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Troubleshooting

Black screen after boot

The display stays black or goes blank when an application starts.

Start here

  1. Check the display input, cable and the board’s intended HDMI connector.
  2. Boot with the display connected and powered, using a simple single-display setup.
  3. Note whether a console appears and whether the screen fails only after launching a game.
  4. Check the relevant frontend/emulator log before changing graphics configuration.
What usually causes this?

Display negotiation, the chosen graphics backend or an application launch failure.

Advanced explanation

Old FKMS or gpu_mem workarounds are not universal Pi 5 fixes. Keep OS and graphics-driver versions with the report.

Still stuck?

Record what changed after each check. Include your exact board, image, emulator and error when asking for help. These are diagnostic starting points, not guaranteed fixes for every OS.

Video Issues: detailed upstream reference →

Reference: RetroPie Video Issues documentation. Original companion checklist; historical upstream guidance needs OS-specific review.