If you’ve run into the Steam Library black screen problem, you are at the right place. This troubleshooting guide explains different ways to fix Windows black screen issues.
Steam is an online game distribution platform that allows you to play your favorite video games on your desktop. It provides an interference-free gaming experience but facing problems while using Steam is not uncommon. Many customers have reported encountering the black screen issue.
In addition to this, some users complained that Steam wouldn’t load. If you are one of those users facing such cases, this troubleshooting guide is for you. The article describes various ways to fix the Steam Black screen not working, the Steam Black screen not loading, and other similar issues.
However, if you are short on time and can’t go through each fix, we suggest updating the driver using Advanced Driver Updater.
Reasons for Steam not Showing Anything & Black Screen.
- Corrupt or outdated graphics drivers.
- Bad or corrupt browser cache.
- Corrupt app cache.
- Corrupt installation of the Steam app.
- Bad PSU, overclocking, corrupt GPU card drivers
- Outdated OS files
- Power interference.
How To Fix Steam Black Screen Not Working
Before you follow the different methods explained below, we suggest restarting the PC. This helps refresh the operating system and eliminate any corrupt temporary files that might be the culprit.
Method 1: Update Graphics Drivers
Generally, outdated, corrupt, missing, or problematic drivers cause issues and degrade PC performance. Therefore, we recommend keeping drivers updated regularly. That said, updating video card drivers is the best way to fix the problem if you are encountering a Steam black screen issue.
Two different ways using which you can update video card drivers.
Way 1 – Automatically Update Graphics Driver.
The quickest way to update drivers on your PC is to use Advanced Driver Updater, a driver updating tool for Windows that searches your PC for obsolete, corrupt, and missing drivers. The tool to show the compatible updates cross-references the outdated driver with the most recent and suitable driver, then downloaded and installed on your computer. To use Advanced Driver Updater, follow these steps:
Step 1: To get Advanced Driver Updater, click the Download button given below:
Step 2: Follow the on-screen instructions to install the app and launch it.
Step 3: To run the scan for outdated drivers, click Start Scan Now option.
Step 4: Wait for the scanning to complete; Advanced Driver Updater will show a list of outdated drivers.
Step 5: Sift through the scan results and click the Update driver option next to the Graphics driver. However, you can use the Update All button if you are a registered user.
Step 6: Restart the PC when done updating the drivers. This will help save changes and fix driver-related issues.
Way 2 – Manually update the graphics driver.
To add additional functionality, AMD and NVIDIA keep releasing driver updates from time to time. To get the latest updates manually, visit the official website > look for the device’s model number for which you want to update the driver > download the setup file > install and update the driver.
After that, restart the PC to apply changes. If this seems complicated, you can switch to the automatic way.
Method 2 – Delete Browser & App Cache
Steam has an in-game web browser that offers multiple features like purchasing premium games and multiplayer features creating and sharing your games. It’s not mandatory to use it. Like other web browsers, it also saves browser cache. So, try clearing the cache when the browser lags or faces a problem with Steam.
Step 1: Open Steam.
Step 2: Click Steam > select Settings.
Step 3: Select the Web Browser option > then hit DELETE WEB BROWSER CACHE and DELETE ALL BROWSER COOKIES one by one.
Step 4: When done, click Ok.
Step 5: Now try to use Steam; it should work fine. However, clear the app cache if the screen remains black and bothers you.
Method 3 – Remove App Cache
The app cache in your Steam directory saves information about the Steam apps & settings. This information is kept to boost Steam speed. However, the cache, instead of helping, might stop Steam from loading. To resolve this, delete the app cache folder.
Note : Each time you launch Steam App, Cache is created.
Step 1: Press Windows + E keys altogether & launch File Explorer.
Step 2: Head to C:\Program Files (x86)\ Steam.
Step 3: Move the appcache folder to another location for safety reasons.
Step 4: Next, right-click the appcache folder > select Delete.
Now try to run Steam; if you no longer face issues, delete the appcache folder from where you saved it.
Method 4: Add –no-cef-sandbox to the Steam Shortcut
Even after following the above fixes, if Steam fails to launch, use the command line parameter -no-cef-sandbox. Add the parameter to the shortcut.
Step 1: Exit Steam.
Step 2: Right-click the Steam shortcut > Properties.
Step 3: Click Shortcuts tab > Add -no-cef-sandbox at the end of the Target section > Apply > Ok.
Step 4: Re-launch the Steam client and see if it works.
Method 5: Reinstall Steam
If adding -no-cef-sandbox did not help, you will need to reinstall Steam. To do so, follow these steps:
Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc and access Task Manager.
Step 2: Look for Steam Client Service and Steam Client WebHelper> select it > End Task.
Step 3: Go to C drive > Program Files (86) > Steam folder.
Step 4: Remove files and folders except for steam apps, user data, and steam.exe
Step 5: Double-click Steam.exe to reinstall it.
Wrap Up – Fixing Steam Black Screen not working – 2023
Steam has changed the gaming world for people across the globe. However, issues like black screen and Steam not loading are still common. By following the different methods explained above, you can fix the issue. Most people advocate updating drivers as a surefire way to repair problems, and Advanced Driver Updater makes this easy.
In addition, if you have enabled Beta participation, we suggest disabling it. To launch Steam > go to Settings > Account tab > look for Beta participation > click on the CHANGE button > click the down arrow next to Beta participation > select NONE- Opt-out of all beta programs option > close the settings window and relaunch Steam. This will fix the black screen with the cursor on Windows 10. We hope you enjoyed reading the post and found the information helpful. We would love your feedback for the post, do share the same in the comments section.
