I wouldn't be as annoyed as I am at this if the game didn't literally work fine with the exact same setup yesterday, but here I am, trying to find a way to go back to how things were, which was perfect. All I want is to keep playing the game in my primary monitor and enjoying my time, and I can't.The Problem: The launcher works fine. After I log in and click play game, the game boots up but the screen is black. There is still audio and UI sounds, which means the issue is with the display and not with the game failing to boot. Further testing showed that the game displayed correctly when I hit alt+enter to move it to a second monitor (1920x1080, 60hz), but fails to render on my primary screen (2560x1600, 240hz), whether booted there or moved back from the second monitor. Before someone says those specs are not supported, this exact setup worked fine until yesterday, so the issue is entirely new and not how the game is meant to function.Solutions I've attempted which didn't work:Verifying game files via steam.Deleting SWTOR folders in Local AppData.Booting the game up to create a client_settings.ini and adjusting the resolution to my resolution from within the txt and rebooting.Making sure D3DFullScreen and FullScreen are both "= false" in the client_settings ini. It still booted to a black screen with working audio.Tried moving the game from the working monitor do the non-working monitor after setting it to windowed. It still became black after being moved.Unplugging the second monitor from my computer and booting the game up with only one available display after repeating step 2. Still led to a blackscreen.Tried adding a RefreshRate entry underneath [Renderer] to the client_settings.ini and making sure it matched my primary monitor's refresh rate. It still led to a blackscreen when booted on the preferred monitor.Using CRU, even made it so that my monitor's resolution is the only available one on the list.

Hello, first, I would like to start by saying that I have further diagnosed the problem. It is completely uncorrelated to any of the advice you offered. While I do not like randomly criticizing people, the way you write makes it clear that you are not from any kind of computer science background. I would advise against giving people with various types of issues the same set of advice for them to try. While I understand it comes from a desire to help, it can waste people's time.Anyway, here's what I've found out through further research and experimentation: When both Integrated and Dedicated Graphics are enabled in a laptop (called Hybrid graphics by most), the laptop's main display runs on the integrated graphics while any displays plugged into HDMI ports are processed by the GPU. (A similar situation can occur when two displays are plugged into separate GPU's in a multi-GPU desktop setup, though this is much rarer nowadays.) In my situation with swtor, the chain of graphical info which should look like [Game -> GPU -> CPU -> Display] instead is carried through as [Game -> GPU -> Dead end], because the display is ran on the CPU's Int. Graphics, and the GPU fails to feed it the information.The ideal solution would be to somehow force the laptop's display to be ran via the GPU, but I do not know how to do this. (In linux I could do this via xorg.conf but I know of no equivalent in windows.)The realistic solution, which I will sadly have to use, is to simply disable the integrated graphics and switch to using only discrete graphics.

Forum Discussion

ZeDango

Seasoned Novice

23 days ago

Solved

The Dreaded Blackscreen - Past solutions all failing

I wouldn't be as annoyed as I am at this if the game didn't literally work fine with the exact same setup yesterday, but here I am, trying to find a way to go back to how things were, which was perfect. All I want is to keep playing the game in my primary monitor and enjoying my time, and I can't.

The Problem: The launcher works fine. After I log in and click play game, the game boots up but the screen is black. There is still audio and UI sounds, which means the issue is with the display and not with the game failing to boot. Further testing showed that the game displayed correctly when I hit alt+enter to move it to a second monitor (1920x1080, 60hz), but fails to render on my primary screen (2560x1600, 240hz), whether booted there or moved back from the second monitor. Before someone says those specs are not supported, this exact setup worked fine until yesterday, so the issue is entirely new and not how the game is meant to function.

Solutions I've attempted which didn't work:

Verifying game files via steam.
Deleting SWTOR folders in Local AppData.
Booting the game up to create a client_settings.ini and adjusting the resolution to my resolution from within the txt and rebooting.
Making sure D3DFullScreen and FullScreen are both "= false" in the client_settings ini. It still booted to a black screen with working audio.
Tried moving the game from the working monitor do the non-working monitor after setting it to windowed. It still became black after being moved.
Unplugging the second monitor from my computer and booting the game up with only one available display after repeating step 2. Still led to a blackscreen.
Tried adding a RefreshRate entry underneath [Renderer] to the client_settings.ini and making sure it matched my primary monitor's refresh rate. It still led to a blackscreen when booted on the preferred monitor.
Using CRU, even made it so that my monitor's resolution is the only available one on the list.

technical issues

ZeDango
21 days ago
Hello, first, I would like to start by saying that I have further diagnosed the problem. It is completely uncorrelated to any of the advice you offered. While I do not like randomly criticizing people, the way you write makes it clear that you are not from any kind of computer science background. I would advise against giving people with various types of issues the same set of advice for them to try. While I understand it comes from a desire to help, it can waste people's time.
Anyway, here's what I've found out through further research and experimentation: When both Integrated and Dedicated Graphics are enabled in a laptop (called Hybrid graphics by most), the laptop's main display runs on the integrated graphics while any displays plugged into HDMI ports are processed by the GPU. (A similar situation can occur when two displays are plugged into separate GPU's in a multi-GPU desktop setup, though this is much rarer nowadays.) In my situation with swtor, the chain of graphical info which should look like [Game -> GPU -> CPU -> Display] instead is carried through as [Game -> GPU -> Dead end], because the display is ran on the CPU's Int. Graphics, and the GPU fails to feed it the information.
The ideal solution would be to somehow force the laptop's display to be ran via the GPU, but I do not know how to do this. (In linux I could do this via xorg.conf but I know of no equivalent in windows.)
The realistic solution, which I will sadly have to use, is to simply disable the integrated graphics and switch to using only discrete graphics.

6 Replies

proxos666
Hero+
23 days ago
try reverting the video driver to an older version see if any change, black screen is driver related albeit the swtor config also affects the driver too

I gather all 4 monitor settings in the client_setting file are correct

can you post the contents of the client_setting file as well

ZeDango

Seasoned Novice

23 days ago

[Renderer]
AntiAliasingLevel = 4
AtlasQuality = 0
Buckets = 5
CodeVersionChanged = true
DYDDrawDistancePreset = 2
EnableSSAO = true
GraphicsDeviceId = 12056
GraphicsQuality = 5
Height = 1600
InfoGraphicsVendor = NVIDIA_GPU
InfoGraphicsVideoMemoryMB = 11856
LastCodeVersionRun = 4
MeshLODQuality = 1
NativeHeight = 1600
NativeWidth = 2560
NewBucket = 5
ShadowMapNumCascades = 8
ShadowMapResolution = 2048
SpeedTreeDistanceScale = 1.25
TextureAnisotropy = 16
Width = 2560
D3DFullScreen = false
FullScreen = false
WindowX = 0
WindowY = 0
RefreshRate = 240
MinFrameTime = 4.9999999e-003


[Game]
MoviesFolder = ..\..\Movies
SwtorRegKey = SOFTWARE\BioWare\Star Wars - The Old Republic

Currently, I've reset my CRU to go back to defaults, and reinstalled the previous NVIDIA graphics drivers through the desktop app. SWTOR still refuses to render on my first monitor. This is extremely confusing, as this problem was not prompted by any change in my setup. I have no idea what factor I could have introduced to make the game suddenly refuse to render on the higher res display.

ZeDango
Seasoned Novice
22 days ago
MAJOR UPDATE: I found the "issue", though that leads to another issue. Before the screen errors, I was running my PC in a mode where the CPU's integrated graphics capabilities are disabled, and everything used the GPU. Then, I enabled the CPU's integrated graphics as I wanted to run my browser and some other applications using the Integrated Graphics rather than the GPU. However, when I re-enable the Integrated Graphics, SWTOR is for some reason unable to render on my higher resolution & higher refresh rate display. This is despite the fact that I have SWTOR and it's launcher set to run on the GPU (by having both applications set to use the "high performance processor" via windows' graphics settings as well as in NVIDIA's control panel). So, this is far from ideal, and I'd still like to find a solution for the issue, but technically speaking I've diagnosed the problem.
proxos666
Hero+
22 days ago
Without knowing hardware, the governing hardware to hand over between discrete and performance cards in laptops for example is generally the intel driver , ensure the bios is up to date and the intel driver is as well, i usually disable the intel video card in the bios on desktop computers i own so they dont interfere with the performance card
dbwoodynz
Seasoned Ace
22 days ago
Hey dude. ZeDango

Nice to see " proxos666 " is still active, I am not so fortunate.....

I can see what you have been trying with your setup as a workaround, however there are some fundamental errors on your end, in how you're addressing the problems you are facing.

Please consider utilising this old guide that I did years ago, step by step, starting with installing DX9C; then working through the graphics settings for Windows, Your Vid Card Software, then finally the game..... the goal is to have these set to True.....
"D3DFullScreen = false
FullScreen = false"

Once your settings are correct, I would then tripple check that you have followed the Firewall recommendations, aswell as the 'editing' *.exe properties to run as 'Admin', with the windows hidden improvements turned off.

Do this and I would expect that your issues are no more..... this guide works for EVERY GAME, in EVERY PLATFORM.... with minor 'file specificity' tweaks.

My kids still use this guide to this very day, as young adults.

Have fun

Woody.

https://forums.ea.com/discussions/star-wars-the-old-republic-en/guide-how-to-install-swtor-correctly-and-address-windows-10-issues/10760168
ZeDango
Seasoned Novice
21 days ago
Hello, first, I would like to start by saying that I have further diagnosed the problem. It is completely uncorrelated to any of the advice you offered. While I do not like randomly criticizing people, the way you write makes it clear that you are not from any kind of computer science background. I would advise against giving people with various types of issues the same set of advice for them to try. While I understand it comes from a desire to help, it can waste people's time.
Anyway, here's what I've found out through further research and experimentation: When both Integrated and Dedicated Graphics are enabled in a laptop (called Hybrid graphics by most), the laptop's main display runs on the integrated graphics while any displays plugged into HDMI ports are processed by the GPU. (A similar situation can occur when two displays are plugged into separate GPU's in a multi-GPU desktop setup, though this is much rarer nowadays.) In my situation with swtor, the chain of graphical info which should look like [Game -> GPU -> CPU -> Display] instead is carried through as [Game -> GPU -> Dead end], because the display is ran on the CPU's Int. Graphics, and the GPU fails to feed it the information.
The ideal solution would be to somehow force the laptop's display to be ran via the GPU, but I do not know how to do this. (In linux I could do this via xorg.conf but I know of no equivalent in windows.)
The realistic solution, which I will sadly have to use, is to simply disable the integrated graphics and switch to using only discrete graphics.