Guide
FiveM screen goes black for a moment on start or Alt + Tab? How to fix it
If the screen goes black for about a second every time FiveM starts or you Alt + Tab out, the graphics card is usually fine. The game runs in exclusive fullscreen: it takes over the whole screen and switches the screen's mode on every way in and out. With two screens at different rates, like 240 Hz and 60 Hz, you see it even more.
Why it happens
Windows has fullscreen optimizations, which let fullscreen games switch in and out fast without changing the screen's mode. Many tweak packs turn them off for every game, so games go back to the old exclusive fullscreen. The cost is a black flash when a game starts and on Alt + Tab.
Turn fullscreen optimizations back on
- Go to the folder FiveM is installed in, right click FiveM.exe and pick Properties.
- On the Compatibility tab, untick Disable fullscreen optimizations.
- Press Change settings for all users and untick it there too if it is ticked.
- Press OK and start FiveM again.
Or use Windowed Borderless
In FiveM go to Settings, Graphics and set Screen Type to Windowed Borderless. Alt + Tab then has no black screen. On Windows 11 a borderless game's frames go straight to the screen like fullscreen, so it is not slower.
Set every screen to its highest rate
A second screen running below what it can do makes switching look worse. Open Settings, System, Display, Advanced display, pick each screen and set Choose a refresh rate to the highest value.
Let Savenz Optimizer help
If you used Fullscreen optimizations off (all games) in Savenz Optimizer, press Undo there and Windows' own value comes back. The .EXE page turns fullscreen optimizations on or off per game. The Fixes page has Highest refresh rate, which sets every screen to its top rate. Still going black? See the guide on black screens while loading, or ask in the Discord.