Nvidia RTX 4080 and 4090 GPUs get a fix for nasty blank screen issue on boot
>
Nvidia has released a fix for issues with its new RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 video cards that in some unfortunate cases showed a black (or blank) screen on startup.
This isn’t as bad as it might seem at first glance, as the OS still loads fine and eventually displays the desktop on your screen as normal – you just get the blank screen on startup. However, that means you can’t access the BIOS, for example, or see anything on the screen at all until you reach the OS environment. And not being able to get into the BIOS can be a big problem in itself.
As Tom’s hardware (opens in new tab) however, reports that Nvidia has released a GPU firmware update for the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 to fix these blank screen blues.
Note that the issue will only occur with certain motherboards that are in UEFI mode.
Nvidia says “The Nvidia GPU Firmware Update Tool detects if the firmware update is needed and gives the user the option to update it if necessary.”
For those experiencing a blank screen during boot up with their new Lovelace GPU, you can download the relevant update here (opens in new tab)where Nvidia also provides instructions on how to get started with the update.
Analysis: Another Lovelace GPU glitch for Nvidia – but the fix has arrived soon this time
This problem is rare by all accounts, so that’s good news. Of course, if you’re affected by it, it’s going to be frustrating not being able to access the BIOS (although at least your PC will still boot to the desktop properly).
As Nvidia points out, don’t apply the update unless you’re actually experiencing the blank screen – of course, there’s no need to risk a firmware update if you don’t have a tangible problem to fix.
Note that this gremlin in the making has nothing to do with the other highly publicized issue that has hit the RTX 4090 graphics card, which is the melting cable controversy. (By the way, we just got an update from Nvidia on that issue, and it seems the culprit, as thought, is the power adapter not connected properly.)