[SOLVED] Discord black screen when screen sharing (2024)

This won’t happen often, but there may be a time when something goes wrong and Discord displays a black screen when you’re streaming from the application.

Common causes of this issue are graphics driver update issues, problems with improper Discord settings, or issues with recent updates. But don’t worry. On this page, we’ll take you through a series of troubleshooting steps to help you resolve it.

You may not have to try them all, just work your way down the list until you find the one that does the trick for you.

Fix 1: Kill All Running Discord Processes 

You’ve probably restarted Discord many times, but when you do so, make sure all of Discord’s processes are closed. If there’re lingering startup entries, disable those too.

1. Right-click your taskbar and select Task Manager.
   
2. You’ll notice a bunch of Discord processes running in the background. Right-click each of them and select End Task.
   
3. Relaunch Discord to test your issue.

If you still run into the black screen issue when using Discord, read on and try the next fix.

Fix 2. Switch to Windowed Mode

If you keep running the black issue when streaming in fullscreen mode, try switch to Windowed Mode.

To leave the fullscreen mode, just press the Ctrl, Shift, and F keys on your keyboard at the same time.

If you still run into a black screen after this, try the next fix below.

Fix 3: Update Discord

Discord releases regular updates to fix bugs. It’s possible that a recent update is preventing Discord from running correctly, and a new update is needed to fix it. Here’s how to check if there is any update available:

1. Run Discord.
2. On your taskbar, right-click Discord and select Check for Updates.
   
3. Relaunch Discord to test your issue.

If you run into the black screen issue again when streaming, try the next fix below.

Fix 4: Update Your Graphics Driver

An outdated or corrupted graphics driver can cause a black screen while you’re streaming from Discord. Make sure you have the right driver installed on your computer to eliminate the chances of getting a black screen.

You can download the driver for your graphics card manually from the manufacturer’s website. Make sure you choose the driver corresponding with your specific flavor of Windows version (for example, Windows 32 bit). If you don’t have the time, patience, or computer skills to update the driver manually, you can do it automatically with Driver Easy.

Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the 7 days free trial or the Pro version of Driver Easy. It takes just 2 clicks, and you get full support and a 30-day money-back guarantee with the Pro version:

1. Download and install Driver Easy.
2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.
   
3. Click the Activate & Update button next to the flagged device to automatically download and install the correct version of this driver.
   
   Or click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of all the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system (You’ll need the Pro version for this – when you select Update All, you’ll get a prompt to upgrade. If you’re not prepared to purchase the Pro version yet, Driver Easy provides a 7-day trial at no cost, granting access to all Pro features like fast downloads and easy installation. No charges will occur until after your 7-day trial period ends.)
   
4. After updating, restart your computer to take effect.

Check if Discord displays properly now.

If Discord is still not working, then try the next method, below.

Fix 5: Turn on/off Hardware Acceleration

Ordinarily, when you run an application, it uses the standard CPU on your computer. If you run a heavy task, such as screen sharing, to work effectively, your app will use other hardware components on your PC.

If you have good hardware, enabling Hardware Acceleration will result in better performance of your application; however, if your hardware is weak, this feature may cause problems for you.

To see if that’s the core issue, try turning on Hardware Acceleration on Discord if it’s off, or vice versa. Here is how to do it:

1. Run Discord, then click the Settings icon.
   
2. Click Appearance, if Hardware Acceleration is on, turn it off, or vice versa.
   
3. Click Okay.
   
4. Reopen Discord to see if this has resolved your issue.

If your problem still exists, try the next fix.

Fix 6: Turn off Unneeded Programs

If you’re running multiple programs at the same time when using Discord, chances are that one of your programs is preventing the application from working correctly.

It’s recommended that you turn off unnecessary programs when using screen share in Discord. Here is how to do it:

1. Right-click your taskbar and select Task Manager.
   
2. Check your current CPU and memory usage to see what processes are consuming your resources most.
   
3. Right-click the resource-consuming process and select End task.
   

Restart Discord to see if this has resolved your issue. If not, then go ahead with the next fix.

Fix 7: Clear Discord Cache Folder

Improper account settings and temporary Discord files may also cause Discord to fail. To see if that’s the core issue, try clearing Discord Roaming data. Here is how to do it:

1. Exit Discord.
2. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R. Type %appdata% and click OK.
   
3. Right-click Discord, then select Delete.
   
4. Relaunch Discord to test your issue.

If the issue persists, read on and try the fix, below.

Fix 8: Run Discord as Administrator

Discord should run perfectly fine without admin access in most cases. But occasionally, you might come up against something that requires admin access. Just close Discord and then run the program as Administrator (Make sure you kill all running Discord processes when you’re doing this.).

If you’re not sure how to do it, follow the instructions below:

1. Right-click your taskbar and select Task Manager.
   
2. Right-click Discord then select End Task. (Ensure you right-click on the main Discord link, not the subdirectory entries)
   
3. Right-click the Discord icon on your desktop, then select Properties.
   
4. Under the Compatibility tab, check the box next to Run this program as an administrator, then click OK.
   
5. Relaunch Discord.

If the issue persists, try the next fix.

Fix 9: Run Discord in Compatibility Mode

Discord black issues can be caused by compatibility issues with your OS. You can run Discord in compatibility mode to test if this is the core issue:

1. Close Discord.
2. Right-click the Discord icon and select Properties.
   
3. Under the Compatibility tab, check the box next to Run this program in compatibility mode for.
   
4. In the drop-down box below the checkbox option, select the version of Windows to run Discord under, for compatibility.
   
5. Click Apply then OK.
6. Restart Discord to test your issue.

If Discord black screen issues still occur to you, try the next fix.

Fix 10: Reinstall Discord

The Discord black screen issue might happen if the application isn’t properly installed on your PC. If that’s the problem for you, reinstalling Discord should fix it. Here is how to do it:

1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key. Then, type control and click Control Panel.
   
2. Under View by, click Category, and then select Uninstall a program.
   
3. Right-click Discord and click Uninstall.
   
4. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time. Type %appdata%, then click OK.
   
5. Delete the Discord folder.
   
6. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time. Type %localappdata% and click OK.
   
7. Delete the Discord folder.
   
8. Download and install Discord.

If the problem still exists, you can contact Discord support for assistance or try Discord PTB (also called public test build) to see if it works.

Hopefully, this article helped in resolving your issue. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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