Black Screen on Remote Client Software with Intel® NUCs

Documentation

Troubleshooting

000006725

01/22/2024

What are you seeing?

  • A black screen on the remote client software when connecting remotely to an Intel® NUC.
  • Computer doesn't appear to start if a display isn't connected.

Why are you seeing it?

Intel® NUC products use processors and Intel® HD Graphics that are targeted for mobile devices such as laptops or tablets. These types of processors expect that a display is always going to be present. If you run the Intel NUC without a monitor (known as headless mode), a black screen can result on the remote client software.

How to fix it

Download and install the latest graphics driver for your Intel NUC from Download Center.

While we believe we addressed this issue with driver updates, we haven't tested all remote access applications. If you continue to see black screens in remote sessions, try these workarounds:

  • Enable Display Emulation in BIOS. To learn more about this feature and support products, go to Display Emulation article.
  • Enable a VGA display in Windows*:
    1. Right-click on the Windows Desktop and select Screen resolution.
    2. Select the Detect button.
    3. Click the option Another display not detected.
    4. From the Multiple displays list, select Try to connect anyway on: VGA.
    5. Click Apply. Then, click OK.
    6. Shut down the Intel NUC. Remove the HDMI or DisplayPort cable, then boot the system without the display connected.
    7. Connect to the Intel NUC with the remote access software.
  • Use a different remote access software, such as Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection* or 2X RDP Client*. 
  • Uninstall the Intel® Graphics Driver from the Intel NUC and use the basic Windows* graphics driver instead.
  • Plug an Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) emulator into a graphics port on the Intel NUC. Some customers have reported success with devices like Fit-Headless*, VGA Dummy*, or Dr. HDMI*.