Black Screen issue and how to fix it :: GRID 2 General Discussion
This topic has been pinned, so it’s probably important
Black Screen issue and how to fix it
Some people experienced a so called black screen effect in the game — the graphics turn to black but the game is still running, switching to desktop closes the program immediately.
I had the same issue and digged through the forum for a working solution. There are many different ideas how to solve it. However, only one of them seem to work (for me and probably others). So I decided to repost an explanation how to fix this issue, marking the working solution in first place amongst others.
The possible solution I found in this forum implies that there are some compatibility issues of GRID 2 with DX11. The workaround excludes them by forcing the game to DX10.
Update: Solution 2 seems to work well.
Howto:
Solution 1:
— Navigate to Users/Documents/my games/GRID 2/hardwaresettings/
— Open «hardware_settings_config. xml» (Make a backup of this file prior to the following steps)
— Browse to <directx forcedx10=»false» />
— Alter the boolean value to <directx forcedx10=»true» />
— Save the file (replace the old one)
— Run the game
Solution 2:
— Force the graphics driver to vsync=on in the graphic driver settings and set the detail level ingame to high (Tried this solution and it seems to be more stable. The black screen issue only occurs rarely)
Alternatives that might work:
— deleting the …/hardwaresettings/ folder and let GRID 2 recheck the graphic card (didn’t work for me. Might work though)
— Start an integrity check of the GRID 2 installation
— Update to the most recent graphics driver (might work)
— Downgrade the Driver to the last known working version (not recommended)
— more alternatives can be found, browsing this forum but most of them are very unlikely to work
Maybe someone can make this post sticky to help people, solving this issue fast.
The issue still exists and I assume a patch for this issue will not be released.
edit1: 1st. Thanks for the sticky. 2nd unfortunately after a longer playtime, this issue occured again. I assume, it might be a problem with the Steam overlay. I disable it for now and inform you about the results.
edit2: Update. Black screen bug is not related to the Steam overlay. However, there might be some correlation between the driver and the game since it runs a lot more stable using forced DX10 than using DX11.
edit3: Since Solution 2 seem to work well, the issue might be correlated to one of the graphic settings. This needs more investigation and time to check (every advanced graphic setting needs to be checked individually)
edit4: Some users verify the black screen issue as an graphics driver issue (Driver stop and recovery). A reduced core clock speed helped out for them to play GRID 2 for several hours without any issue. The core clock speed can be adjusted, using 3rd party tools like MSI Afterburner which can be obtained in the web for free.
The core clock speed was reduced by approx. 30Mhz in order to get the game running more stable. Please keep in mind, using tools to alter the core clock speed may cause damage to the hardware and should only be used with care and some knowledge about tweaking hardware values. I’ll test this method on my own and edit this post afterwards, providing a more detailed guide, how to alter the core clock.
edit5: changed NVidia to all graphic drivers since this issue also might occur on AMD based cards.
edit6: Added integrity check suggestion
@Codemasters: It might be useful for users with this issue that you get in touch with NVidia/AMD in order to analyse and fix this issue. Thank you.
Thank you CoDa for providing more suggestions from Codemasters directly. Here’s the post from Codemasters regarding this issue:
«Can you ensure that any anti-virus software on your PC is disabled. If you right click on your anti-virus icon in your system tray, you should get an option allowing you to disable it (or exit).
Make sure that you do not run any other programs whilst it is disabled and re-enable it once you have finished trying this procedure.
Please also ensure that any CD tools that may install virtual drives — e.g. Nero, Clone CD, Alcohol 120, Daemon Tools are uninstalled. You should also disable any CD tools that check for disk insertion.
Any other background programs, where possible, should also be shutdown.
Now try running the game again.
Kind regards
Rob
Codemasters Customer Services»
Maybe this works. On the other hand, most products work just fine when utilizing AV-Software and/or CD Emulation parallel to them. So it is still a bad code in the CM product in my opinion.
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New solution found by SpoodBeest (thank you for providing this method):
Spoodbeest figured out, that the issue is most likely caused by the hyperthreading of Intel I7/Xeon CPU’s. To fix this issue, the Grid 2 Config-file has to be altered.
I copied an abridged version SpoodBeests post below as explanation:
— Open C:\Users\<user>\Documents\my games\GRID 2\hardwaresettings\hardware_settings_config.
— Modify the line «workerMapFile=»system/workerMap12Core.xml» to indicate the number of physical and hyperthreaded cores you have. For example, I have a 6 core i7, so 12. (the number in the workerMapFile may change depending on the cores (incl the vcores) your CPU has)
— Then modify the lines forceFeedbackProcessor=»a», dvdStorageProcessor=»b», dataSetMonitorProcessor=»c», renderProcessor=»d», updateProcessor=»e», fileStreamProcessor=»f». In place of a,b,c,d,e, and f, use the numbers which refer to your physical cores, i.e., 0,2,4,6,8,10. Luckily for me, I have 6 physical cores and can dedicate one to each of these processes. If you have less, I guess try assigning the same core to several. I think the key here is to not assign a hyperthreaded core.»
I checked this method and it worked so far.
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The issue also might be related to the length or brand of the HDMI or Display Port cables. Using a shorter cable or using a different brand/quality might help to get rid of the random blackscreen issue. It seems that some cables are not able to transport the signal stable enough to keep the video signal running (but this issue is only known on Codemasters games so far and is still an engine issue on Codemasters side). Also, if no different cable is available, a reduction of the framerate and/or the resolution might help to keep the video signal stable.
Thank you Hebespunk for providing this information 🙂
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Btw GRID Autosport seem to have the same issue as a friend of mine showed me on his rig. Maybe this solution might work also for all other Codemasters products having this issue.
Last edited by Pandoron;
28 Apr, 2015 @ 3:35am
GRID? Tips for issues solving.
If Race Driver: GRID crashes, Race Driver: GRID will not start, Race Driver: GRID not installing, there are no controls in Race Driver: GRID, no sound in game, errors happen in Race Driver: GRID – we offer you the most common ways to solve these problems.
Be sure to update your graphics card drivers and other software
Before letting out all of your bad feelings toward development team, do not forget to go to the official website of your graphics card manufacturer and download the latest drivers. There are often specially prepared optimized drivers for specific game. You can also try to install a past versions of the driver if the problem is not solved by installing the current version.
It is important to remember that only the final version of the video card driver must be loaded – try not to use the beta version, since they can have some terrible bugs.
Do not also forget that for good game operation you may need to install the latest version DirectX, which can be found and downloaded from official Microsoft website.
Race Driver: GRID not starting
Many of the problems with games launching happen because of improper installation. Check, if there was any error during installation, try deleting the game and run the installer again, but before install don’t forget to disable antivirus – it may often mistakenly delete files during installation process. It is also important to remember that the path to the folder with a game should contain only Latin characters and numbers.
You also have to check whether there is enough space on the HDD for installation. You can also try to run the game as an administrator in compatibility mode with different versions of Windows.
Race Driver: GRID crashes. Low FPS. Friezes. Hangs
Your first solution to this problem install new drivers for a video card. This action can drastically rise game FPS. Also, check the CPU and memory utilization in the Task Manager (opened by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESCAPE). If before starting the game you can see that some process consumes too many resources — turn off the program or simply remove this process from Task Manager.
Next, go to the graphics settings in the game. First – turn off anti-aliasing and try to lower the setting, responsible for post-processing. Many of them consume a lot of resources and switching them off will greatly enhance the performance, and not greatly affect the quality of the picture.
Race Driver: GRID crashes to the desktop
If Race Driver: GRID often crashes to the desktop, try to reduce quality of the graphics. It is possible that your PC just does not have enough performance and the game may not work correctly. Also, it is worth to check out for updates — most of today’s games have the automatic patches installation system on startup if internet connection is available. Check to see whether this option is turned off in the settings and switch it on if necessary.
Black of black screen in the Race Driver: GRID
The most common issue with black screen is a problem with your GPU. Check to see if your video card meets the minimum requirements and install the latest drivers.
Sometimes a black screen is the result of a lack of CPU performance.
If everything is fine with your hardware and it satisfies the minimum requirements, try to switch to another window (ALT + TAB), and then return to the game screen.
Race Driver: GRID is not installed. Installation hangs
First of all, check that you have enough space on the HDD for installation. Remember that to work properly installer requires the declared volume of space, plus 1-2 GB of additional free space on the system drive. In general, remember this rule – you must always have at least 2 gigabytes of free space on your system drive (usually it’s disk C) for temporary files. Otherwise, the games and the other software may not work correctly or even refuse to start.
Problems with the installation may also be due to the lack of an internet connection or it’s instability. Also, do not forget to stop the antivirus for the time game installation – sometimes it interferes with the correct file copy, or delete files by mistake, mistakenly believing they are viruses.
Saves not working in Race Driver: GRID
By analogy with the previous solution, check for free space on HDD — both on where the game is installed, and the system drive. Often your saves are stored in a folder of documents, which is separate from the game itself.
Controls not working in Race Driver: GRID
Sometimes the controls in game do not work because of the simultaneous connection of multiple input devices. Try disabling gamepad, or, if for some reason, you have two connected keyboards or mouses, leave only one pair of devices. If your gamepad does not work, remember — the games usually officially support only native Xbox controllers. If your controller is defined in system differently — try using software that emulates the Xbox gamepad (eg, x360ce — step by step manual can be found here).
No sound in Race Driver: GRID
Check if the sound works in other programs. Then check to see if the sound is turned off in the settings of the game, and whether there is correct audio playback device selected, which is connected your speakers or headset.
After this check volumes in system mixer, it can also be turned off there.
If you are using an external audio card — check for new drivers at the manufacturer’s website.
How to fix the black screen situation in Dota 2?
Dota 2 players often face various difficulties of a diverse nature. To a greater extent, this applies to those gamers who own inexpensive or outdated hardware. They often have a black screen in various situations when starting DotA 2 and not only. There may be other bugs as well. But this is the one that worries me the most.
Solutions
There are several solutions to this problem. Let’s consider some of them. nine0005
Using the experimental launch option
If you’re stuck with a black screen in Dota 2, try using the experimental boot command. This is an updated way to start, released in one of the game updates.
However, it’s important to remember that using this option lengthens the initial game start time.
This moment should not worry you, because after entering Dota, the process will greatly accelerate.
Do not forget that the experimental way to start when h 9 appears0003 Black screen when entering DotA 2 . Therefore, it is important to understand that you do all subsequent actions at your own risk. So, download the game according to the algorithm below:
- Run the client
- Update the game.
- Right click on the icon.
- Then select properties.
- Click on the «General» tab and then click on «Set Launch Options».
Enter the prewarm in the text box. Now, with peace of mind, run the game without fear, that dota 2 starts but there is no image . The download will be quick, and you can enjoy the game.
One of the most important recommendations for a successful startup is to disable all «heavy» programs and applications. This is especially true for software that has access to the Internet.
Then black screen after playing DotA will also not appear.
Only competent preliminary measures to prepare your operating system will allow you to fully enjoy the game even on a weak PC. nine0005
If the problem is in the GPU or OS
If it does not meet the necessary requirements, a black screen in dota 2 when starting may appear for this reason. Then you need to check if your video card meets all the requirements and update the drivers. It happens that the reason for what is happening is that the CPU has insufficient performance.
Malfunctions of network drivers or network cards can cause a black screen when loading DotA 2 . Uninstall the software and install another version. If your network adapter is Bigfoot Killer, you will need to uninstall a set of software that allows you to manage your network and prioritize the use of network resources by applications, reboot and install only the Driver without the software package.
If you can’t get rid of it, and when you start Dota 2 only the mouse appears , open Killer Network Manager from the system notification area, click on «Applications», uncheck the box «Show only for execution». One more tip if you are tortured by dota 2 black screen — always prefer a clean install.
Then adjust the PC power management profile to improve its performance. After that, adjust the advanced settings accordingly. Now restart the DirectX installation.
If Aero mode is available, use it. At the same time, turn off transparency in the corresponding window.
Solving the problem when choosing a hero
Sometimes it happens that the game is found. But then comes black screen when choosing hero in dota 2. This glitch can also be fixed. You can open the console in the Dota menu and enter the word disconnect, and then close the console. After that, press the search for the game and accept it after it has been found.