Matrix Games Forums

Here recently I've noticed when I wake my PC from sleep mode, the monitor comes on for like less the a second & then goes black. It does comes back on properly when I turn it off & then back on, but a couple of times I've had to do this twice.

I'm pretty sure it might be a monitor issue because when its in sleep mode the power light is orange & when its on its blue, however, when it goes black the power light stays blue. Also, this only happens when coming out of sleep mode and not if I'm turning the computer on.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanx in advance.

Forgot to add that I've had the monitor almost as long as AEs been out.

I would post this in the general tech forum. You would get a better responds. But it sounds like a switching problem with the monitor. Not sure if it is controled with in the monitor settings or if its just a monitor on the way out....GP

It can be hardware (monitor, VGA, cable) or software (OS, drivers) problem. What You can easy try is to reinstall Video Drivers.
At lest similar problem was happening with AMD cards. They had problem (some still have) waking up monitor from sleep mode.

If this is hardware problem You can always check if this is happening on different monitor/cable.

Seeking a little more info... Are you implying that AE is running when this happens, or is it anything at all? What actions have you taken when you see the black screen (aside from power-cycling the monitor as you mentioned)?

I use a flatscreen, & it always 'greys out' for a second or three at least twice for AE - once when I start AE, & again when I choose & load a savegame file. The flatscreen doesn't go to power-down mode, seems more like AE is busy doing other stuff & gets too busy to send video output to the screen. Hasn't been a worry, though - I never get blank-screens while watching a combat-results movie or while engaged in giving orders.

ORIGINAL: jmalter

I use a flatscreen, & it always 'greys out' for a second or three at least twice for AE - once when I start AE, & again when I choose & load a savegame file. The flatscreen doesn't go to power-down mode, seems more like AE is busy doing other stuff & gets too busy to send video output to the screen. Hasn't been a worry, though - I never get blank-screens while watching a combat-results movie or while engaged in giving orders.

Agree, the worst I've seen was solved by switching to another application and then back again.

BTW, I think this has to do with the older graphics stuff AE uses and the full-screen roots of it. Don't know details, but that's my impression.

Also, AE requires full use of the monitor. For example if something starts up in the background, AE video use stops and the "computer" desktop will come up. This may or may not have something to do with it....GP

At first it would only do it when coming out of sleep mode, but now its doing it when I turn my computer on. When the monitor finally comes on it works fine & all drivers are up to date. I'll have to check when I get some real time to do so, but I think the problem started right after my OS upgraded to Windows 8.1.

If it started with an OS upgrade chances are it has something to do with the video driver and the OS. One thing that might help is try running AE in Windows XP compatibility mode. It might not solve the problem, but it's worth a shot.

For Windows 7 and 8, if you right click on the shortcut to run an application and select properties, there will be a compatibility tab which gives you a bunch of options. One of the first to try is just select Windows XP compatibility.

Another option is to see if there is a new driver out for your video card.

Bill