Black screen after playing for a while

[A ♥♥♥♥ A Captain A Woman]

Basically, somewhere between 1 minute and 1 hour, the screen goes black and eventually the monitor shows the "no signal" screen.

The game appears to be running. I can hear audio. If I do the button presses correctly, I can exit the game. But the system won't recover video.

My gaming rig is used for nothing other than gaming (cleanest possible install). Only apps on there besides steam+games are Kaspersky and NordVPN.

Before 1.09, the game ran fine, so this only started happening recently. I can't think of anything that changed other than the game patch.


My system:
Ryzen 5 5600
Zotac Trinity OC 3080
32GB 3200mhz DDR4
1 TB NVMe
LG C1 OLED TV connected via HDMI 2.1

Interesting tidbits:
I run the game at 4k HDR.

I have VNC and ssh running on the gaming rig so I can tweak it remotely. The rig is setup as a living room console replacement.

When the screen blanks out, I cannot connect via VNC (otherwise works flawlessly). ssh however works fine. I have my sshd_config set to kick me into powershell when I login. I can basically do all the command line stuff. All the processes look fine (nothing looks hung up or non-responsive). Elden Ring seems to be running (can watch CPU/mem usage vary).

The time it takes to get to a screen blank varies. Could be minutes, but not usually more than an hour.

My first thought was GPU temps, but the erratic amount of time from boot to crash doesn't track.

Also, normal activity (web browsing, youtube, etc) is totally normal. No crashes or weird issues. Other games run fine and I've never experienced a black screen outside of Elden Ring.

My current working theory is that I've got, dare I say it... too gud and the golden order is trying to prevent my inevitable rise at this point. Solid theory, but I'm skeptical.

Things I have tried:
Prevention / Fixes:
- Updating graphics drivers
- Updating windows
- DDU uninstall and reinstall latest graphics drivers
- Resetting all graphics settings to factory default
- Verifying Elden Ring files (all good)
- Uninstalling and reinstalling Elden Ring
- Uninstalling and reinstalling Steam
- Running with and without ray tracing
- Turning down graphics settings (not resolution or HDR though, because I paid too much for a 3080 to eat it on a game that doesn't do DLSS)
- Checking CPU / GPU temps (both in good ranges, GPU doesn't go over 75. CPU is icy cold)
- Reseated GPU in PCIe 16x slot
- Reseated power cables in GPU
- Changed 6-pin power cables to a different set in PSU
- Bought new HDMI 2.1 cables. Have now tried 3x brand-new HDMI 2.1 cables from 3 different manufacturers, all certified cables with solid reviews.
- Turned steam overlay on and off (i.e. tried it both ways, no dice)
- Turned shade pre-caching on and off (i.e. tried it both ways, no dice)
- Turned GeForce experience on and off (i.e. tried it both ways, no dice)

Recovering function during blackscreen:
- Reset graphics driver via Ctrl+Win+Shift B
- Reset graphics driver via powershell.
- Disabling and re-enabling the graphics card via powershell
- Killing Steam via powershell
- Killing Elden Ring via powershell

Things that have worked:
- Rebooting and then hoping I can get the thing to run for more than an hour. Basically the "Hope" strategy. Which is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ strategy.

Anyone else had this problem? Any other thoughts on solutions? This is the only game this happens with and only since patch 1.09, so I *think* it's just ER. Open to any and all suggestions.

[nfinite.recursion]

Disable all power saving features on your PC. Particularly the ones related to blanking the screen. If you are using a controller, pressing buttons doesn't count toward your PC being "actively used" by Windows for some moronic reason.

[A ♥♥♥♥ A Captain A Woman]

Thanks for the reply. I did try but no change. Also, KB and mouse don’t wake the screen up.

I do notice that this crash seems to happen to me the most at malenia. Now it could be that that’s where I’m at (trying to get a solo kill) but I’ve noticed that once I go through the fog gate chances of a crash sky rocket.

Anyway. Might just be my imagination.

[dark-breed]

Originally posted by A ♥♥♥♥ A Captain A Woman:

Thanks for the reply. I did try but no change. Also, KB and mouse don’t wake the screen up.

I do notice that this crash seems to happen to me the most at malenia. Now it could be that that’s where I’m at (trying to get a solo kill) but I’ve noticed that once I go through the fog gate chances of a crash sky rocket.

Anyway. Might just be my imagination.

Check windows event logs and temperatures of your oc gpu.

The problem you describe is not game related. Is the monitor comming back at alt+tab ? I do not think this is the case and a GPU malfunction is going on.

[Krhal]

Your display port cable isn't seated properly. Unplug it and re-plug it back in. I damaged the display port on an old card of mine and it would do this under load. My new card isn't damaged and it happened to me once. Just unplugging and replugging fixed the issue.

[mmm19th]

same issue with me, it happened several times recently. do you manage to get the solution?

[Bill Waggoner]

Is steam and elden ring running as administrator?

Start by going to your elden ring directory, find Elden Ring exe, right click, properties, then click "run as administrator". Restart computer and try the game.

If no luck, do the same for steam, run it as admin, restart computer then try the game again.

As a side note, I would suggest Malwarebytes rather than any other antivirus. Sometimes AV programs can falsely flag legit programs. If you feel like you can't part with whatever you're using for Malwarebytes, designate elden ring as an exception in the antivirus.

[nfinite.recursion]

@OP: Why exactly are you using VNC? Why not use RDP?

Personally, I think your issue is stemming from VNC either locking the virtual screen, or disabling it automatically for some reason, or some logic for screen lock changed in a Windows update.

While you point out the update to ER being the possible culprit, just remember that Windows automatically updates itself too and can introduce problems without your permission or knowledge, adding an extra layer of confusion to the troubleshooting process.

[A ♥♥♥♥ A Captain A Woman]

SOLVED (ish). See bottom of post for solution.

First off. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and time! This issue has flummoxed me. All other games run fine. No changes to behavior. It is only Elden Ring and only after the 1.09 update. Cyberpunk runs great. Grim Dawn runs great. Witcher 3 runs great. Fortnite, Battlefield, CoD, etc. All run exactly the same. Only game that is glitching is Elden Ring. I'm convinced that something in the 1.09 update isn't playing nice with my hardware somehow, but I don't know how.

Replying to a couple of past posts here:
@dark-breed - Temperature. I did check this and everything is running cool. No temp spikes or anything. I did add more ventilation to my case just in case. Didn't have a big effect on temps, but I'm not mad about it. I also used afterburner to set a lower target temp before throttling, thinking maybe the thermistor wasn't reading correctly. Didn't change the problem though.

I have tried alt-tab and win-tabbing. Nothing. Once the screen goes black, there doesn't seem to be anything to do. My VNC won't work either once the black screen issue arises, but I can still SSH into my machine. I have done this after the black screen issue. ssh session is normal and I can touch just about everything. I've tried re-initializing the display driver, etc., but no go. I have even downgraded the display driver, trying the last 6 releases.

@Krhal - Display port cable. I'm not using DP. I'm using HDMI 2.1 for the 4k HDR goodness. I have tried plugging and unplugging, reversing, and even buying new cables. No effect on the issue. I have not tried going from HDMI to DP though, but I don't think DP does high framerate 4k HDR.

@Bill Waggoner™ - Administrator. Hadn't actually tried this, but I did and no dice. Same issue. Tried both running steam and elden ring as admin.

nfinite.recursion - VNC v RDP. I don't think VNC is the culprit, but I did try uninstalling and no change to the issue. Also, was working peachy keen with VNC before 1.09 update. Why VNC? Easy, free, functional. RDP is proprietary and harder to deploy across my use cases without shelling out cash. Since VNC just works, I use it.

!!!SOLUTION!!! So I was finally able to restore stability. I just turned my settings down from custom (everything but grass was jacked up as high as possible) to medium and ray-tracing turned off. I'm still playing at 4k. I've considered turning ray tracing back on since I'm using the lower quality settings, but I don't want to tempt fate.

Framerate was pinned at 60 before and after I adjusted graphics down, but now stability is back. No more black screens or crashing. Kind of a bummer to have to let the quality drop a bit considering it was running flawlessly before 1.09.

Not sure what they changed to the system under the hood, but whatever bits they flipped seem to drive my system crazy. So I have no explanation for the behavior. Given that other games still run fine / exactly as they always have, I don't think it's the hardware. The black screens had started for me on the first session I played after 1.09 and every session I have played since before turning my settings down.

SInce turning my settings down (about 2 weeks ago), I have experienced no crashes, no black screens, etc. 100% stability, just like before.

Go figure. Oh well. Honestly, this game's graphics aren't exactly cutting edge, so medium still looks pretty good. And frankly, I don't play these games for the graphics.

Hopefully this helps anyone having this issue in the future. I started by basically changing my resolution from 4k to 1080p and also turning graphics settings as low as possible. That's when I noticed it was running clean again. So if you are having this problem, I'd start there and then turn things back up as needed.

[dark-breed]

Originally posted by A ♥♥♥♥ A Captain A Woman:

SOLVED (ish). See bottom of post for solution.

First off. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and time! This issue has flummoxed me. All other games run fine. No changes to behavior. It is only Elden Ring and only after the 1.09 update. Cyberpunk runs great. Grim Dawn runs great. Witcher 3 runs great. Fortnite, Battlefield, CoD, etc. All run exactly the same. Only game that is glitching is Elden Ring. I'm convinced that something in the 1.09 update isn't playing nice with my hardware somehow, but I don't know how.

Replying to a couple of past posts here:
@dark-breed - Temperature. I did check this and everything is running cool. No temp spikes or anything. I did add more ventilation to my case just in case. Didn't have a big effect on temps, but I'm not mad about it. I also used afterburner to set a lower target temp before throttling, thinking maybe the thermistor wasn't reading correctly. Didn't change the problem though.

I have tried alt-tab and win-tabbing. Nothing. Once the screen goes black, there doesn't seem to be anything to do. My VNC won't work either once the black screen issue arises, but I can still SSH into my machine. I have done this after the black screen issue. ssh session is normal and I can touch just about everything. I've tried re-initializing the display driver, etc., but no go. I have even downgraded the display driver, trying the last 6 releases.

@Krhal - Display port cable. I'm not using DP. I'm using HDMI 2.1 for the 4k HDR goodness. I have tried plugging and unplugging, reversing, and even buying new cables. No effect on the issue. I have not tried going from HDMI to DP though, but I don't think DP does high framerate 4k HDR.

@Bill Waggoner™ - Administrator. Hadn't actually tried this, but I did and no dice. Same issue. Tried both running steam and elden ring as admin.

nfinite.recursion - VNC v RDP. I don't think VNC is the culprit, but I did try uninstalling and no change to the issue. Also, was working peachy keen with VNC before 1.09 update. Why VNC? Easy, free, functional. RDP is proprietary and harder to deploy across my use cases without shelling out cash. Since VNC just works, I use it.

!!!SOLUTION!!! So I was finally able to restore stability. I just turned my settings down from custom (everything but grass was jacked up as high as possible) to medium and ray-tracing turned off. I'm still playing at 4k. I've considered turning ray tracing back on since I'm using the lower quality settings, but I don't want to tempt fate.

Framerate was pinned at 60 before and after I adjusted graphics down, but now stability is back. No more black screens or crashing. Kind of a bummer to have to let the quality drop a bit considering it was running flawlessly before 1.09.

Not sure what they changed to the system under the hood, but whatever bits they flipped seem to drive my system crazy. So I have no explanation for the behavior. Given that other games still run fine / exactly as they always have, I don't think it's the hardware. The black screens had started for me on the first session I played after 1.09 and every session I have played since before turning my settings down.

SInce turning my settings down (about 2 weeks ago), I have experienced no crashes, no black screens, etc. 100% stability, just like before.

Go figure. Oh well. Honestly, this game's graphics aren't exactly cutting edge, so medium still looks pretty good. And frankly, I don't play these games for the graphics.

Hopefully this helps anyone having this issue in the future. I started by basically changing my resolution from 4k to 1080p and also turning graphics settings as low as possible. That's when I noticed it was running clean again. So if you are having this problem, I'd start there and then turn things back up as needed.

Hmm this points to a Hardware related problem at the gpu (maybe the output side or the memory). Reducing the Settings for effects, Gras and so on only reduce the amount of used GPU memory.
There are some Tools to check GPU memory but they are relatively complicate to use (eben i would need a tutorial to use them properly).
Finally it sounds like the communication Signal to the monitor runs out of the monitor specs for 4k.
Yoj can try to reduce the monitor frequency below 60 Hz(58 for examble) to confirm this assumption.

[A ♥♥♥♥ A Captain A Woman]

This is probably the final post on this. Hate to resurrect an old thread, but wanted to close this out in case others find this while searching for problems.

Elden Ring become unstable for me when they first introduced ray tracing. I don't know everything that changed under the hood, but the instability existing with and without ray tracing. You can see a description of the behavior above. Prior to this, I had had no issues on my PC with any games, but my build was still new-ish (been gaming on it for 6 months).

I lowered my settings as noted above, and beat Elden Ring, putting it down until the DLC drops. I moved on to Cyberpunk 2077. Awesome. Was stoked to play a game that would push my hardware.

That didn't go well for me.

Same problem kept creeping up: black screen crash where the PC is still running (you can SSH in and execute commands, etc.), but the graphics card was literally shutting down and refusing to communicate with the other hardware.

I had some workarounds for this too. On my 3080 I was playing cyberpunk on 1440p settings with all graphics sliders turned to the lowest settings (or off if possible to turn it off). Textures on lowest setting. DLSS's worst setting. Etc. Basic 1440p potato edition. That was stable. Anything more than that though and BOOM. Black screen crash.

Less demanding games like West of Loathing, or old school games like Baldur's gate, etc. never crashed. So it only seemed to happen when the system was under load. Benchmark apps always ran stable even if I ran multiple at the same time on the most ridiculous settings. I could only get the crash to reproduce when playing demanding, modern games.

I decided to take the PC apart and meticulously clean all connections and reseat all the things (RAM, power cables, CPU, GPU, USB, etc.).

This worked! Ah, it was just me being an idiot at putting the thing together. Great! Cyberpunk was running at 60 fps on 4k ultra with DLSS quality. Life was good. For about 2 weeks and then the crashing started again.

That was the clue I needed. It seemed that the 2x 8-pin power connectors feeding my 3080 10gb were connected to the issue. If I would reseat those and play around with them, I could get stable behavior for anywhere from a few hours to up to 2 weeks.

It was the power supply. I oversized it when I bought it to make sure I had plenty of wattage headroom, but my operating theory was that under load, the PSU just couldn't hold voltages, and the drop in voltage was triggering the 3080 to shutdown in order to prevent damage.

I replaced the PSU with an RM850x and all problems immediately disappeared.

Maybe I'm a stooge for not seeing the PSU as the problem earlier. But if some poor tarnished finds this post in the future, don't do what I did. Check the PSU.

[dark-breed]

Originally posted by A ♥♥♥♥ A Captain A Woman:

This is probably the final post on this. Hate to resurrect an old thread, but wanted to close this out in case others find this while searching for problems.

Elden Ring become unstable for me when they first introduced ray tracing. I don't know everything that changed under the hood, but the instability existing with and without ray tracing. You can see a description of the behavior above. Prior to this, I had had no issues on my PC with any games, but my build was still new-ish (been gaming on it for 6 months).

I lowered my settings as noted above, and beat Elden Ring, putting it down until the DLC drops. I moved on to Cyberpunk 2077. Awesome. Was stoked to play a game that would push my hardware.

That didn't go well for me.

Same problem kept creeping up: black screen crash where the PC is still running (you can SSH in and execute commands, etc.), but the graphics card was literally shutting down and refusing to communicate with the other hardware.

I had some workarounds for this too. On my 3080 I was playing cyberpunk on 1440p settings with all graphics sliders turned to the lowest settings (or off if possible to turn it off). Textures on lowest setting. DLSS's worst setting. Etc. Basic 1440p potato edition. That was stable. Anything more than that though and BOOM. Black screen crash.

Less demanding games like West of Loathing, or old school games like Baldur's gate, etc. never crashed. So it only seemed to happen when the system was under load. Benchmark apps always ran stable even if I ran multiple at the same time on the most ridiculous settings. I could only get the crash to reproduce when playing demanding, modern games.

I decided to take the PC apart and meticulously clean all connections and reseat all the things (RAM, power cables, CPU, GPU, USB, etc.).

This worked! Ah, it was just me being an idiot at putting the thing together. Great! Cyberpunk was running at 60 fps on 4k ultra with DLSS quality. Life was good. For about 2 weeks and then the crashing started again.

That was the clue I needed. It seemed that the 2x 8-pin power connectors feeding my 3080 10gb were connected to the issue. If I would reseat those and play around with them, I could get stable behavior for anywhere from a few hours to up to 2 weeks.

It was the power supply. I oversized it when I bought it to make sure I had plenty of wattage headroom, but my operating theory was that under load, the PSU just couldn't hold voltages, and the drop in voltage was triggering the 3080 to shutdown in order to prevent damage.

I replaced the PSU with an RM850x and all problems immediately disappeared.

Maybe I'm a stooge for not seeing the PSU as the problem earlier. But if some poor tarnished finds this post in the future, don't do what I did. Check the PSU.

if you had looked at the event viewer logs you would have seen the problem much earlier.

i bet there are a lot of errors related to a power out at the GPU.