Zoom causes screen to go black

[Lynneheygster7]

I have the basic zoom program. Started 3 days ago, I go into a zoom meeting and my screen goes black. I have to restart my laptop to bring it back up. Within a few minutes it goes black again and I cannot do anything with the laptop. Anyone else have that problem? 

[Bri]

Hi there! Do you mind telling me what version of Zoom you're using? Also, are you only having this problem when you're using Zoom?

[Lynneheygster7]

Hi Bri,

Thanks so much for responding. 

I have the Basic version, I update frequently every time as they come available.

Yes, it only happens when I turn on Zoom for a meeting. Although yesterday it happened when I logged in to see if I could make any changes to what I have. 

My Lenovo laptop is only 5 months old. The entire screen goes black so I am not able to get to anything else. I have to restart my laptop so Zoom shuts down. 

I'm anxious for any help you can provide. I go into Zoom meetings 3 - 5 times a week. 

Thank you!

[Bri]

Thanks for providing more information! Could you check to see how much available memory you have on your laptop and close any applications you aren't currently using? Low memory can sometimes cause your computer to shut down unexpectedly

[Lynneheygster7]

Installed Ram - 8.00 GB (7.79 GB usable)

(More detail) The computer does not shut down completely. I mis-spoke if I gave you that idea. Just the screen goes black. The entire screen. I can actually hear the other people on the zoom call, and they can see me.  But I have no control because I cannot see anything. The screen does not respond to any keys when this happens. And it only happens on Zoom. I tried closing everything else; mail, windows, apps. Doesn't matter - zoom still makes my screen go black and unusable. 

Thank you

[Bri]

Thank you for clarifying for me! Could you try the following steps: 

1: Open Zoom

2: Click your Profile picture & then select Settings

3: Select Video tab then click Advanced

4: Look for Use hardware acceleration options and disable them for Video processing, Sending video and Receiving video

5: Go back to the Settings page then select the Share screen tab and click Advanced

6: Look for the Enable hardware acceleration option again and disable it for both Screen share and Annotations on a shared screen

Please let me know if this resolves the issue! 

[Lynneheygster7]

No, unfortunately.  Doing everything on the list did not help. This only started Monday. Everything was fine until 2 days ago. 

Any other suggestions?

[Lynneheygster7]

Bri, since the suggestions above did not help the issue with my screen going black, I contacted the GEEK Squad at BestBuy where I purchased my laptop. They found a hardware update that needed to happen. The update was installed and they made sure that Zoom was healthy now and the problem is resolved. Thankyou for responding and helping. 

Lynne

[Bri]

Yay! I'm so happy to hear your issue was resolved. Please let us know if you ever need any assistance in the future 🙂

[dinamoeller]

I am having issues with the newest version for Mac Also.  Where can I download 5.16.10?  I think my computer is too old for the newest version.