In this article, we will see some solutions to help you fix the Starfield Black screen issue on startup. The black screen problem in Starfield can occur due to many causes, like corrupted graphics card drivers, corrupted system image files, incorrect game settings, etc. Whatever the cause of the problem is, we have provided some fixes that will help you resolve this problem.
Fix Starfield Black screen on startup
If Starfield shows a black screen on startup, use the solutions provided below to fix the issue.
- Where did you connect your monitor?
- Monitor your GPU temperature
- Roll Back or reinstall your graphics card driver
- Repair your system image files
- Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state
- Update your Adrenalin software
- Verify the integrity of the game files
- Tweak Starfield Display Settings
- Uninstall and reinstall the game
Below, we have explained all these fixes in detail.
1] Where did you connect your monitor?
Modern PCs with built-in heavy-duty graphics cards have two different ports to connect to an external display. One port offers a connection of the display to the motherboard and the other offers a connection of the monitor to the GPU. If you have connected your monitor to the motherboard port, disconnect it from there and connect it to the GPU port.
2] Monitor your GPU temperature
You should also monitor the temperature of your GPU while gaming. If the black screen appears after some time of launching the Starfield game, your GPU temperature might be going high due to which you are experiencing the black screen on Starfield. You can monitor your GPU temperature with the help of a built-in tool in Windows 11/10, Task Manager. Or you can install free GPU temperature monitoring software. If your GPU is overheating, you should fix your overheating GPU.
3] Roll Back or reinstall your graphics card driver
A corrupted graphics card driver can also be one of the possible causes of the black screen issue in Starfield. We suggest you roll back or update your graphics card driver and see if it helps.
Go through the following instructions to roll back your graphics card driver.
- Open the Device Manager.
- Expand the Display adapters branch.
- Right-click on your graphics card driver and select Properties.
- Go to the Driver tab.
- Click on the Roll Back Driver option.
Follow the on-screen instructions to roll back your graphics card driver. This action will uninstall the latest version of your graphics card driver and install the earlier version. Now, check if the problem persists.
If this does not help or if the Roll Back option is greyed out, reinstalling the graphics card driver can help. To reinstall your GPU driver, first, you have to uninstall it. Follow the steps provided below:
- Download the latest version of your graphics card driver from the official manufacturer’s website.
- Use DDU (Display Driver uninstaller) to completely remove your graphics card driver.
- Run the installer file to install the graphics card driver.
4] Repair your system image files
Another possible cause of this problem is the corrupted system image files. The command line utilities, System File Checker, and DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tools will help you repair the corrupted system image files.
5] Troubleshoot in a Clean Boot state
It is also possible that a background application or service is conflicting with the Starfield game and causing the black screen problem. To check this, start your system in Clean Boot. You have to use MSConfig to disable all the third-party services and Task Manager to disable all third-party startup apps to enter the Clean Boot state.
After entering the Clean Boot state, launch Starfield and see if the issue exists. If the problem does not appear in Clean Boot, a third-party background application or service is responsible for this problem. Now, you have to identify that program or service.
To identify the problematic application, enable some of the startup apps and restart your computer. Launch Starfield and see if the problem persists. If not, enable some other startup apps and restart your computer. If the problem persists, any one of the applications you have just enabled is the culprit. Now, disable the startup apps you have just enabled one by one, and restart your computer every time you disable an app. When the problem goes away, the startup app that you have just disabled is actually causing the problem.
Repeat these steps to identify the problematic service but this time you have to use the MSConfig app instead of the Task Manager.
6] Update your Adrenalin software
An outdated Adrenalin software can also cause this problem. We suggest you check if an update is available for your Adrenalin software or not. If yes, install the update. The following steps will guide you on this:
- Launch the Adrenalin software.
- Go to Settings > System.
- Click on the Check for Updates button.
- If an update is available, download and install it.
After updating the Adrenalin software, launch Starfield and check if the problem is fixed.
7] Verify the integrity of the game files
Damaged or corrupted game files can cause several issues in games and interrupt smooth gameplay. You can fix the problem caused due to the corrupted or damaged game files by verifying their integrity. Verify the integrity of the game files and see if it helps.
8] Tweak Starfield Display Settings
If the interface of Starfield goes black a few minutes after you launch the game, your game settings can be responsible for this. You can tweak some of your Starfield Display Settings and see if it brings any changes.
If the black screen appears just after launching the Starfield game, change the full-screen mode to windowed mode and see if it brings the interface of the game. In Windows 11/10, you can switch to the windowed screen mode in all games by pressing the Alt + Enter keys. You can also try to restart your graphics card driver and see if it brings the interface of the game or not. The shortcut to restart the graphics card driver is Win + Ctrl + Shift + B. If the interface of your game becomes visible after trying this, you can change the Starfield display settings.
Open display settings in the Starfield game and do the following:
- Turn off Dynamic Resolution.
- Disable Upscaling.
- Disable VRS.
9] Uninstall and reinstall the game
If none of the above fixes resolve the issue, uninstall and reinstall the game. After you reinstall the game, apply the display settings described in the above fix, so the black screen issue cannot occur again.
I hope this helps.
How do I fix a black screen when starting a game?
If you see a black screen when starting or playing a game on your Windows PC, the problem might be associated with your graphics card driver. You can try some solutions, like rolling back or updating your graphics card driver, changing your monitor’s response time, tweaking your game settings, etc., to fix this issue. You should also monitor your GPU temperature.
How to fix a black screen when booting?
If your computer boots to a black or blank screen with a blinking cursor, first of all, check the cables connecting to the external display (if applicable). You can use some fixes, like disconnecting all peripherals and forcing your system to restart, checking the boot order, etc.
Read next: Starfield not responding or launching on PC.