# Screen goes black once in a while, but only for about 1 second.



## Raafaaeel

Hey guys, well as the title sort of says it. My screen has been acting really weird lately ...and by lately i mean After I got myself a GTX 750 ti. I know many will tell me that it's my card and what not, but since it was NEW nothing was bought used..i'm assuming it was 'ok'. For what I saw, it never did that when It was barely put in (without it's updated drivers) But after I went to the NVIDIA site and downloaded the Latest Drivers (337.88 WHQL) THEN... after a few day's or a week or so..I noticed my screen would randomly Go BLACK for about 1 or 2 seconds...then everything was back to normal. I could be Watching a YouTube video or surfing the Web..or just on the Desktop. It wouldn't matter..it would just go ALL BLACK for a second or two, then back to normal. And it would happen RANDOMLY. Sometimes it would take about 10 minutes to happen. Sometimes only about 2 minutes. (I have updated the Nvidia Drivers from 337.88 WHQL to a BETA Driver that comes after 337.88 WHQL...(forgot it's name, But it still has the Problem so No fix  

Things that have helped me diagnose:
As i'm typing this sentence it's been about 25 - 30 MINUTES and i've watched YouTube videos, Browsed FaceBook, looked at 3 Youtube videos at the same time..and I have Received NO black Screen ! BUT all has been done through **SafeMode** I am assuming up to this point that the DRIVERS are the one's to blame for my annoying Black Screen Glitch. Of course I will have to keep on Using SafeMode to diagnose and to look carefully just in case The BLACK SCREEN happens in SafeMode (Hopefullly NOT)... but as of now.. Nothing has happend. Other than that Here are my System SPECS, I would Greatly appreciate any Type of Help. Thanks 

My PC Specs:

OS - Windows 8.1 PRO 64bit
CPU - AMD Athlon II X3 450
RAM - 6.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 535MHz (7-7-7-19) 
Kingston 2gb 2x8 DDR3 PC3 10600 1333 mhz Desktop RAM HP Branded
Hynix 4GB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600R 2Rx4 ECC Registered 240Pin DIMM
MotherBoard - ASRock N68C-GS FX 
GPU - ASUS GTX 750ti OC edition
PSU - LEPA N Series N500-SA 500W ATX12V

(NOTE: I am aware I have "Server" RAM.. since one of the Sticks says 'ECC REGISTERED ' which i Know is weird..but It has worked ok. & it might have to do with some Problems..but Idk)


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## Stancestans

Hi!
ECC doesn't necessarily mean server RAM.

You are right to suspect the graphics drivers, but we ought to investigate more. Take a look at Event Viewer for any warnings or errors especially within the time frame of the black-outs. My experience with graphics drivers is that up-to-date is not always better, in fact, older drivers seemed to solve display problems such as this (ATI/AMD users can attest to this more). Did you have any reason for updating the drivers or just keeping up with "best practices"? If the update doesn't add to the device's funtionality or fix any problems you have with the device, i'd suggest you revert to the driver version that shipped with the GPU and see if that gets rid of the black screens.


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## Raafaaeel

Thanks for the reply. I will uninstall My current up to date drivers, & install the ones that came with my GPU. I will also check to see if I can avoid the Nvidia app from updating the drivers. If the problem reoccurs I will check the "event viewer" as you suggested. Quick question.. How do I get to the Event Viewer.. Can I just type it up in the Windows Search Box? Thanks


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## Stancestans

Raafaaeel said:


> Thanks for the reply. I will uninstall My current up to date drivers, & install the ones that came with my GPU. I will also check to see if I can avoid the Nvidia app from updating the drivers. If the problem reoccurs I will check the "event viewer" as you suggested. Quick question.. How do I get to the Event Viewer.. Can I just type it up in the Windows Search Box? Thanks


Yes you can search for event viewer


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## Raafaaeel

i have uninstalled the updated Dirvers.. restarted my pc. BUT somehow they kept on updating over and over again. I even unchecked "Do not automatically Update"(within GEForce Experience app) but idk. Anyways.. this time I just uninstalled my Updated Drivers, and went straight to installing the drivers in the 'DVD ROM' that came with my GPU..but this is what I get.. (pic)


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## Raafaaeel

Stancestans said:


> Hi!
> ECC doesn't necessarily mean server RAM.
> 
> You are right to suspect the graphics drivers, but we ought to investigate more. Take a look at Event Viewer for any warnings or errors especially within the time frame of the black-outs. My experience with graphics drivers is that up-to-date is not always better, in fact, older drivers seemed to solve display problems such as this (ATI/AMD users can attest to this more). Did you have any reason for updating the drivers or just keeping up with "best practices"? If the update doesn't add to the device's funtionality or fix any problems you have with the device, i'd suggest you revert to the driver version that shipped with the GPU and see if that gets rid of the black screens.



I managed to get passed that problem (Nvidia installer cannot continue) i had to uninstall MOST nvidia Drivers from the Uninstall Programs menu, THEN it would ask for a reboot & i would be ready to install any Display Drivers. So i did install the Drivers that came with the GPU finally, (so i rolled back from some BETA drivers that are available after 337.88 WHQL to 334.94(Which came with my GPU in a DVDROM). I will post a pic but um. hopefully the Screen thing doesn't happen. I will keep updating You guys, thanks. As soon as I have time to Play some Games or watch some Videos I will do so to Check that the Random Screen Glitch doesn't happen ..if it does I will post it. Thanks for the help so far.


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## Stancestans

It is recommended that you uninstall all existing display drivers and related utility software and clean up any remnants before you install other version, whether you are updating or downgrading.

Anyway, keep us posted on any developments


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## Raafaaeel

Stancestans said:


> It is recommended that you uninstall all existing display drivers and related utility software and clean up any remnants before you install other version, whether you are updating or downgrading.
> 
> Anyway, keep us posted on any developments


UPDATE: 7 - 18 - 14 

So Today i got to use my computer a little bit more.. I watched some videos, for about 1 hour 30 minutes & Played some GRID 2 for about another 30minutes with NO interruption from my Display. BUT... As I windowed GRID 2, & got on the Internet (CHROME) (Craigslist) within about 3 Minutes I got THE BLACK SCREEN :/... About 10 Minutes after the BLACK SCREEN, i got it AGAIN, within a couple of Seconds It FLASHED Again. So in total, it was like 3-4 BLACK SCREEN FLASHES. All while I was On the INTERNET. i checked 'Windows EVENT Viewer' and got NO ERROR or WARNING within the last Hour so... yeah :/ I'm pretty sad at this point. :frown:


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## Panther063

Taken from the Motherboards specifications.
2 x DDR3 DIMM slots**
- Supports DDR3 1600/1333/1066/800 *non-ECC, un-buffered* memory


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## Raafaaeel

That was also one of my concerns .. My RAM. Which as I mentioned, I already knew I had ..but wasn't %100 sure on whether my motherboard supported it..since awkwardly I am able to Run my PC .. With ecc ram. As soon as I am able to find good ram that is worth the buck, I'll go for it. Since I'm almost positive RAM has to do with other problems I've had in the past. Thanks for the heads up @Panther


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## Stancestans

Raafaaeel said:


> That was also one of my concerns .. My RAM. Which as I mentioned, I already knew I had ..but wasn't %100 sure on whether my motherboard supported it..since awkwardly I am able to Run my PC .. With ecc ram. As soon as I am able to find good ram that is worth the buck, I'll go for it. Since I'm almost positive RAM has to do with other problems I've had in the past. Thanks for the heads up @Panther


RAM still doesn't explain why the black flashes don't happen in safe mode and why this is becoming a problem now and not before, unless this problem started happening AFTER installing the ecc ram.


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## Raafaaeel

Stancestans said:


> RAM still doesn't explain why the black flashes don't happen in safe mode and why this is becoming a problem now and not before, unless this problem started happening AFTER installing the ecc ram.


No, This problem only started after I installed my 750ti with Updated Drivers from Nvidia.com/drivers. I was just saying that RAM has always concerned me from other non-major problems i've had in the past.


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## Stancestans

It seems the blackouts happen while Chrome is running and displaying web pages, more than at any other time, right? I believe you are on the latest version of Chrome? If not, try updating it to the latest version. You could be wondering where I'm heading with this. I have a theory that could help trace the cause of the blackouts. Chrome has an option, in the advanced settings, to "use hardware acceleration when available." I'm thinking that maybe chrome's interaction with the gpu (through its drivers of course) could be causing these flashes. The hardware acceleration option is enabled by default. 

So, to test my theory, you could try disabling that option and then Window that game and view web videos to try and trigger the flashes. Another test would be to use a different browser, say IE 11 or firefox while running the game is windowed to see if the same problem occurs. I am confident that this is triggered by running the game in window mode while at the same time browsing the Web, which are both graphics intensive activities, especially when watching online videos.

Another test would be to quit all running games and watch online videos for as long as you can to see if the flashes occur. Do this with hardware acceleration enabled and disabled, to see if there's a difference.


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## Raafaaeel

Thanks for the advice. As you suggested, I tried using Chrome w/without "Hardware Acceleration" and the flashes don't seem to care. They still occur. I also used FireFox, to browse, and the flashes still happened. I honestly feel like Re-installing Windows & starting fresh once again. I've tried Uninstalling Programs that i don't use, Fixing Registry Problems with (Registry Reviver Application) , I've tried Cleaning my System (Cache, internet Cache, memory Dumps, etc) but nothing has made these annoying flashes go away. Some things that i've thought about which may also cause these have been (my power outlet Since i use a POWER OUTLET STRIP in which i connect my Monitor and My PC.) But who knows... That's one of the things i've thought about. Any Advice, would be appreciated.Home Appliances Surge Strip - 100208 - Power Sentry®


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## Raafaaeel

ok so i went back to Windows 7 I Installed all Windows 7 Updates, installed my GPU with it's Stock out of the box Driver.. &... i've had it installed for quite some time now. & Luckily haven't had any screen glitches / black screen problems. I will be making a 'system Backup' and i will be trying out the latest (non beta) gpu drivers from Nvidia... to keep up with that. but yyeah. As always, thanks for the support and tips..i'll keep this updated for anyone having something similar


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