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ericbdg
ericbdg
Known Participant
August 22, 2026

After Effects crashes constantly, black screen and windows become unresponsive

  • August 22, 2026
  • 10 replies
  • 102 views

After Effects crashes constantly, black screen and windows become unresponsive.

This happens about last week. Everytime I scrub any file (jpg/png/mp4/vector) After effects lags down, black screen and unresponsive.

Other software I use does not experience this lag. I have updated the Graphic driver, no effects. I’ve changed the settings in AE, so far no effects.

My specs:

  • Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 155H (1.40 GHz)
  • 32.0 GB (31.4 GB usable)
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU (6 GB)
  • Intel(R) Arc(TM) Graphics (128 MB)
  • Storage: 668 GB of 954 GB used

Please suggest me what to do about this constant problem. I can’t use AE at all.

    10 replies

    ToolfarmJP
    Community Expert
    ToolfarmJPCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 26, 2026

    Would you also try to clear cache disk?

    Nishu Kushwaha
    Community Manager
    Nishu KushwahaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    August 24, 2026

    Hi ericbdg, before we jump to a fix, let's first check which GPU AE is actually using. Go to After Effects Preferences > Memory & CPU > click GPU Information. Does the dialog show your NVIDIA or the Intel Graphics?

    If it's showing the Intel Arc, that's very likely the cause of the crashes and black screens. Here's how to force AE to use the NVIDIA RTX 4050 instead:

    1. Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics > Add desktop app.

    2. Browse to AfterFX.exe (typically C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects [version]\Support Files\AfterFX.exe).

    3. Click on the AE entry that appears > Options > select High performance (NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU) > Save.

    4. Close and relaunch AE, then re-check the GPU Information dialog to confirm it's now showing the NVIDIA card.

    Also worth doing: make sure you're on NVIDIA's Studio driver rather than the Game Ready driver.

    If the above doesn't resolve it, please include your email address in the crash reporter the next time AE crashes and submit it. That lets us pull the exact crash log on our end.

    Let me know what the GPU Information dialog says.


    Thanks,

    Nishu

    ericbdg
    ericbdgAuthor
    Known Participant
    August 25, 2026

    Hi Nishu, 

    Thank you for the reply, I have checked and on the settings it shows AE is using Nvidia device:

    Graphics Card
    Vendor:    NVIDIA
    Device:    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
    Version:    13.300000
    Total Memory:    5.99609375 GB
    Draft 3D:    Available
     

    Graphic Driver version: 32.0.16.1088 (date: 27 July 2026)

    I’m currently reverting back to AE 2025, and it seems that the lagging and black screen problem is happening less (not totally gone), probably around 40-60 minutes before the next lag. But once I closed down AE, the computer usually gets back to speed again. 

    Let me know for any suggestions. 

    Regards,

     

    Erick S.

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