It is a common knowledge that if you want a better if not best gaming experience a computer running a Windows 10 operating system is what you need. And if you want to take advantage of what the DirectX12 has in store, Windows 10 should definitely be your number one option.
On the other hand, a better or best performance does not always offer a perfect experience to users despite all the good things that Microsoft brings to the table. As you know, users like you can encounter or have already encountered black bars when you’re playing some video games on your Windows 10 PC. If you keep experiencing this issue more often than not – be it black bars in the bottom or middle or on the side of your computer screen or monitor while playing some games, this means that you have to update your NVIDIA drivers, check the settings of graphics, use Windows full-screen mode, use native resolution, as well as run the Troubleshooter, and so on. It might seem like a strange problem, however, there are ways you can fix this problem without the need to reinstall Windows 10.
Refer to each one of the alternative ways you can try to fix the black bars you see while playing games on your Windows 10 computer.
Option 1 – Try using the native resolution
This is one of the basic solutions you can try since video games and other contents might display these black bars if your computer is not set to its native resolution and screen format. So to check if your computer is on the right track, refer to these steps:
- Go to Settings > Display
- From there, select the recommended resolution and orientation. Take note that the orientation should be set to Landscape in most cases.
- After that, restart your PC and try checking if the problem’s fixed or not.
Option 2 – Try updating the graphics card driver or the game (s)
Since there are a lot of video game-related issues that can be fixed easily by simply updating the graphics card or the game itself. To update the graphics card driver, follow the steps below.
- Tap the Win + R keys to launch Run.
- Type in devmgmt.msc into the box and tap Enter or click OK to open the Device Manager.
- After that, a list of device drivers will be displayed. If you see a red or yellow sign that shows up against the driver, right-click on the driver’s name and select “Update Driver Software”. And if you find any “Unknown device”, you need to update it as well.
- Select the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and then follow the instructions to complete the process.
Note: You also have the option to go directly to the website of your graphics card manufacturer and check if there’s a new update – if there is, download it. After that, you could also check if there’s a new update of the game you’re getting the black bars issue.
Option 3 – Try checking the graphics settings
As you should know, video games have something to with the graphics settings or graphics card so you have to check these settings from within the game. These settings include the screen orientation and resolution settings of the game that is kind of similar to the system settings.
Option 4 – Try to switch to a Windowed full-screen mode
Take note that in this option, you have to revert the changes back to their previous or original setting after every game you play. To do so, simply switch into the windowed full-screen mode and go to Control Panel and select the graphic card software and change the resolution to a 4:3 resolution. After that, start the game again and see if there is no more black bar issue.
Option 5 – Try pressing Ctrl + Alt + F11
Pressing the Ctrl + Alt + F11 keys on your keyboard during the game will help you get rid of those black bars. Even so, you need to keep in mind that when you press these keys, it will change the resolution not only of the game but all of the entire system. So to go back to the previous resolution, you have to press these keys again.
Option 6 – Try running the Troubleshooter
Running the Troubleshooter, specifically the Hardware Troubleshooter could also help you in resolving the black bars issue on your games. To do this, simply open the Run box from the WinX Menu and type in this command:
msdt.exe /id DeviceDiagnostic
After you key in the command above, it will open the Hardware Troubleshooter. From there, use it to troubleshoot the hardware-related problems as well as assess the devices that are connected to your PC.
If none of the solutions given above worked out for you, there is also a one-click solution known as [product-name] you could check out if you keep seeing black bars when you’re playing a game on your Windows 10 computer. This program is a useful tool that could repair corrupted registries and optimize your PC’s overall performance. Aside from that, it also cleans out your computer for any junk or corrupted files that help you eliminate any unwanted files from your system. This is basically a solution that’s within your grasp with just a click. It’s easy to use as it is user-friendly. For complete set of instructions in downloading and using it, refer to the steps below.
Perform a full system scan using [product-code]. To do so, follow these steps:
- Turn on your computer. If it’s already on, you have to reboot
- After that, the BIOS screen will be displayed, but if Windows pops up instead, reboot your computer and try again. Once you’re on the BIOS screen, repeat pressing F8, by doing so the Advanced Option shows up.
- To navigate the Advanced Option use the arrow keys and select Safe Mode with Networking then hit
- Windows will now load the Safe Mode with Networking.
- Press and hold both R key and Windows key.
- If done correctly, the Windows Run Box will show up.
- Type in the URL address, [product-url] in the Run dialog box and then tap Enter or click OK.
- After that, it will download the program. Wait for the download to finish and then open the launcher to install the program.
- Once the installation process is completed, run [product-code] to perform a full system scan.