This is a known issue and can occur due to several reasons, including issues with your host machine’s graphics card. Here we show a few troubleshooting tips to quickly fix the Hyper-V black screen problem on Windows.
1. Check for Graphics Card Issues
A black screen error in the host or virtual machine is often due to some issue with your graphics card. At times, you can identify the cause with a screen grab of your virtual machine.
To do this, connect and start the virtual machine and wait for the black screen to appear. Next, use the Print Screen feature to capture a screenshot of the VM’s black screen.
Paste the screenshot in a new Paint file to see if the VM’s boot screen is visible. If yes, you can resolve the issue by installing your Windows and graphics drivers update.
Even if the screen grab shows a black screen, go ahead and check for any driver graphics driver or Windows updates. Install all the available updates to see if that helps.
2. Check for Any Windows Updates
Windows updates bring performance improvements and bug fixes. Try to install any critical updates pending for the operating system or your integrated GPU and see if that helps resolve the black screen issue in Hyper-V.
To check and install Windows updates:
Press Win + I to open the Settings page. Next, in the left pane, click on the Windows Update tab. Click on Check for update. If a new update is available, download and install all the updates. Restart your PC and check for any improvements. If the issue persists, try to disable your dedicated or external GPU to see if that helps.
3. Disable the Dedicated or External GPU
You can disable your dedicated or external GPU to fix the black screen issue with Hyper-V virtual machines. By default, your Windows computer uses the integrated (AMD/Intel) graphics processor for basic visual tasks, and the dedicated GPU kicks in only when necessary.
That said, starting the virtual machine only with the integrated GPU enabled can help you fix this issue.
To disable your graphics processing unit:
Press Win + R to open Run. Type devmgmt. msc and click OK to open Device Manager. In Device Manager, expand the Display adapters section. Right-click on your external or dedicated GPU and select Disable device. Click Yes to confirm the action. Once disabled, close Device Manager and launch Hyper-V. Now start your virtual machine to see if it connects without any issues.
Note that the external display port on your laptop may be connected to the dedicated video card. So, disabling the graphics device will also disable external display support for your PC.
4. Update Your Graphics Drivers
Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers can cause the black screen issue on some devices. To fix the problem, update your GPU driver to the latest version.
You can use update your drivers using the Nvidia GeForce Experience or the AMD Radeon auto-detect tool. You can also download the latest drivers from your computer manufacturer’s website. Follow our guide on how to update the graphics driver on Windows for detailed instructions.
5. Change the Virtual Machine Generation From Gen2 to Gen1
Hyper-V supports both Gen1 and Gen2 virtual machine generations. The Gen2 virtual machine supports newer virtualization features and uses secure boot and UEFI-based firmware by default. This may result in compatibility issues with some Linux distros.
To fix the problem, you can create a Gen1 virtual machine and install the guest OS. Hyper-V selects Gen1 as the default virtual machine generation. So, all you have to do is create a new virtual machine and leave the generation option as default to set it as Gen1.
Fix the Black Screen Problem in Hyper-V Virtual Machines
Black screen problems are often rooted in issues with the graphics device drivers, even when using a virtual machine. Look for new Windows and graphics driver updates and install them to see if that helps. Disabling your dedicated graphics device is another workaround that you can try to fix the issue.
