Half Life Black Screen

Posted : admin | On 15-09-2021

I just installed Half-Life for some retro fun. Got everything set up and ran it and - bang! - nothing: just a black screen. Since I'm unable to access the OSD on my monitor, I'm assuming there's a resolution/refresh rate conflict (note that normally the monitor should switch itself off if it can't display the image, but in this case it doesn't). Extremely ominous dude. Can’t wait to see some explanations. I bought the complete valve pack or whatever it’s called a few years back but of the games in it I’ve only played Portal, Portal 2, and as of now Half-Life. Well Idk if TF2 counts. I plan on playing Opposing Force next, then Blue shift, then whatever order half life 2 games are in. After sixteen years of waiting, we finally get a new Half-Life game. While the game is for VR platform only, it has its fair share of errors and bugs. Players have reported errors such as.

Crashing or Black Screen on Launch Issue – Fix

Half Life Alyx Crashing

Crash on Launch Issue

The first reason for the game to crash might be the lack of administrative rights. Right-click on the game’ and select “Run The Game as Administrator”. If this doesn’t work for you then try playing the game from the account that has the administrative rights.

Black screen at the Half-Life's start. It may not display properly if started with an incompatible resolution or refresh rate, or with multiple monitors. Screenshots are saved in SteamSteamAppsyourusernamehalf-life 2hl2screenshots-MattyDienhoff 02:12, 26 November 2008 (UTC) Ah, I found them. When I first installed steam a few years ago it was to install Counter-Strike. Then when I bought Half-Life 2 I made a mistake and installed steam again in a different location.

Another reason for the game to crash at launch is the anti-virus or the Windows Defender, which might be detecting the game’s exe file as a trojan virus.

Life

Half-life Black Screen

You can either disable the anti-virus or make an exception for the game in the anti-virus. This will allow the game to run on your system.

Also, an outdated GPU driver might also be the reason for the game to crash. Just update your drivers to the latest version.

How do I update my video card drivers?

  • -Press Windows + R.
  • -Type “DxDiag” and click OK.
  • -After the DirectX Diagnostic Tool loads, select the Display tab.
  • -The video card’s name and manufacturer are listed in the Device section. The current driver version is listed in the Driver section.
  • -Visit the driver manufacturer’s website to obtain the most up-to-date driver. Contact the driver manufacturer for assistance with updating the driver. If the computer is under warranty, contact the computer manufacturer.

Black Screen Issue

Fix 1: Switch out of your game, then switch back in

This is the first thing you should try when you have a black screen issue on Half-Life: Alyx. To do this:

  • -When your game is running, press the Alt and Tab keys on your keyboard at the same time to switch out of the game.
  • -Press the Alt and Tab keys on your keyboard at the same time to switch back into your game.

If this works for you, you won’t see the black screen. But if the issue persists, don’t worry. There are still other fixes for you to try.

Fix 2: Switch to the windowed mode, then switch back to the full-screen mode

A black screen is usually caused by some temporary graphics settings issue. And this can usually be fixed by switching between the windowed and full-screen mode. To do so:

  • -When your game is running, press the Alt and Enter keys on your keyboard at the same time to go to the windowed mode.
  • -Press the Alt and Enter keys on your keyboard at the same time to switch back to the full-screen view.

This should fix your black screen issue.

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Half Life supports keyboards, mice and controllers so you can use any combination.

Universal Split Screen setup

  1. Install and run Universal Split Screen: see the quick start guide.
  2. In options, load the GoldSrc Engine preset.
  3. Go back to the Current window tab.

Half Life setup

  1. Open the Half Life directory by right-clicking Half Life in Steam -> Properties -> Local files -> Browse game files…

  2. Launch hl.exe as many times as you need.
    • GoldSrc Engine games will usually not let you launch more than one instance. In Universal Split Screen, alt-tab into Half Life so the window is selected, then click ‘Unlock Source engine for a new instance’

  3. Go to Options -> Mouse. Set Raw mouse input to disabled. Set Joystick to enabled if you are using a controller. (If you are using a controller, make sure to also enable Hook XInput in Universal Split Screen).

  4. On the first instance, use the server browser to find a server (Find a server without Valve Anti Cheat, just in case). Right-click -> View server info. Copy the IP Address.

  5. In all instances, at the main menu, use the ` (tilde) key to open the console. This key is usually above the tab key.

  6. Type connect IP and click Submit, replacing IP with the IP you copied, e.g. connect 123.456.789.123

  7. You should now be connected to the same game.

Tips before you start

  • If you have inconsistent mouse movement, especially when moving multiple mice, make sure the polling rates on your mice are set as low as possible. You can usually set this in your mouse configuration program (look on the manufacturer’s website).

  • Disable steam overlay by right-clicking Half Life in Steam -> Properties and un-check ‘Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game’

  • If you want to start and stop split screen, you should restart all instances of the game or it will start to slow down significantly.

Split screen setup

  1. Install and run Universal Split Screen: see the quick start guide

  2. In options, load the GoldSrc Engine preset (if you have not already done so).

  3. Go back to the Current window tab. Alt+tab into the first instance. Set the mouse and keyboard or controller. Repeat for the other instances.

  4. Click Start split screen. You should now be able to play. Press End to stop.