Windows Server blank screen after login is a common issue if you use Remote Desktop Connection to access your device. Why is Windows Server RDP showing a black screen? How to fix the black screen of Windows Server? From this post on MiniTool, you will find the solutions.
Windows Server RDP Black Screen
Sometimes you may try to access your device on Windows Server 2019/2022 via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) that is a protocol or technical to enable remote connections to other computers.
In Windows, you can open the Remote Desktop Connection app via the search box and then put in the IP of the device you want to connect, and then enter the user name and password. However, after login, you could suffer from Windows Server black screen with a cursor.
Why do you encounter RDP black screen Server 2019/2022? The most common reasons behind this issue include Windows Updates, Remote Desktop settings, an outdated graphics card, network connectivity, etc.
No worries. Windows Server RDP showing a black screen can be easily fixed and let’s figure out how to solve it.
Also read: Top 3 Solutions to Remote Desktop Can’t Find the Computer
Fix 1: Change RDP Settings
Windows Server black screen may occur if you don’t correctly configure the settings of the RDP. Take these steps below to change some settings.
Step 1: Press Ctrl + Alt + End on your keyboard at the same time to bring up a menu and hit Cancel to close the RDP app.
Step 2: Run Remote Desktop Connection via the search box to open this app. Then, expand Show Options.
Step 3: Under the Display tab, choose a proper color depth of the remote session like True Color (24-bit).
Step 4: In the Experience tab, untick Persistent bitmap caching.
Step 5: Then, reconnect to your device.
Fix 2: Restart the Remote Desktop Services
Are you struggling to fix Windows Server black screen on startup of RDP? If so, try to restart Remote Desktop Services to eliminate the black screen.
Step 1: Press Win + R to open Run, type services.msc and click OK.
Step 2: Locate Remote Desktop Services, right-click on it and choose Restart.
Fix 3: Update Graphics Card Driver
Windows Server black screen with cursor may be triggered by an outdated graphics card driver and updating it can get rid of the RDP black screen.
Step 1: Right-click on the Start button to choose Device Manager.
Step 2: Hit Display adapters, right-click on your GPU and choose Update driver.
Step 3: Tap on the first option to let Windows automatically search for an update and install.
Fix 4: Relaunch Explorer.exe in Task Manager
In case of Windows Server RDP showing a black screen, you can try to open Task Manager to end explorer.exe and relaunch it.
Step 1: Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and choose Task Manager.
Step 2: In the Details tab, locate explorer.exe, and choose End task.
Step 3: Click File > Run new task, type C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe and click OK.
Fix 5: Turn off Windows Audio Service
If you are confronted with Windows Server 2019 showing black screen after login, this way is worth a shot.
Step 1: In the RDP session, press Win + R, type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run Command Prompt with admin rights.
Step 2: Type TASKLIST /FI “ImageName eq audiodg.exe” into the window and press Enter. Then, you can see the PID number.
Step 3: Execute the command – TASKKILL /PID number and press Enter to terminate the audio service. Remember to replace the number with yours.
Final Words
These are common ways to fix Windows Server black screen after login of RDP. In addition, you can try to change the screen resolution, run SFC, edit Group Policy, update Server, etc. to get rid of the RDP black screen on Server 2019/2022. For more details, refer to this guide – [9 Ways] – Fix Remote Desktop Black Screen on Windows 11/10.
By the way, in addition to the RDP black screen, you may meet a black screen of the system, which means you cannot load the server correctly. To restore the PC quickly to a normal state, we strongly recommend running MiniTool ShadowMaker, a powerful server backup software, to back up your system in advance. Just get its Trial Edition for a trial.
