It’s not good for gamers to see a black screen when launching the game, especially when it comes to Dark Souls 3, and it’s even worse. Dark Souls 3, published by Namco Bandai Games, is a popular action role-playing game. However, it also has some flaws, the most common of which is the black screen you see in gaming startups.
How to fix Dark Souls 3 crash and black screen? If you are also experiencing the same error, don’t worry. In this post, we will discuss the 3 best ways to fix the Dark Souls crash and black screen issue in 5.
Dark Souls 3 is the reason for the black screen
After doing an in-depth study of the causes of the black screen in Dark Souls 3, we came to the conclusion that this issue occurs due to the inability of the PC to render graphics. In addition to this, there are other reasons, which are as follows:
- Corrupted installation files
- Lack of game profiles that help get game configurations
- Third-party game optimizers for boosting game performance
- The game is in an error state
- High-quality graphics
- Incomplete codec/media
- The computer is in an error state
- Incompatible graphics settings
So, these are the common reasons that lead to the Dark Souls 3 black screen issue. To solve this problem, we will list the 5 best fixes here.
3 Best Ways to Fix Dark Souls Black Screen and Crash 5 Issues
Dark Souls 3 crashes and black screen workarounds for quick navigation
- Dark Souls 3 is the reason for the black screen
- Game Prerequisites (System Requirements)
- Fix 1: Wait for the program to load
- Fix 2: Perform a power cycle and verify the Steam game files
- Fix 5: Check the codec and disable unwanted third-party apps
- Additional tips
- FAQ – Dark Soul 3 crashes and black screen issues
Here are a few things you need to keep in mind before diving into the details:
1. You need to log in as an administrator
2. Apply these fixes when the system is idle, as you will have to reboot the system multiple times.
Game Prerequisites (System Requirements)
Minimum Specs:
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit, Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: AMD A8 3870 3.6 GHz or Intel Core i3 2100 3.1Ghz
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 / ATI Radeon HD 6870
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband internet connection
Storage: 50 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 11 sound devices
Recommended Specifications:
Operating system: Windows 7 SP1 64-bit, Windows 8.1 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: AMD FX 8150 3.6 GHz or Intel Core™ i7 2600 3.4 GHz
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750, ATI Radeon HD 7850
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband internet connection
Storage: 50 GB available space
Sound card😀 irectX 11 sound device
In addition to that, here’s a little trick here. Sometimes, you may encounter Dark Soul 3 issues due to junk files, unwanted data, malware infections, outdated drivers, etc. To fix this issue, it is advisable to use the best PC optimization tool that helps clean up and fix all these issues. To do this, you can use Advanced System Optimizer – the best PC cleanup tool that scans your system for infections, updates outdated drivers, and optimizes memory and game performance.
Using it is a 3-step thing.
1. Download, install, and run the Advanced System Optimizer
2. Click Smart PC Care > Deep Scan > Scan Now
3. Wait for the scan to complete and fix the error
4. In addition, you can use Game Optimizer to optimize game performance
To learn more about this amazing tool, read the full review about the advanced system optimizer
Now that we know how to optimize the system for optimal performance, let’s learn how to fix Dark Soul 3 crashing and black screen issues.
Fix 1: Wait for the program to load
How to fix Dark Souls 3 crash and black screen? It may sound like an obvious thing to do, but most of the time we miss the opportunity to wait for the program to load. This means that if we see a black screen when we launch the game, we think there is something wrong with the game. But it is possible that the game has some processes running in the background. So, if you see a black screen, we recommend that you wait for a minute or so and then let the program load.
If this helps, you know it’s your impatience and no other problems. However, if that doesn’t help, move on to the next fix.
Fix 2: Perform a power cycle and verify the Steam game files
Dark Souls 3 crashes and black screen solution: Before getting into the technical details, we will perform a power cycle. This means that you have to turn off the system completely and disconnect the plug. If you are using a laptop, we recommend that you remove the batter. After doing so, wait for 8-10 minutes before reconnecting the system and powering it on. If this helps, then the next thing you need to do is verify the integrity of the Steam game files.
To do this, follow these steps:
1. Press Windows + E
2. Go to the following menus:
C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls
C:\Users\"User name"\Documents\MyGames\Dark Souls
Note: If you have an operating system installed on the C drive, this is the default location. However, if you’ve installed Dark Soul 3 elsewhere, head there.
3. You will now see a folder called Dark Soul 3.
4. Press Ctrl+A to select all the contents of the folder and delete them
5. Reboot your system, then launch the Steam app > Games > Dark Souls > right-click on the > properties
6. Local Files tab > verify the integrity of the game files
7. Wait for the process to complete and reboot the system.
8. Now launch Dark Soul 3 and you should no longer face the black screen issue.
If that doesn’t help, let’s try changing the game priority and replacing the GraphicsConfig.XML
Fix 3: Change game priority
How to fix Dark Souls 3 crash and black screen? The priority of the task determines which resources will be allocated. If Dark Souls 3 is not given priority, there will be conflicts, either crashes or a black screen. So, to fix it, we need to give high priority. To learn how to do this, follow these steps:
1. Turn on Dark Souls 3
2. Press Windows + D and Ctrl + Shift + Del to open Task Manager at startup
3. Click on the Details tab > Find entries related to Dark Souls 3 > Right-click on > Set Priority > above normal or high
4. Once this is done for all the entries. Press the Alt+ tab to return to the game and see if changing the priority helps.
Fix 4: Replace GraphicsConfig.XML
Dark Souls 3 crash and black screen solution: If the game’s graphics profile is missing, then you may encounter problems with Dark Souls 3. So, in order to fix the Dark Souls 3 black screen and crash issue, we recommend you to follow these steps:
1. Press Windows + E > to navigate to the game catalog
2. C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\DarkSoulsIII
3. If you see a GraphicsConfig.XML file, open it with Notepad. Right-click > Notepad
4. Copy and paste the following and save the changes:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<config><ScreenMode>FULLSCREEN</ScreenMode><Resolution-WindowScreenWidth>1600</Resolution-WindowScreenWidth><Resolution-WindowScreenHeight>900</Resolution-WindowScreenHeight><Resolution-FullScreenWidth>1600</Resolution-FullScreenWidth><Resolution-FullScreenHeight>900</Resolution-FullScreenHeight><Auto-detectBestRenderingSettings>OFF</Auto-detectBestRenderingSettings><QualitySetting>CUSTOM</QualitySetting><TextureQuality>LOW</TextureQuality><Antialiasing>OFF</Antialiasing><SSAO>DISABLE</SSAO><DepthOfField>LOW</DepthOfField><MotionBlur>LOW</MotionBlur><ShadowQuality>DISABLE</ShadowQuality><LightingQuality>HIGH</LightingQuality><EffectsQuality>LOW</EffectsQuality><ReflectionQuality>DISABLE</ReflectionQuality><WaterSurfaceQuality>DISABLE</WaterSurfaceQuality><ShadeQuality>LOW</ShadeQuality></config>
Note: If the GraphicsConfig.XML file doesn’t exist, you can save the above XML code in Notepad and save the file to the location where you want to find it.
5. Reboot your system when you’re done, and then launch the game. You should no longer face the black screen issue.
NOTE: IN SOME CASES, CHANGING FULLSCREEN TO WINDOW CAN ALSO HELP.
SO, IF THE ABOVE METHODS DON’T WORK FOR YOU, YOU CAN TRY CHANGING FULLSCREEN TO WINDOW
If that also fails, try changing the following fields:
Shadow Quality: Low
Lighting quality: Low
Shader quality: Low
Fix 5: Check the codec and disable unwanted third-party apps
How to fix Dark Souls 3 crash and black screen? To launch the game correctly, your PC needs the support of a codec or media player. If the content is missing, you won’t be able to play the game or the game will get stuck.
Note: If you’re running a Windows N or KN version, you may need to install the media player manually.
To check the version of Windows, enter About in the Windows search bar. Select About your PC > This will open a new window > Find the Windows version here.
If you’re running Windows N or KN, go to Microsoft’s official website and download the Media Feature Pack for N and KN.
Reboot the system and launch the game after installation. This should solve the problem. If that doesn’t help, there seems to be some problematic code on your system. To remove them, press Windows + R > appwiz.cpl > ok
Find codecs > if you see any third-party or problematic code > select > Uninstall.
In addition to this, we recommend disabling third-party game optimization apps as they can also create problems.
Additional tips
Bonus tips
If none of the above steps work for you, and you’re using NVIDIA drivers, we recommend disabling display scaling. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Right-click on > NVIDIA Control Panel on your desktop
2. Select Resize and Position the Desktop > Perform Zoom > GPU > app
Now try launching the game, this should fix the crash and black screen issues on Dark Souls 3.
We hope that with the above fixes, you can fix the Dark Souls 3 black screen and crash issue. If you used some other workarounds that helped, please share. We’d love to hear from you.
FAQ – Dark Soul 3 crashes and black screen issues
Why does Dark Souls 3 keep crashing?
Dark Soul 3 usually crashes due to outdated or corrupted graphics drivers. To fix this, we recommend updating the drivers. To do this, you can use the Driver Updater module provided by Advanced System Optimizer.
How to solve the black screen of Dark Souls 3?
To solve the black screen issue in Dark Souls 3, we recommend that you do the following:
- Perform a PC power cycle
- Update the drivers
- Verify the integrity of Steam game files
- Change the priority
- Replace GraphicsConfig.XML
To learn how to do all of this, read the post in detail.
What causes a game to crash on PC?
Games on PC usually crash due to the following reasons:
- Outdated graphics drivers
- Overclocking your computer
- Low system specifications
- Outdated operating system
- The graphics settings are incorrect
