Windows 10 V1903 black screen with Remote Desktop

Anonymous
2019-05-24T01:45:13+00:00

I upgraded my secondary machine from 1809 to 1903. When I access it now using Remote Desktop all I get is a black screen in the RDP windows. I then upgraded my primary machine to 1903 hoping that would help, but no. Fortunately I also have GoToAssist installed so I was able to log into the secondary machine that way and checked for updates, still no help. Finally I reverted it back to 1809 and Remote Desktop once again works. I could keep using GoToAssist but RDP over my local LAN is much faster.

As long as this version as been (more or less) gold before going public, I can't possibly be the first one with this issue. It's no big deal to me that my secondary is running 1809, it's primarily a file server, but upgrading would be nice.

Granted, that secondary system is an older Core2 Quad, but at 3.3GHz and 8GB of memory and a SSD, it's plenty fast enough. I suppose I could try a different video card, but it shouldn't be necessary for a feature update.

Anyone have some insight into why RDP isn't working. I've already been through all the "guesses".   :-)

*Modified title for accuracy*

*Original title: Windows 10 1903 (May update) black screen with Remote Desktop*

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Internet and connectivity

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2019-07-14T03:31:57+00:00

Workaround reported here is to set the group policy to force RD sessions to use XDDM instead of WDDM:

Gpedit.msc: Computer Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->Remote Desktop Services->Remote Desktop Session Host->Remote Session Environment

Moderator's note:

If Group Policy method doesn't works, open administrative Command Prompt, type this, and press Enter key:

REG ADD “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services” /v “fEnableWddmDriver” /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Microsoft has also released update KB4512941, which addresses this issue:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4512941/windows-10-update-kb4512941

The update page mentions:

  • Addresses an issue that displays a black screen when you use Remote Desktop to connect to a machine running Windows 10, version 1903.

You can install KB4512941 and this would resolve the issue for you. 

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Anonymous
2019-05-30T19:52:43+00:00

In my case all Intel G41 drivers currently available, from Intel (2009), and from Microsoft (2013), showed black screen with RDP, even though they are Ok with the monitor connected to the PC.

So I've decided to use the "Microsoft Basic Graphics" driver, shown in the compatibility list when I tried to update the driver manually, and now RDP works.

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-06-20T09:54:46+00:00

    I tried 1903, but had to go back to 1809. Sometimes the 1903 boots successfully, but sometimes there's black screen while booting or resuming from sleep. Can't the 1903 just use the same settings that were used before sleep, reboot or shutdown? Or if it somehow forgets the settings, could it use some fail-safe settings and ask the user to choose the resolution instead of showing the black screen?

    My graphics card is ATI Radeon HD 4600 Series and I don't think its drivers are updated anymore.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-06-26T10:31:55+00:00

    I have the same issue here with 25 PCs actually, all totally different setups and graphic cards.

    Similar problem with TeamViewer, really annoying. At least with TV you can connect if the Screen of the remote PC is on. I guess we will have to wait for a fix.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-06-27T20:43:42+00:00

    I experienced this as well on two machines after installing 1903, with one additional wrinkle.

    1. On an HP 6000MT Pro with a Q45 chipset I also had an HD5450 video card on the most recent driver available.  I did not experience the black screen problem, however, the RDP session would disconnect and the HP would go to sleep after variable periods of time, between around 10 seconds and 5 minutes, even when active, and even if the HP was set not to sleep at all.  This made RDP unusable. Uninstalling the HD5450 video card left me with the Q45 driver and the unresponsive black screen.  Replacing the Q45 driver with the Basic Microsoft Driver fixed both the black screen problem and the unpredictable sleep problem.
    2. On a Dell 780 with a Q45 chipset I experienced the black screen problem but not the sleep problem.  Replacing the Q45 driver with the Basic Microsoft Driver fixed that too.

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