How to fix Dark Souls 3 crash and Black Screen on Startup

For gamers, seeing a black screen when they launch a game is not good, especially when it is Dark Soul 3, things get bad. Published by Namco Bandai Games, Dark Soul 3 is a popular action role-playing game. Yet it has its share of flaws and the most common among them is the black screen that you see on game startups.

If you too are struggling with the same error, nothing to worry about. In this post, we will discuss the 5 best ways to fix Dark Soul 3 crashing and black screen issues. 

So, these are the common reasons for the Dark Soul 3 Black Screen issue. To fix this issue, here we will enlist the 5 best fixes. 

5 Best Ways to Troubleshoot Dark Souls 3 black screen and crashing issue

Before getting into details a few things that you need to keep in mind:

1. You need to be logged in as an administrator

2. Apply these fixes when the system is in an idle state as you will have to restart the system several times.

In addition to this, here is a small tip. Sometimes due to junk files, unwanted data, malware infections, outdated drivers, etc, you might face issues with Dark Soul 3. To get this fixed using the best PC Optimization tool that helps clean and fix all this is recommended. For this, you can use Advanced System Optimizer – the best PC cleanup tool that scans the system for infections, updates outdated drivers, optimizes memory and game performance. 

Using it is a 3-step thing. 

1. Download, install and run Advanced System Optimizer

2. Click Smart PC Care > Deep Scan > Scan Now

3. Wait for the scan to finish and fix errors

4. Moreover, you can optimize game performance by using Game Optimizer

To learn more about this fantastic tool, read the complete review on Advanced System Optimizer 

Now that we know how to optimize systems for best performance, let’s learn how to fix Dark Soul 3 crashing and black screen issues.

Fix 1: Wait for the program to load

This might sound like an obvious thing, yet most of the time we miss out waiting for the program to load. This means if we see a black screen as we launch the game, we think the game is having issues. But there are chances that the game is running some processes in the background. So, if you see a black screen, we suggest you wait for a minute or so and let the program load. 

If this helps, you know it was your impatience no other problem. However, if this doesn’t help, move to the next fix. 

Fix 2: Perform a power cycle and verify Steam Game Files

Before getting into technical details, we will perform a power cycle. This means you will have to completely shut down the system and disconnect the plug. If you are using a laptop, we suggest removing the batter. After doing so, wait for 8-10 minutes and then reconnect the system and power it. If this helps fine, the next thing you need to do is verify the integrity of Steam Game Files. 

To do so, follow the steps below:

1. Press Windows + E 

2. Head to the following directories:

C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Dark Souls

C:\Users\"User name"\Documents\MyGames\Dark Souls

3. You will now see a folder with the name Dark Soul 3. 

4. Select all the content of this folder by pressing Ctrl+A and delete them

5. Reboot the system and then launch Steam application > Games > Dark Souls > right-click > Properties

6. Local Files tab > Verify Integrity of Game Files

 

 

7. Wait for the process to finish and reboot the system. 

8. Now launch Dark Soul 3, you should no longer face a black screen issue. 

If this doesn’t help, let’s try changing game priority and replacing GraphicsConfig.XML

Fix 3: Change Game Priority

The priority of a task decides what resources will be allocated. If Dark Soul 3 is not given priority, there will be conflict due to which it will either crash or will show a black screen. Hence, to fix it we will need to grant High Priority. To learn how to do that, follow the steps below:

1. Open Dark Souls 3 

2. When launched press Windows + D and press Ctrl + Shift + Del to open Task Manager

3. Click Details tab > look for entries related to Dark Soul 3 > right-click > Set Priority > Above Normal or High

 

 

4. Once you have done this for all entries. Go back to the game by pressing the Alt+ tab and see if changing priority has helped or not. 

Fix 4: Replace GraphicsConfig.XML

If the graphics config file of the game is missing, then you might face the problem with Dark Soul 3. Hence, to fix Dark Soul 3 black screen and crashing issues, we suggest you perform the following steps:

1. Navigate to the game directory by pressing Windows + E > 

2. C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\DarkSoulsIII

3. If you see the GraphicsConfig.XML file open it with Notepad. Right-click > Notepad

4. Copy and paste the following content and save 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>

5. Once this is done restart the system and then launch the game. No longer you should face your black screen issues. 

So, if the above doesn’t work for you, you can try altering FULLSCREEN to WINDOW

Fix 5: Check Codecs and disable unwanted third-party apps

To launch the game properly, your PC needs support from codecs or media players. If that is missing you will not be able to play the game or it will be stuck. 

To check the version of Windows, enter About in the Windows search bar. Select About your PC > this will open a new window > here look for the Windows version. 

If you are running Windows N or KN head to Microsoft’s official website and download Media Feature Pack for N and KN.

Once installed restart the system and launch the game. This should fix the issue. If this doesn’t help, it seems there are some problematic codes on your system. To remove them, press Windows + R > appwiz.cpl > ok 

Look for codecs > if you see any third party or problematic codes > select > uninstall. 

In addition to this, we suggest disabling third-party game optimization apps as they also create problems. 

We hope using the above fixes, you can solve Dark Soul 3 black screen and crashing issues. In case you used some other workaround and it helped, please share. We’d love to hear from you. 

FAQ – Dark Soul 3 Crashing and Black Screen Issue

Q1. Why does Dark Souls 3 keep crashing?

Dark Soul 3 usually crashes due to outdated or corrupt graphics drivers. To fix this, we suggest updating the driver. For this, you can use the Driver Updater module provided by Advanced System Optimizer.

Q2. How do I fix the black screen On Dark Souls 3?

To fix Dark Soul 3 Black Screen, we suggest you perform the following operations: 

1. Perform a PC power cycle
2. Update drivers 
3. Verify Integrity of Steam Game files 
4. Change priority
5. Replace GraphicsConfig.XML

To learn how to do all this, read the post in detail.

Q3. What can cause games to crash on PC?

Games on PC usually crash due to the following reasons:

1. Outdated graphics driver
2. Overclocked PC 
3. Low system specs
4. Outdated operating system 
5. Incorrect graphics settings