Windows 10 interrupts steam, screen goes black

[lukeprog]

This didn't used to happen, but starting today, whenever I play a game on Steam, maybe 2-10 minutes will go by and then, in the middle of gameplay, a Windows 10 screen will appear for a split second and then my screen will go completely black. I think the Windows 10 screen is all-blue except for the circles in the middle and the word "loading," but I'm not sure because it's only there for a split second. (It kinda looks like this [images.drivereasy.com] but I think the circles are in the center of the screen and I think it says "loading" instead of restarting.")

I can't make the screen turn back on by hitting any keys or the mouse, so I have to power the laptop off and then on to get back in to my computer. Any clue what this could be or how to fix it?

[Revy]

Did you install / updated / changed ANYTHING in the pc in the last 1-2 days? That could be it.

Also you can download and run clean installation of your graphics driver. Just in case.

In case your laptop has started overheating you will have to open the thing and clean it a bit.

Rare case. Windows is set to automaticaly restart when it finishes some updates (this can be disabled in windows update > advanced). Could also be the issue.

[lukeprog]

Thanks, Revy.

I haven't used Steam for a couple months, so it's hard to guess which updates in the meantime might have contributed to the problem.

I have now reinstalled Steam and updated my NVIDIA drivers and unfortunately the problem remains.

Windows Update automatic restarts are disabled.

Anyone got other ideas to try?

[Revy]

Check the laptop's temperatures too.

No need to stress it. Download a temp app you like and have it run idle for a while with it open.
Reading your first post again, if it ONLY blackscreens during gaming and since you've reinstalled everything i think overheat might actualy be the issue here.

[JaredX7]

Certainly sounds like a GPU issue.
Either the gpu is overheating, or has become defective/on it's last legs.

Do you have the authority & experience to unscrew/dismantle the Laptop, and check the GPU to see how much dust buildup there is and possibly apply some fresh thermal compound to the GPU?

[lukeprog]

Originally posted by Revy:

Check the laptop's temperatures too.

No need to stress it. Download a temp app you like and have it run idle for a while with it open.
Reading your first post again, if it ONLY blackscreens during gaming and since you've reinstalled everything i think overheat might actualy be the issue here.

Thanks! I've never used a temp app before. Is there a particular temp app you'd recommend? I'm on Windows 10 on a Dell laptop.

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by lukeprog:

Originally posted by Revy:

Check the laptop's temperatures too.

No need to stress it. Download a temp app you like and have it run idle for a while with it open.
Reading your first post again, if it ONLY blackscreens during gaming and since you've reinstalled everything i think overheat might actualy be the issue here.

Thanks! I've never used a temp app before. Is there a particular temp app you'd recommend? I'm on Windows 10 on a Dell laptop.

Your best bet is to have a look on the Dell website themselves to see if there's one for yourlaptop. Generally you can get generic temperature utilities for CPU, RAM and stuff, but with specific builds it won't show all the cores, or maybe both graphics cards, etc. So the closer you can get to getting one for your model, probably the better.

[lukeprog]

Update: I went into the Dell BIOS and changed the fan/power settings to "cool," which maybe means the fan runs faster, and since then I haven't had the problem anymore. I used Speccy to monitor CPU and GPU temperatures and they are generally staying below 67, usually below 65. I'm not sure what temps they got up to prior to me making the BIOS setting change. Thanks, all!

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by lukeprog:

Update: I went into the Dell BIOS and changed the fan/power settings to "cool," which maybe means the fan runs faster, and since then I haven't had the problem anymore. I used Speccy to monitor CPU and GPU temperatures and they are generally staying below 67, usually below 65. I'm not sure what temps they got up to prior to me making the BIOS setting change. Thanks, all!

Well, even if it doesn't fix it permanently, you know you're on the right track, because if it affected things, then that WAS the cause.