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Black screen and unresponsive game after extended Alt-Tab/minimization since Update 1.29

Crash

Error

Graphics

Client

No Action Taken

Issue Key

DZEXP-73

State

No action taken

Access

Public

Group

DayZ

Project

Experimental Feedback

Creator

klinniy

Created

Aug 25, 2026

Views

15

Attachments

DxDiag.txt

DayZ_x64_2026_08_25_11_54_41.rpt

script_2026_08_25_11_54_54.log

Platform

PC Steam

What happened?

Since DayZ Update 1.29, the game may become completely unresponsive after being minimized or left running in the background for an extended period.

Before Update 1.29, I could Alt-Tab out of DayZ, leave the game minimized for several hours, return to it and continue playing normally.

Since Update 1.29, after switching back to DayZ following an extended period in the background, the game may display a completely black screen. The DayZ process remains active in Windows Task Manager, but the game does not recover.

Alt-Tabbing again, waiting, or trying to switch back to the game does not resolve the issue. The only solution is to terminate the DayZ process manually through Windows Task Manager and restart the game.

No standard DayZ crash message or DayZ Crash Reporter window appears.

The issue started after Update 1.29 and appears to be a regression related to restoring the game after an extended Alt-Tab/minimized state.

NVIDIA Overlay and/or NVIDIA Game Filters may be active when the issue occurs, but I cannot confirm that they are the cause.

System specifications:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i5-13400F
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
RAM: 32 GB
Storage: SSD
Resolution: 2560x1440
Display mode: Fullscreen
Render scale: 100%
V-Sync: Disabled
NVIDIA driver: [exact version]
NVIDIA Overlay: [Enabled / Disabled]
NVIDIA Game Filters: [Enabled / Disabled]

Reproduction steps

  • Launch DayZ 1.29.

  • Join a server and start playing.

  • Run the game in fullscreen mode at 2560x1440 resolution.

  • Press Alt+Tab and leave DayZ minimized or running in the background for an extended period.

  • Switch back to DayZ.

  • The game may display a completely black screen.

  • Wait or Alt+Tab out of the game and back into it again.

  • DayZ remains unresponsive and does not recover.

  • Open Windows Task Manager.

  • The DayZ process is still running and must be terminated manually.

  • Restart DayZ to continue playing.

Exact build version (optional)

1.29

Where did it happen?

Official

Is it modded?

No

Expected result

After switching back to DayZ with Alt+Tab, the game should restore normally and remain responsive regardless of how long it has been minimized or running in the background.

The player should be able to continue playing without restarting the DayZ process.

Public attachments

DxDiag.txt

125 KB

DayZ_x64_2026_08_25_11_54_41.rpt

140 KB

script_2026_08_25_11_54_54.log

82 KB

Activity

    2 days ago

  • klinniy
    created issue2 days ago
  • about 19 hours ago

  • l909
    Moderator
    commented
    about 19 hours ago

    >NVIDIA Overlay and/or NVIDIA Game Filters may be active when the issue occurs

    Can you try to remove these? And does the issue occur on Stable version as well?

  • l909
    changed state to
    NEED MORE INFO
    about 19 hours ago
  • klinniycommented
    about 19 hours ago

    I tested the game with NVIDIA Overlay and NVIDIA Game Filters completely disabled, both on vanilla and modded servers.

    The issue still occurs in both cases: after DayZ has been minimized or left in the background for an extended period, switching back to the game can result in a black screen and an unresponsive client.

    Based on these tests, NVIDIA Overlay/Game Filters do not appear to be the cause of the issue.

  • l909
    Moderator
    commented
    about 19 hours ago

    >does the issue occur on Stable version as well?

  • klinniycommented
    about 19 hours ago

    Yes, the issue also occurs on the current Stable version of DayZ available through Steam.

  • l909
    Moderator
    commented
    about 19 hours ago

    Are all your drivers up to date? have you tried to disable Steam cloud sync, delete both DayZ Exp and DayZ folders in documents and then verify the game data? And if the following does not work could you try to do a clean install?

  • klinniycommented
    about 15 hours ago

    I completed all the recommended steps:

    • Updated/checked the relevant drivers.

    • Disabled Steam Cloud synchronization for DayZ.

    • Removed the DayZ and DayZ Exp folders from Documents.

    • Verified the integrity of the game files through Steam.

    After doing this, I launched DayZ again and initially the issue appeared to be resolved. I was able to Alt-Tab and return to the game without getting the black screen.

    During this test, NVIDIA Overlay was enabled, but NVIDIA Game Filters were not enabled.

    I then enabled NVIDIA Game Filters and repeated the test. The black-screen/unresponsive-client issue immediately occurred again.

    After that, I disabled NVIDIA Game Filters again and repeated the test, but the game continued to reproduce the same black-screen issue even with the filters disabled.

    So the sequence was:

    1. Cleaned/reset DayZ as recommended → no black screen.

    2. NVIDIA Overlay enabled, Game Filters disabled → no black screen.

    3. Enabled NVIDIA Game Filters → black screen issue returned.

    4. Disabled NVIDIA Game Filters again → black screen issue continued to occur.

    This makes NVIDIA Game Filters appear relevant to triggering the issue, although simply disabling them again does not seem to restore the previously working state.

  • l909
    Moderator
    commented
    about 15 hours ago

    Hello.
    If this is related to third party app filters such as nvidia game filters then we would suggest simply not using them. As for the issue - you should try to re-do the steps you have done previously to fix the problem and make sure to no longer use the nvidia game filters.

  • l909
    changed state to
    NO ACTION TAKEN
    about 15 hours ago

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Issue Key

DZEXP-73

State

No action taken

Access

Public

Group

DayZ

Project

Experimental Feedback

Creator

klinniy

Created

Aug 25, 2026

Views

15

Attachments

DxDiag.txt

DayZ_x64_2026_08_25_11_54_41.rpt

script_2026_08_25_11_54_54.log