What should I check first if I see a crash when I alt-tab?

First, proceed with the ‘Restart the game and log the error message’ step. You must first determine whether it is a one-time error or a repeatable problem. We recommend that you avoid changing multiple settings at once and check to see if your symptoms change after each step.

How do I check for the possible cause ‘full screen/overlay conflict’?

If there is no change in the first step, compare in order through ‘Check or repair game files’. If symptoms disappear immediately after certain actions or the conditions for their occurrence change, this can be an important clue in narrowing down the cause.

Game crashes or black screen after Alt+Tab: When do I need professional maintenance?

Even if you follow the above solution steps in order, if the flickering symptom recurs when you alt-tap, or hardware abnormal signals such as a burning smell, abnormal noise, overheating, or failure to recognize parts appear, we recommend backing up important data and having it professionally inspected.

PC FIX

Computer Troubleshooting Guide

Gaming

Game crashes or goes black after Alt+Tab

This guide is designed to classify full screen, overlay crash, and graphics driver items in a safe order in situations where “alt-tabbing crashes.” Check error messages, game files, graphics drivers, overlays and hardware stability in that order.

Solving Order
We've organized the methods starting with the simplest and least expensive ones. Please check the solutions one by one, starting from the top.

Do you have these symptoms?

It crashes when I alt-tap
alt tab black screen
Game freezes after switching

main causes

Full screen/overlay crash
graphics driver
HDR/refresh rate conversion issue

How to solve

Please check them in order from the top. If the issue is resolved, you do not need to proceed to the next step.

Restart the game and log the error message

You must first determine whether it is a one-time error or a repeatable problem.

Difficulty Easy time 5 minutes cost 0 won

1Exit the game completely and restart your PC.
2Run it again to see if it reproduces in the same section.
3If there is an error code or message, please leave a photo or note.

confirmation point

After these steps, see if the “flicking when you alt-tab” symptom decreases or disappears. If there is no change, check for the possibility of full screen/overlay conflict in the next step.

Check or repair game files

Corrupted game files can cause launch failures, crashes, and freezes.

Difficulty Easy time 10~30 minutes cost 0 won

1Run the file integrity check or repair function of your Steam/Epic/Game launcher.
2If there are any mods or unofficial plugins, temporarily uninstall them.

Check for game and graphics driver updates

Game patches and GPU driver compatibility issues are common causes of crashes.

Difficulty Moderate time 15-30 minutes cost 0 won

1Update the game to the latest version.
2Install the GPU driver using the manufacturer's official stable version.
3If the problem occurs immediately after a driver update, consider rolling back to the previous version.

Temporarily turn off overlay/overclocking

Overlays and hardware tuning may cause the game to crash.

Difficulty Moderate time 10-20 minutes cost 0 won

1Temporarily turn off the Discord/Steam/GPU recording/monitoring overlay.
2Return CPU/GPU overclocking and undervoltage to default.
3I also turn off XMP/EXPO for diagnostic purposes and compare.

Check temperature and power status

If it reboots or shuts down only in heavy load situations such as gaming, there is a high possibility of a heat or power issue.

Difficulty Moderate time 15-30 minutes cost 0 won

1Check CPU and GPU temperatures while playing games.
2The desktop checks the GPU auxiliary power and power supply status.
3The laptop connects to the rated charger.

Diagnosing memory and storage devices

Recurring game crashes can also be caused by RAM or SSD errors.

Difficulty Advanced time 30~90 minutes cost 0 won

1Run Windows Memory Diagnostic or Manufacturer Diagnostics.
2Check the SMART status and free space on the drive where the game is installed.

Frequently Asked Questions

We've put together a list of things we frequently check regarding this issue.

Related issues

If the symptoms do not match exactly, please check the issue below.

Gaming

Game crashes or closes unexpectedly

If you are experiencing “game crashing” symptoms, possible causes include game file or driver issues, overlays, or background app conflicts. Check error messages, game files, graphics drivers, overlays and hardware stability in that order.

View solutions →

Gaming

Game freezes in unresponsive state

If the current symptom is close to “game unresponsive”, first check for resource shortages or game file/mode conflicts. Check error messages, game files, graphics drivers, overlays and hardware stability in that order.

View solutions →

Gaming

Screen goes black and computer reboots while gaming

Among gaming issues, the “black screen reboot while gaming” symptom may be related to GPU driver or power issues, or graphics card overheating. Check error messages, game files, graphics drivers, overlays and hardware stability in that order.

View solutions →

Gaming

Game freezes and stops responding

If the current symptom is close to “game freezing,” first check whether the GPU driver, memory, or storage device is delayed. Check error messages, game files, graphics drivers, overlays and hardware stability in that order.

View solutions →

Look for other symptoms too

If you enter the symptoms you are currently seeing in the PC FIX search box, we will find the related problem.

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