# GPU randomly making screen go black?



## hcwwaffles (Feb 24, 2018)

About a week ago, I was playing a game on my PC when the screen suddenly went black, the monitor said that apparently nothing was connected to it. The fix for that was to shut computer off and turn it back on, but then it became a frequent thing even outside of games. It'd stay on for a while, then the monitor would disconnect. I assumed that the monitor was the issue at first. But after testing out 3 different monitors, the issue still remained. I ended up updating the drivers for the GPU (didn't work), uninstalling all of my drivers, then installing them, and it still kept happening. I suspected the power supply of being the culprit but the lights on the GPU were still on, along with everything else when the screen turned off, and i could still hear sound coming from the game or videos. I disconnected the VGA cable I was using on m first monitor and connected it to my motherboard, after using the on board GPU my motherboard had, it worked fine, and the issue was gone. I've spent hours looking for solutions ranging from checking to see if the issue was something as simple as the settings for the PC having a sleep timer or the screen savers being the issue. But nothing has worked thus far. I would really appreciate the help, Thank you.

GPU: GTX 960 4gb


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 24, 2018)

hcwwaffles said:


> About a week ago, I was playing a game on my PC when the screen suddenly went black, the monitor said that apparently nothing was connected to it. The fix for that was to shut computer off and turn it back on, but then it became a frequent thing even outside of games. It'd stay on for a while, then the monitor would disconnect. I assumed that the monitor was the issue at first. But after testing out 3 different monitors, the issue still remained. I ended up updating the drivers for the GPU (didn't work), uninstalling all of my drivers, then installing them, and it still kept happening. I suspected the power supply of being the culprit but the lights on the GPU were still on, along with everything else when the screen turned off, and i could still hear sound coming from the game or videos. I disconnected the VGA cable I was using on m first monitor and connected it to my motherboard, after using the on board GPU my motherboard had, it worked fine, and the issue was gone. I've spent hours looking for solutions ranging from checking to see if the issue was something as simple as the settings for the PC having a sleep timer or the screen savers being the issue. But nothing has worked thus far. I would really appreciate the help, Thank you.
> 
> GPU: GTX 960 4gb



We need complete and thorough system specs, gpu and 8GB of ram doesnt help us any.


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## hcwwaffles (Feb 24, 2018)

Os: Windows 10 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA‑H67MA‑USB3‑B3 
Cpu: Intel i5-2400s
Ram: 8gb
Power Supply: 750w



eidairaman1 said:


> We need complete and thorough system specs, gpu and 8GB of ram doesnt help us any.


Is that fine?


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## BiggieShady (Feb 24, 2018)

As you are now using integrated gpu you can remove gtx960, carefully detach the fan shroud, clean the heatsink and fans, put back together and then re-seat back to the pci-e slot and reconnect to see if it's:
 a) the case of dust caused connectivity issues or maybe 
 b) the heat is affecting some component on the pcb (that you can't actually detect with gpu temperature sensor).


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## hcwwaffles (Feb 24, 2018)

BiggieShady said:


> As you are now using integrated gpu you can remove gtx960, carefully detach the fan shroud, clean the heatsink and fans, put back together and then re-seat back to the pci-e slot and reconnect to see if it's:
> a) the case of dust caused connectivity issues or maybe
> b) the heat is affecting some component on the pcb (that you can't actually detect with gpu temperature sensor).


MSI afterburner tells me the Gpu is running pretty cool, but alright ill try it out.



BiggieShady said:


> As you are now using integrated gpu you can remove gtx960, carefully detach the fan shroud, clean the heatsink and fans, put back together and then re-seat back to the pci-e slot and reconnect to see if it's:
> a) the case of dust caused connectivity issues or maybe
> b) the heat is affecting some component on the pcb (that you can't actually detect with gpu temperature sensor).


There was no dust inside the heat sinks, I put everything back but the issue is still happening.


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 24, 2018)

hcwwaffles said:


> Os: Windows 10
> Motherboard: Gigabyte GA‑H67MA‑USB3‑B3
> Cpu: Intel i5-2400s
> Ram: 8gb
> ...



What brand and model of psu?


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## BiggieShady (Feb 24, 2018)

So it's happening randomly even on web and in desktop ... maybe reset nvidia control panel settings to defaults first, then try fiddling with power settings ... maybe even try disabling msi afterburner to see if it's maybe driver version incompatibility or RivaTuner thing ... i'm out of ideas
Try different modular power supply port and/or cable that gpu uses?
Try the other pci-e slot?
Now I'm really out of ideas.


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## DRDNA (Feb 24, 2018)

Create a new admin Profile on your PC which means this >>>> (Set up a different log on) restart your PC and log onto the NEW ADMIN account and retest. This will bring you back to default settings in everything Windows and all its apps and will let you know if it is a settings issue or a different issue like Nvidia  driver version.. Report back with results. Welcome to TPU


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## hcwwaffles (Feb 24, 2018)

DRDNA said:


> Create a new admin Profile on your PC which means this >>>> (Set up a different log on) restart your PC and log onto the NEW ADMIN account and retest. This will bring you back to default settings in everything Windows and all its apps and will let you know if it is a settings issue or a different issue like Nvidia  driver version.. Report back with results. Welcome to TPU



Just tried making a new admin account, did not work.
Also i forgot to mention, when the issue first started occurring, i was getting this error popup on my screen saying 

"Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library, 
Runtime Error!
Program: C...
This application has requested the Run time to terminate it in an unusual way"

It kept popping up earlier this week and it lead to me using a DDU to completely rid of the drivers, then  reinstalling and them. Uninstalled all things related to Microsoft Run time, and reinstalled them. After that the pop up stopped showing up, but the issue with the black screen still occurred. 

Does the black screen probably have something to do with Runtime?


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## DRDNA (Feb 24, 2018)

Ah I see, What I would do is *reinstall Microsoft Visual C++* , then reboot and *reinstall the Nvidia suite* and retest again and report back. What version you installing of the Nvidia driver? Maybe  try version 388.71 ....then report back...thank you. Be sure too do the installs in the order above.


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## hcwwaffles (Feb 24, 2018)

DRDNA said:


> Ah I see, What I would do is *reinstall Microsoft Visual C++* , then reboot and *reinstall the Nvidia suite* and retest again and report back. What version you installing of the Nvidia driver? Maybe  try version 388.71 ....then report back...thank you. Be sure too do the installs in the order above.


The version of my driver is 390.77, i just tried doing it in that order but the problem still remains.  I updated back to the latest driver right now, also thank you for the feedback I appreciate it.


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## trog100 (Feb 24, 2018)

hcwwaffles said:


> Just tried making a new admin account, did not work.
> Also i forgot to mention, when the issue first started occurring, i was getting this error popup on my screen saying
> 
> "Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library,
> ...



i think the black screen means a faulty or unstable gpu that is crashing the video display.... unless you enjoy trying everything else on the plant i would follow the faulty gpu route.. 

trog


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## DRDNA (Feb 24, 2018)

trog100 said:


> i think the black screen means a faulty or unstable gpu that is crashing the video display.... unless you enjoy trying everything else on the plant i would follow the faulty gpu route..
> 
> trog


Yup I would also now recomend that you try your GTX 960 4GB in a different PC and see if it has the same issue. If so then the GTX is faulty. If not we have more work to do yet.


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## hcwwaffles (Feb 24, 2018)

DRDNA said:


> Yup I would also now recomend that you try your GTX 960 4GB in a different PC and see if it has the same issue. If so then the GTX is faulty. If not we have more work to do yet.


Alright ill go test it on my neighbors PC.



DRDNA said:


> Yup I would also now recomend that you try your GTX 960 4GB in a different PC and see if it has the same issue. If so then the GTX is faulty. If not we have more work to do yet.


I just tried it on my neighbors PC, and so far there hasn't been any issue with gaming, nor searching through the web. So I guess the  GPU isn't faulty


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 24, 2018)

hcwwaffles said:


> Alright ill go test it on my neighbors PC.
> 
> 
> I just tried it on my neighbors PC, and so far there hasn't been any issue with gaming, nor searching through the web. So I guess the  GPU isn't faulty




What brand and model psu do you have?

@ this point its, psu, motherboard, ram, cpu or os is borked


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## hcwwaffles (Feb 24, 2018)

I think I fixed the issue,

I believe the issue was related to the power supply, i had previously changed out 2 cables (to connect power supply to GPU) and still had the same problem. But now the issue seems to have stopped after buying another cable and use it. Thanks to everyone who gave feedback i really appreciate all the help. If Issues arise ill be sure to update,thank you.


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## Itz5Y (Jul 19, 2018)

I am facing the same problem with you,may I know what cable are you using？


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## Capri (May 11, 2020)

i had the same problem and i found it was my PSU , i recently upgraded from a 350w to a 850w when i had my 1060 and it would just go black and fans would go to 100%. i changed back to my 350w and jt never happened again


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## 1clutch3 (May 14, 2020)

I need help my gpu keeps on turning off like my monitor would go black and realize I look to my pc that the light are off from gpu sometimes it would restarts it self but most of the time I have to press the restarted button. I seen that it could be my power supply but idk if it was right cause it was More than 5 year old. 
My specs are 
Ryzen 9 3950x
Msi mpg edge mobo 
Rtx 2080ti founder edition 
64gb Warhawk ram
750rm Corsair power supply 
Currently doing some msi afterburners test and some benchmarks test but it seem that it managed to get through it without turning off.


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## BigtimeGamer (Jun 7, 2020)

DRDNA said:


> Yup I would also now recomend that you try your GTX 960 4GB in a different PC and see if it has the same issue. If so then the GTX is faulty. If not we have more work to do yet.


I have a question about black blotchy areas coming up onto my screen while I'm playing Call of Duty.

I7 8700k
16gb ram
Windows 10
Aouros rtx 2080
850w psu
Asus z390+ mobo
49" super wide samsung 5120x1440

My GPU stays under 65. My computer says it's pushing 100 -130 FPS while in game.
I have v-sync off.

Call of Duty is the only game that seems to go black. What is really weird about the black blotches is that if I turn my character 180 degrees the opposite direction to look at new landscape the black blotcheyness will go away. It is almost as if when I move quickly the black blotcheyness gets erased.

I have turned down the resolution and the graphics and it does not seem to make a difference


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## Regeneration (Jun 7, 2020)

If just one game goes black then something wrong with the game. Update drivers and contact the publisher.


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## jayseearr (Jun 8, 2020)

BigTimeGamer have you tried resetting your shaders? That game is well known to have shader issues and oddities.


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## BigtimeGamer (Jun 8, 2020)

jayseearr said:


> BigTimeGamer have you tried resetting your shaders? That game is well known to have shader issues and oddities.


The shaders reinstall with each update...
I'll have to look into how to reset shaders cuz that is something I have not tried yet.

Also, I should say I have deleted and reinstalled the entire game more than once.

It probably has something to do with the shaders. The black blotchy spots seem to only appear when I am sniping and looking at a lot of area at one time


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## jayseearr (Jun 8, 2020)

Yes, that's the odd part. I've never encountered a game that messed with it's shaders every update install like that. I think it's a bit ridiculous and I'm surprised they still haven't done something about that. I never had an issue with blotches but it sounds like it could potentially be shader related and i just figured it might be worth a shot before you go trying other more complicated or timely solutions.


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## adamesalles (Nov 1, 2020)

Guys, I'm facing the very same issue from de first message. I have recently changed my PSU to a Corsair 550W from a 300w cheap one (that, I think, was faulty). And also changed my MB to a MSI B250m from a cheap H110m.

I have a PNY 1050ti, and when I use my integrated video card (of i5 7400) it works very very well.

Sometimes, with 1050ti, I can use for days, play a lot of games. But, other times, I can't use for even few minutes.

I am using Windows 10 here, but, for study, I use linux in my notebook. So, I have tested in a Live CD and the issue came up, sudden black screen.

Can someone help me? I really have to solve this in a cheap way.

Configs:
MSI b250m pro-vh
PNY 1050ti
ADATA/HyperX 16gb ram 2400MHz
i5 7400
Corsair CX550


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## greenfalcon (Mar 6, 2021)

adamesalles said:


> Guys, I'm facing the very same issue from de first message. I have recently changed my PSU to a Corsair 550W from a 300w cheap one (that, I think, was faulty). And also changed my MB to a MSI B250m from a cheap H110m.
> 
> I have a PNY 1050ti, and when I use my integrated video card (of i5 7400) it works very very well.
> 
> ...


hey, i've been going through the same problem but i managed to fix my issue.
i used msi afterburner to slightly underclock my gpu evga rtx 1080. 
i lowered the core clock (MHz) to -400 and lowered the memory clock (MHz) -214.
doing that put my gpu at 1620 MHz and my mem at 4788 MHz. 
try that and i hope it works for you as it worked for me.


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## jboydgolfer (Mar 6, 2021)

greenfalcon said:


> hey, i've been going through the same problem but i managed to fix my issue.
> i used msi afterburner to slightly underclock my gpu evga rtx 1080.
> i lowered the core clock (MHz) to -400 and lowered the memory clock (MHz) -214.
> doing that put my gpu at 1620 MHz and my mem at 4788 MHz.
> try that and i hope it works for you as it worked for me.


he's likely fixed the issue in the 5 months since he posted that.
just saying. also he's never posted on the site after , nor has he been back

still nice of you to offer help. dont take my post as a deterrent to offer help


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## greenfalcon (Mar 9, 2021)

jboydgolfer said:


> he's likely fixed the issue in the 5 months since he posted that.
> just saying. also he's never posted on the site after , nor has he been back
> 
> still nice of you to offer help. dont take my post as a deterrent to offer help


yeah i noticed i replied super late lol. i just posted it just incase there were other people on the net looking for a possible fix if they are going through the same problem. 
i literally was all over the net for a fix and finally found something that works for me maybe someone might stumble upon this thread and hopefully they didn't already buy a whole new setup when they could have fixed the problem.


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