Black Screen in Heroes of the Storm

Updated: 12 months ago
Article ID: 19077
Product:

Common Problems

  • I want to play Heroes of the Storm but only get a black screen.
  • The game seems to crash, but music is still playing.

If you encounter a black screen at startup or during gameplay, follow the steps below to solve the problem.

Windows®

  1. Update your drivers and operating system to resolve any compatibility issues.
  2. If you are receiving a Windows error that mentions the "NV4DSP.DLL" file, even after updating your drivers, try reverting your drivers to an older version. Visit NVIDIA®'s Downloading Drivers page for more information.
  3. Some crashes are caused by Overlay Incompatibilities if they aren't fully updated. If updating doesn't help, try disabling or uninstalling these programs.
  4. Start the game in windowed mode.
    1. Click the Blizzard icon on the Battle.net desktop app.
    2. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
    3. Click Game Settings and check the Additional command line arguments box under Heroes of the Storm.
    4. Type -Displaymode 0 in the box and click Done.
  5. Set your components to factory default speeds to resolve crashes due to overclocking.
Advanced Troubleshooting
  1. Changes to the software settings on your video card drivers may cause crashes or performance issues. Reset your video driver settings to correct this problem.
  2. Power management settings may cause crashes and lockups. Try configuring power management settings.
  3. Run ScanDisk and defragment your hard drive to try to repair any bad sectors.
    Note: Do not defragment a Solid State Drive (SSD).
  4. Run the Memory Diagnostic Tool to fix any errors in your computer's physical memory.
  5. Overheating can cause performance issues, game crashes, and full computer lockups. Check for overheating components.
  6. If the problem persists, uninstall and reinstall the game.

Mac®

  1. Update your drivers and operating system to resolve any compatibility issues.
  2. Some crashes are caused by Overlay Incompatibilities if they aren't fully updated. If updating doesn't help, try disabling or uninstalling these programs.
  3. Start the game in windowed mode.
    1. Click the Blizzard icon on the Battle.net desktop app.
    2. Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
    3. Click Game Settings and check the Additional command line arguments box under Heroes of the Storm.
    4. Type -Displaymode 0 in the box and click Done.
  4. Run the repair tool to repair any damaged game files.
Advanced Troubleshooting
  1. Close all other applications to resolve software conflicts and free up resources.
  2. Overheating can cause performance issues, game crashes, and full computer lockups. Check for overheating components.
  3. Repair Disk Permissions to resolve any permission conflicts with logon modules.
  4. Run the Apple Hardware Test to make sure there are no physical problems with your hard drive.
  5. If the problem persists, uninstall and reinstall the game.