After installing Windows 11 26H2, my monitor briefly goes black whenever I launch an application in fullscreen or borderless fullscreen mode. Audio routed through the monitor cuts out at the same time. Changing Nvidia Control Panel's Monitor Technology setting from Fixed Refresh to G-SYNC Compatible reduces the black-screen problem, but G-SYNC causes compatibility issues with some applications.
There is also an ongoing audio problem: after audio has been silent for a few seconds, I hear a pop, followed by several seconds of silence when playback resumes. Another pop occurs before audio finally starts working normally again. It seems like a power-management or device-wake issue, but disabling power-saving features has not helped, and my drivers are up to date. What is the best way to troubleshoot or fix this?
2 Answers
If these problems started immediately after installing 26H2, the update itself or a driver it installed is the most likely cause. Try rolling back to Windows 25H2 if the recovery option is available, then report the issue to Microsoft. If rollback is unavailable, you may need to use installation media or restore from a backup rather than relying on the normal “Go back” option.
This also sounds like a graphics driver regression, especially since changing the Nvidia monitor technology setting affects the black-screen behavior. Try reinstalling the Nvidia driver and selecting a known-stable older version instead of the newest release. It may also help to pause Windows driver updates temporarily so Windows does not automatically replace the version you install.
The “Go back” option is disabled on my system, and 26H2 does not appear under uninstallable updates, so I may need to look into another rollback method.