Surface Pen makes screen flash black

Anonymous
2019-08-08T17:39:38+00:00

I recently purchased a Surface Go to use for in-class note taking, along with a surface pen. I have been using it for approximately 2 weeks and have noticed an issue when using the pen. Randomly, about once a day when taking notes in OneNote, when I press the pen to the screen, the screen will flash black. Oddly, this only occurs when using solid colors for the the pen and pencil. The highlighter and rainbow colors do not do this. I can fix it by restarting it, but it is an inconvenience. Any ideas what is causing it and how I can prevent it from happening in the future?

Surface | Accessories | Surface Pen

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-01-15T23:49:04+00:00

    Resolved the issue!  Check this out: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/increase-scheduling-priority 

    Warning

    If you remove Window Manager\Window Manager Group from the Increase scheduling priority user right, certain applications and computers do not function correctly. In particular, the INK workspace does not function correctly on unified memory architecture (UMA) laptop and desktop computers that run Windows 10, version 1903 (or later) and that use the Intel GFX driver.

    On affected computers, the display blinks when users draw on INK workspaces such as those that are used by Microsoft Edge, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Microsoft OneNote. The blinking occurs because the inking-related processes repeatedly try to use the Real-Time priority, but are denied permission.

    We added that user right to Window Manager\Window Manager Group and it's now working.

    On a single system, run gpedit.msc: Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment, then add Window Manager\Window Manager Group.

    Reboot, and hopefully this fixes the issue also for you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-02-18T18:10:07+00:00

    Resolved the issue!  Check this out: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/security-policy-settings/increase-scheduling-priority 

    Warning

    If you remove Window Manager\Window Manager Group from the Increase scheduling priority user right, certain applications and computers do not function correctly. In particular, the INK workspace does not function correctly on unified memory architecture (UMA) laptop and desktop computers that run Windows 10, version 1903 (or later) and that use the Intel GFX driver.

    On affected computers, the display blinks when users draw on INK workspaces such as those that are used by Microsoft Edge, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Microsoft OneNote. The blinking occurs because the inking-related processes repeatedly try to use the Real-Time priority, but are denied permission.

    We added that user right to Window Manager\Window Manager Group and it's now working.

    On a single system, run gpedit.msc: Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment, then add Window Manager\Window Manager Group.

    Reboot, and hopefully this fixes the issue also for you.

    I went into these settings and those permissions already existed, so my screen blanking is happening despite that setting being in place. Is it possible that your restart is actually what (temporarily) fixed the issue?

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-02-18T21:16:45+00:00

    Definitely not, in our case.  We were able to reproduce the issue immediately after every reboot. 

    Can you try removing the entire Increase Scheduling Priority from Group Policy so this will reset it back to the defaults, and re-test?

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-03-12T06:01:59+00:00

    Microsoft needs to fix this ASAP, but your reply was helpful.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-03-14T01:17:26+00:00

    I have the same problem on Surface Pro(5th Gen).Screen flash black , and my device becomes hot.Restart the device can solve the problem ,but not a way enduringly. The original problem was created on August,2019 , 7 months has past .

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