GPU malfunction, and many other reasons can cause the problem. You can use the above 11 ways to troubleshoot a PC screen going black while gaming step by step. What's more, you can capture highlights with the best game recorder. Free Download AnyRec Screen Recorder and start smooth game recording today!
Secure Download
Secure Download
