Visual Studio Code Showing "Blank Screen" on Startup and How to Fix It
Seeing a blank screen when starting Visual Studio Code is an issue that frustrates many developers.
This problem can occur due to several reasons, such as corrupted configuration files, extension conflicts, or hardware acceleration issues.
Here’s how to fix it: First, determine if extensions are causing the problem.
Launch VS Code in safe mode by running code --disable-extensions from the terminal.
If this resolves the issue, the blank screen is likely caused by a problematic extension.
Open VS Code without safe mode and disable all extensions.
Then, enable them one by one to identify the culprit.
Remove or update the problematic extension.
If extensions aren’t the issue, the problem might be with hardware acceleration.
Hardware acceleration is a feature that leverages your GPU for better performance, but it can sometimes cause rendering problems.
Disable it by opening the settings.json file and adding **disable-hardware-acceleration**: true.
Alternatively, you can launch VS Code with the flag --disable-gpu to temporarily disable hardware acceleration.
Next, check your VS Code configuration files.
Corrupted configuration files can prevent VS Code from rendering correctly.
Reset your settings by deleting the settings.json file located in your user directory under .vscode.
Don’t worry; VS Code will generate a new default file when restarted.
You should also check your display drivers.
Outdated or incompatible drivers can cause rendering issues in VS Code.
Update your graphics drivers to the latest version and restart your system.
On Windows, use Device Manager to check for updates, while macOS and Linux users can find updates through their respective system utilities.
Additionally, ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements for running VS Code.
Low system resources, such as insufficient RAM or CPU capacity, can cause the application to behave unexpectedly.
Close unnecessary applications to free up resources.
Lastly, reinstall VS Code if none of the above steps work.
Fully uninstall the application, including all related files in the .vscode and %AppData% directories.
Download the latest version from the official website and install it.
Following these steps should resolve the blank screen issue, allowing you to use VS Code without any interruptions.
