Left 4 Dead 1 black screen

As the keywords suggest, when starting a game, the game goes black. If you whip up console, there is this error. Which I know other people may get when they try to start up an Official Dedicated game. Anyone know why this is?

Table of Contents Show

Fix: Left 4 Dead 2 Black Screen After Startup
1. Disable Full-Screen Optimizations
2. Run the game as an Administrator
3. Check Graphics Driver Update
4. Update Left 4 Dead 2
5. Check System Resources
6. Disable Overlay Applications
7. Check Windows Updates
8. Lower in-game Graphics Settings
9. Update DirectX
10. Press ALT+TAB Key Combo
11. Try Disabling Overlay Apps
12. Reinstall Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime

Try defraging it, if it still doesn't work, install it again, but if it still doesn't work buy a better hard drive if you can or just use another computer like madadude said

Red7xd - 12 years ago - report

0 0

Probably,your RAM is not enough.Or too much background programs opened in your detskop,and taskbar.Increase RAM in your pc may solve this problem(RAM not VGA,if your VGA is good enough.If its low,both must be increase).

Keep Trying!,

killer_puppet - 12 years ago - report

0 0

Try right-clicking the left4dead2.exe thing and put a tick next to, "Run in 640x480". It works for me, and I had the same problem.

So been around the net trying to solve this problem. Tried all the fixes
and none of them successful. Well, I've gotten a few steps closer, but still
no bananas.

Anyway the black screen issue is when left4dead loads up, but the menu
is a black screen, but you can still hear the sounds of the mouse pointing at
a menu option. But there is no visable way of see what option you have picked.
Oh and just to add, this has happend to many a people, with a different range
hardware equipement, from Nividia 6000 series right to 9000 series!

Tried the cfg fix, better, but doesn't work
Tired the "delete" cfg fix, again it doesn't work
Tried the RivaTuner fixe, still no joy
Tried the update, and the patching Drivers fix, nieh, nieh, nieh!
I've one left, I think, which is the ratio screen size fix

So if anyone could post the video settings file, it would be much appreciated!
The file settings I want is the "video.txt" file
found in the "..\left4dead\cfg" folder

It looks a little something like this (My current Settings)

"config"
{
"vendorid" "4318"
"DeviceID" "1570"
"setting.fullscreen" "1"
"setting.nowindowborder" "0"
"setting.aspectratiomode" "-1"
"setting.mat_vsync" "1"
"setting.mat_monitorgamma" "2.200000"
"setting.mat_queue_mode" "-1"
"setting.cpu_level" "0"
"setting.mem_level" "2"
"setting.gpu_mem_level" "2"
"setting.defaultres" "1280"
"setting.defaultresheight" "1024"
"setting.gpu_level" "3"
"setting.mat_antialias" "4"
"setting.mat_forceaniso" "4"
"setting.mat_grain_scale_override" "1"
}
Click to expand...

Screen Shots

Selecting singleplayer!

Left 4 Dead Main menu

Game Screen picture! Somewhat awkward to play with!

Your help is much appreciated
Thanks in advance!
James

Valve Corporation has released a multiplayer horror-based survival video game called Left 4 Dead 2, a sequel to Left 4 Dead. The game was initially released in 2009 only for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 platforms. Later it became available for Macintosh OS and Linux platforms. Now, if you’re also one of the victims, then check out this guide to easily fix the Left 4 Dead 2 Black Screen issue After Startup.

According to multiple online reports, the affected players mention that it is just stuck on the black screen whenever they try launching the game. Another major issue is that during the black screen, there is no sound coming out as well. After waiting for some time, players have to press the Alt+F4 keys to simply get out of the screen and nothing else. So, this issue or bug is frustrating.

Page Contents

Fix: Left 4 Dead 2 Black Screen After Startup
- 1. Disable Full-Screen Optimizations
- 2. Run the game as an Administrator
- 3. Check Graphics Driver Update
- 4. Update Left 4 Dead 2
- 5. Check System Resources
- 6. Disable Overlay Applications
- 7. Check Windows Updates
- 8. Lower in-game Graphics Settings
- 9. Update DirectX
- 10. Press ALT+TAB Key Combo
- 11. Try Disabling Overlay Apps
- 12. Reinstall Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime
- 13. Verify Game Files and Repair

Fix: Left 4 Dead 2 Black Screen After Startup

The chances are high enough that the Left 4 Dead 2 black screen issue may appear due to the PC configuration compatibility issue with the game’s system requirements. Meanwhile, having an outdated graphics driver, missing or corrupted game files, outdated game version, issues with DirectX, overlay app issues, higher in-game graphics settings, etc can cause several issues with the black screen while the game launches.

It’s worth mentioning to check out the game’s system requirements from the mentioned link to ensure there is no compatibility issue appearing on your computer.

1. Disable Full-Screen Optimizations

First, go to the C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Left 4 Dead 2\Binaries\Win64 directory. [If you’ve installed the Steam client or game on another drive or location, then head over there]
Right-click on the Left 4 Dead 2.exe file and click on Properties.
Go to the Compatibility tab > Uncheck the Enable Fullscreen Optimizations toggle.
Click on Apply and then OK to save changes.

2. Run the game as an Administrator

Make sure to run the game exe file as an administrator to avoid user account control regarding privilege issues. You should also run the Steam client as an administrator on your PC. To do this:

3. Check Graphics Driver Update

Make sure to check out the graphics driver update on your PC whether it’s outdated or not. Sometimes an outdated GPU driver version or corrupted driver can cause several issues whatsoever. It’ll also help you to fix the black screen-related issues with games or applications. To do so:

Press Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
Now, click on Device Manager from the list > Double-click on Display adapters.
Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you’re using.

Next, select Update driver > Choose to Search automatically for drivers.
If there is an update available, the system will automatically download & install it.
Once done, restart the computer to apply changes.

4. Update Left 4 Dead 2

If in case, you haven’t updated your Left 4 Dead 2 game for a while then make sure to follow the steps below to check for updates and install the latest patch (if available). To do this:

5. Check System Resources

If the game loads slow or takes too much time in startup then make sure to check out the system resources after launching the Left 4 Dead 2 game on your PC by following the steps below to check whether the RAM or CPU Usage becomes higher or not.

Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open Task Manager.
Click on the Processes tab > Select the task that you want to close.

Once selected, click on End Task. Make sure to do the steps for each task individually.
Once done, just restart your computer to change effects immediately.

6. Disable Overlay Applications

According to some affected players, overlay applications can run in the background while gaming and it basically consumes system resources which will cause issues with the gameplay too.

7. Check Windows Updates

The chances are also high that your Windows OS build becomes outdated for a while. In that scenario, your gameplay performance will impact a lot apart from bugs or stability issues. So, it’s always better to check for Windows updates and install the latest version (if available). To do that:

Press Windows + I keys to open up the Windows Settings menu.
Next, click on Update & Security > Select Check for updates under the Windows Update section.

If there is an update available, select Download and install.
Wait for some time until the update gets completed.
Finally, reboot your PC to apply changes immediately.

8. Lower in-game Graphics Settings

Try lowering the in-game graphics settings from the game menu to check if that helps or not. Disable V-Sync, Shadow effects, Anti-Aliasing, and try running a lower display resolution for the game to fix black screen-related issues.

9. Update DirectX

Sometimes an outdated DirectX version or missing DirectX can also cause multiple issues with the game launching or gameplay. You should try following the steps below to update it.

Head over to this Microsoft link to download the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer on your PC.
Next, install or update the DirectX version manually.
Once done, restart your computer to apply changes.

10. Press ALT+TAB Key Combo

Some affected PC users have mentioned that by pressing the ALT + TAB key shortcut combo, they’re able to switch between the opened programs on the PC. So, keep pressing the ALT + TAB to switch between programs and then go back to the running game again to check whether the problem has been fixed or not. It’ll change the display mode from full-screen to windowed mode and then full-screen mode which can fix the black screen issue.

11. Try Disabling Overlay Apps

It seems that a couple of popular apps do have their own overlay program that can eventually run in the background and cause issues with the gaming performance or even launching issues. You should turn them off to fix the issue by following the steps below:

Disable Discord Overlay

Launch the Discord app > Click on the gear icon at the bottom.
Click on Overlay under App Settings > Turn on the Enable in-game overlay.
Click on the Games tab > Select Left 4 Dead 2.
Finally, turn off the Enable in-game overlay toggle.
Make sure to reboot your PC to apply changes.

Disable Xbox Game Bar

Press Windows + I keys to open Windows Settings.
Click on Gaming > Go to Game Bar > Turn off Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using the Game bar option.

If in case, you’re unable to find out the Game Bar option then just search for it from the Windows Settings menu.

Disable Nvidia GeForce Experience Overlay

Launch the Nvidia GeForce Experience app > Head over to Settings.
Click on the General tab > Disable the In-Game Overlay option.
Finally, restart the PC to apply changes, and launch the game again.

Also do keep in mind that you should disable some other overlay apps like MSI Afterburner, Rivatuner, RGB software, or any other third-party overlay apps that run in the background always.