ism.dll leading to black screens and driver crashes in CoD/Cyberpunk
ism.dll leading to black screens and driver crashes in CoD/Cyberpunk
Two crashes have occurred, either the Nvidia Driver fails completely or DWM causes a black screen and recovery. This has only happened while playing CoD or MW, or when Reliability Manager provided more details instead of just reporting a DWM crash. So far, it’s mentioned that an ism.dll fault appears. Online sources suggest a fresh Windows installation, but I’m concerned about the installer itself. It hasn’t been my PC for two months, and I haven’t made any unusual changes. If I must reinstall Windows, it suggests the Microsoft installer might be faulty and broke during the first setup. Recently, I replaced my EVGA G5 850w with a Corsair RMX 850w power supply after blaming the PSU for this problem.
Discovered another discussion about new Xbox Series X controllers causing problems. Each crash occurred when using a series X controller. Updated the Xbox Accessories app—hope it resolves the issue. Microsoft, if it works, thank you. P.S. Update from June 27, 2021: The problem was fixed after updating the controller firmware.
I joined the forum to share that I experienced similar problems—screen blackouts while playing games in both The Elder Scrolls Online and Minecraft. In the first case, TES: Online handled the issue well, but in Minecraft it would freeze the app. I spent a lot of time trying to fix it: reinstalling Minecraft, updating drivers, resetting Windows, cleaning dust. My worries were high—my graphics card might be failing and I could face costly repairs. While troubleshooting, I found error logs in Event Viewer that matched the symptoms. One entry stood out: a process exit with details about my graphics card. That led me to search online and discovered a relevant discussion. It wasn’t until I bought a new Xbox controller that I realized the connection. I downloaded the Xbox Accessories app and updated the controller firmware. Since then, I haven’t seen any glitches or crashes. Thank you for creating this thread—it saved me from an unnecessary purchase and stress. Appreciate your help! And yes, I’m glad you agree—“Yikes, Microsoft!”