"StarCraft" players may encounter a black screen on launch.
"StarCraft" and its expansion, "Brood War," released by Blizzard Entertainment in 1998, is a real-time strategy game. As expected, graphical glitches abound for players attempting to run an older game on many modern computer systems. In order to prevent a black screen during launch or in the middle of gameplay, install the latest patch data, update your hardware drivers and operating system, and close all background applications prior to playing.
"StarCraft" and its expansion, "Brood War," must be updated to the most recent patch data for play on modern computer systems. If your installation is not up to date, visit Blizzard.com for links to the game's most recent patch downloads. If you are reinstalling the game on a new computer, perform a digital installation from your Battle.net account. The digital download and install contains the game's most recent version, including all necessary patch data.
Outdated hardware drivers cause various audio and graphical glitches within "StarCraft." A black screen is often indicative of outdated video card or sound drivers. Correcting the glitch is as simple as updating these vital system drivers. If you experience black screens during LAN-based or Battle.net play, also update your network card drivers. Consult your hardware manufacturer's website or documentation for driver update information specific to your hardware.
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Operating system updates are a vital part of PC health. If you do not update your operating system, then it will gradually slow down, develop hardware and software compatibility issues, and possibly increase your risk for obtaining a virus. Even with "StarCraft" being listed as a legacy title, your operating system must be updated to ensure proper communication with the game and the system hardware. Open Internet Explorer, if you are not already using it, and visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com to ensure your system is up to date.
"StarCraft" does not use a lot of system resources, but it might help if you close unnecessary programs and services that are running in the background. Not only does this free up space and memory allocation, but it also improves the overall gaming performance and reduces the risk of a sudden black screen. Blizzard advises to run the game in "Selective Startup," but if this is not possible, then manually turn off background processes. Visit Blizzard.com for detailed instructions on shutting down background applications and enhancing the game's performance.
