How to fix
YouTube green screen error
on Windows

When I play YouTube video, after a few seconds it gets stuck, and I see only a green screen on the player. How can I fix this problem?

YouTube[ref en-2] green screen error is similar to black screen error. However, this issue is usually reported by Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users who access YouTube.com using Internet Explorer web browser. However, the same problem might emerge when using other versions of the operating system too.

Additionally, YouTube green screen issue was reported on Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and other web browsers. Therefore, it’s not related to some Internet Explorer bugs. The main reasons why this error shows up are:

• driver-related problems which can be solved by updating[ref en-3] or reinstalling drivers;
• enabled hardware acceleration settings in web browsers;
• crashed or frozen web browser.

This error might prevent from watching videos on the popular sharing and streaming platform. While some users can hear an audio playing in the background, others cannot see or hear anything. In some cases, web browsers tend to crash due to the green screen error.

Fortunately, you can find YouTube green screen error quite easily. This issue is usually related to driver problems. Thus, instead of blaming YouTube, you should check your graphics drivers and browser’s settings.

Two ways to deal with YouTube green screen error

Google support offers two methods that can help to fix YouTube green screen error. Thus, you should try them out. However, if they do not help, you should try changing the web browser, installing available updates, changing display settings or streamed video quality.

Option 1. Disable hardware acceleration

Disabling hardware acceleration is one of the methods provided by Google. The steps differ based on your used web browser.

Internet Explorer users can turn off hardware acceleration via Internet Options:

1. In Windows search, enter Internet Options and click on the first search result.
2. Open Advanced tab.
3. Under Accelerated graphics section mark the tick near Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering* box.
   

   

4. Click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

Mozilla Firefox users should follow these steps:

1. Open Firefox and access menu.
2. Go to Preferences and navigate to General section.
3. Scroll down until you see Performance section.
4. Remove the ticks from Use recommended performance settings (and Use hardware acceleration when available, if available) box.
   

   

5. Close settings and check if YouTube green screen error was removed.

Google Chrome[ref en-1] users can disable this feature by following these steps:

1. Open Chrome and click on menu.
2. Navigate to Settings.
3. When in Settings, scroll down until you see Advanced option.
4. When in Advanced section, find System section and turn off Use hardware acceleration when available feature.
   

   

5. Restart the browser.

Option 2. Update graphics driver

1. Find Device Manager app via Windows search and open it.
   

   

2. Find your graphics drivers and right-click on each entry.
3. Choose Update Driver Option.
4. Select Search automatically for updated driver software.
5. Windows should update the drivers automatically. However, if OS cannot find the new driver, you should look up for the necessary drivers on the manufacturer's website and follow their provided installation guidelines.

Additionally, you can try to reinstall the driver.[ref en-4] In step 2 choose Uninstall option instead of Update. Then reboot the computer and Windows should install the missing driver automatically.