Why Does My Screen Go Black When I Press Alt + Tab
For computer users who prefer to use key combinations instead of cursor clicks, the Alt + Tab key combination is helpful, as it supports switching between opening programs swiftly. Therefore, when the computer becomes a black screen after pressing Alt + Tab, users should be puzzled. Why does the Alt + Tab key combination not work and even cause a black screen? Here we have listed some possible causes.
- Incompatible screen display settings: If there is any program incompatible with current display settings, you may experience a black screen after pressing Alt + Tab.
- Problematic computer drivers: Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers are the common cause of this issue as those drivers control the communications between the operating system and software applications.
- Game mode: Game mode is a feature to improve screen performance for a better game experience. However, this feature may also cause some troubles. For instance, the monitor keeps going black when pressing Alt + Tab.
- Malware attacks: Possibly, your computer is attacked by malicious software or viruses, reflecting as a black screen. Pressing the Alt + Tab key combination is not the real cause.
How to Fix Black Screen After Pressing Alt + Tab
It is not a good experience if your screen goes black when pressing Alt + Tab, especially in the game. Taking the above possible causes into consideration, some compiled solutions are listed in the following content with detailed step instructions. If your computer can start normally after the black screen with Alt-Tabbing, keep reading and try those solutions one by one.
Fix 1. Perform Basic Solutions
Carry out some simple and basic solutions to see if the Alt-Tabbing black screen issue can be resolved. Sometimes, such an issue is triggered by the glitches of the operating system or the interference of external devices. Here are the easy checks.
- Restart the computer. If the appearance of the black screen after pressing Alt + Tab happens due to temporary issues, restarting the operating system can automatically fix those bugs. Thus, after the computer reboots, press the Alt + Tab again to check.
- Remove connected external devices. Sometimes, the connected external devices can affect the normal performance of the computer due to their virus-affected disks, damaged device adapters, or other reasons. Therefore, remove those devices and retry the Alt + Tab key combination.
- Uninstall problematic programs. If the black screen after pressing Alt + Tab happens after installing a new program or always when a certain program opens, it is probably caused by this problematic application. You can uninstall this program to see if the problem is handled.
- Check the monitor cable connection. If the monitor cable is loose or damaged, your computer screen may suddenly turn black. On this occasion, the black screen is not caused by Alt-Tabbing.
If the problem still exists after the above checks, move on to the solutions below.
Fix 2. Change the Monitor’s Refresh Rate
The refresh rate of your monitor is the frequency of your computer image refreshing per second. Most game players set a high refresh rate on their monitors for a better game experience. However, when the monitor’s refresh rate doesn’t match your hardware configuration, there may be kinds of issues, including the black screen after pressing Alt + Tab. Here is how to adjust the monitor refresh rate on your computer.
Step 1. Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.
Step 2. Head to System > Display, then choose Advanced display settings on the right pane.
Step 3. Select Display adapter properties for Display 1.
Step 4. In the following window, change to the Monitor tab to choose a desired refresh rate from the dropdown menu of Screen refresh rate. You are suggested to set the screen refresh rate to 60 Hz. If the problem still occurs, you can lower the refresh rate.
Step 5. Click Apply to save your settings.
Fix 3. Upgrade the Graphics Driver
An outdated or corrupted graphics driver is also a possible cause of the issue that the screen goes black when pressing Alt + Tab. If you haven’t upgraded your graphics driver in time, you can go to the Device Manager to check.
Step 1. Right-click on the Windows icon and choose Device Manager from the menu.
Step 2. Select Display adapters to find your graphics driver.
Step 3. If there is a symbol that informs you to upgrade or reinstall the driver, you can right-click on the driver and choose Update driver from the context menu.
Step 4. Choose Search automatically for drivers in the following window.
Optionally, choose Uninstall device to uninstall the driver and restart your computer to reinstall it automatically. Afterward, you can press Alt + Tab to see if your screen goes black again.
Fix 4. Adjust the Graphics Settings
If you have modified the graphics settings for higher performance, ascertain whether the black screen issue is being triggered by ineligible computer components, such as a low-end GPU. In this case, you can adjust the graphics settings to try to resolve the problem.
Step 1. Press Win + I to open the Windows Settings window.
Step 2. Navigate to System > Display, then scroll down to find and select Graphics settings.
Step 3. Browse the application list to find the problematic program. If you can’t find the target program, click Browse to locate it and choose Add to confirm.
Step 4. Select the target program and click Options.
Step 5. In the prompt window, you can choose Let Windows decide or Power saving based on your case. Click Save to make your change take effect.
Fix 5. Disable the Fullscreen Optimization
Some programs may not be compatible with the Fullscreen Optimizations setting; thus, your screen goes black when pressing Alt + Tab. If you have enabled this feature, turn it off to see if this helps to resolve the issue.
Step 1. Right-click on the icon of the problematic program and choose Properties.
Step 2. Change to the Compatibility tab and tick the Disable fullscreen optimizations option.
Step 3. Click Apply to save your change.
Fix 6. Disable Game Mode
Most game players will enable the Game Mode to optimize the computer performance for a better game experience. However, the game mode may bring compatibility issues with the operating system, leading to the black screen issue when you want to switch programs by pressing Alt + Tab.
Step 1. Press Win + I to open Windows Settings.
Step 2. Go to Gaming > Game Mode and toggle to switch of Game Mode to Off.
Fix 7. Run an Antivirus Software
Running a full virus scan is necessary to check if your computer is infected by malicious software and to detect any underlying viruses. I advise you to use the Windows built-in antivirus utility in this case.
Step 1. Type Virus & threat protection into the Windows search bar and hit Enter to open the window quickly.
Step 2. Choose Scan options. In the following window, select Full scan and click Scan now to start the process.
Recover Data from the Black Screen Computer After Pressing Alt + Tab
Suppose your computer shows a black screen computer after pressing Alt + Tab and fails to boot up properly. In that case, you should immediately recover data from the problematic computer to ensure data security. Rescuing data from an unbootable computer requires help from professional data recovery services, such as MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
About MiniTool Power Data Recovery
Among numerous data recovery utilities on the market, MiniTool Power Data Recovery stands out with its advanced data recovery algorithm and secure data recovery environment. This read-only data recovery software allows you to recover types of files that are lost under various situations, including mistaken deletion, partition loss, device failure, virus attacks, and more.
MiniTool Power Data Recovery is specifically designed for Windows operating systems and other data storage devices that can be detected by Windows, such as USB drives, SD cards, SSDs, memory sticks, CDs, etc.
MiniTool has developed several editions for this robust file recovery tool to satisfy different requirements of individuals and business. You can visit the License Comparison page to discover the different functions and limitations of different versions.
Step 1. Install MiniTool Power Data Recovery and create a bootable disk.
Before starting the following steps, you should prepare a USB drive that is 4GB -64GB in size and a working computer. Download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery Free on a well-performing computer first. Then, enter the main interface of this software to upgrade to an advanced edition equipped with the Bootable Media Builder tool.
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After this, connect the USB drive to your computer and click the disc icon at the top toolkit. Now you can create a bootable disk with the guidance in this post: Create Bootable CD/DVD/USB Drive with Bootable Media Builder.
Step 2. Connect the bootable disk to the black screen computer and scan the target partition.
Connect the created bootable disk to the problematic computer. You need to change the boot order in the BIOS menu, allowing the computer to boot up from the bootable disk.
Your computer will restart and open MiniTool Power Data Recovery automatically. After entering the main interface, you can select the partition where you want to recover data from and click Scan to start the scan process. Alternatively, you can switch to the Devices tab to scan the whole disk at once, which requires a longer scan duration.
Step 3. Find the wanted files on the result page with multiple features.
Wait for the scan process to complete. In order to find all your files on the target partition, you are not suggested to interrupt the scan process.
Files are assorted into three folders generally by their paths. You can locate the wanted files according to the file structure or using some functional features. The Filter feature allows you to narrow down the file list by setting the filter criteria based on your requirements. If you want to recover a certain type of file, shift to the Type tab next to the Path tab, where files are classified by their types and file formats specifically.
One more feature to pinpoint files is the Search feature. You can type the file name into the search box (both the complete and partial names are acceptable.) and press Enter to do a quick filter. All the matched items will be listed on the result page. Then, you can select a file and double-click on it to preview the file content before saving. The Preview function enhances the data recovery accuracy largely. Check the file type that can be previewed on this page.
Step 4. Select the target files and recover them.
Tick all the files you want to restore and click the Save button. In the prompt window, select an appropriate path to save those files. A window will prompt up to inform you that the data recovery process is completed.
This is how to recover data from an unbootable computer using MiniTool Power Data Recovery. However, no one can guarantee 100% successful data recovery. To safeguard your data, you are advised to back up files on a regular basis.
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Final Words
Here are 7 methods for you to fix the black screen after pressing Alt + Tab. Additionally, if you are unable to boot up the computer properly after the black screen, MiniTool Power Data Recovery is an ideal assistant to rescue data from the dead computer.
If you have any problem using MiniTool Power Data Recovery, please feel free to ask us via [email protected].
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Andrea graduated in English and has a keen interest in the IT industry and questions that arise when computers are used. She is passionate about new things and challenging things and has a wide range of interests like playing guitar, gaming, and crafting.