Skyrim randomly minimizes to desktop.

[PerfectRa1n]

Skyrim randomly minimizes itself, or even silently crashes to my desktop. I have looked at many different sites and similar questions, but I cannot find a proper solution. I have no other notifications that force Skyrim to minimize, this computer is two weeks old, and Skyim is the only problem on my steam.

My Specs (Let me know if I forget something that I should have included):
AMD Radeon 270X
16 GB of RAM
i7-4820K CPU @ 3.70GHz
64-bit operating system and x64 based processor

 

[ImOblivious]

I'm running a Vanilla Skyrim. It displays no error messages. I just discovered that I forgot to install the drivers for my display. Perhaps that was the villain behind all of this.

Haha, yes :lol:. Forgetting to install drivers can lead some some issues. If the problem persists, let us know.

 

[PerfectRa1n]

Or maybe not. The driver *installed* instantly off of the disc. So I went and checked under Dell drivers and the file hadn't been updated for a month (If I'm looking under the correct file path.). So maybe I didn't forget to install it. I can't wipe it either, Alienware does not send the Windows disc. I feel like my hands are tied, and that the only thing I can do is hope that it doesn't crash.

 

[ImOblivious]

Or maybe not. The driver *installed* instantly off of the disc. So I went and checked under Dell drivers and the file hadn't been updated for a month (If I'm looking under the correct file path.). So maybe I didn't forget to install it. I can't wipe it either, Alienware does not send the Windows disc. I feel like my hands are tied, and that the only thing I can do is hope that it doesn't crash.

Have you tried disabling McAfee or adding Skyrim to the list of exceptions and then launching? Perhaps run the game as Administrator and see if that helps.

 

[Andrew Buck]

Or maybe not. The driver *installed* instantly off of the disc. So I went and checked under Dell drivers and the file hadn't been updated for a month (If I'm looking under the correct file path.). So maybe I didn't forget to install it. I can't wipe it either, Alienware does not send the Windows disc. I feel like my hands are tied, and that the only thing I can do is hope that it doesn't crash.

The drivers on the disk are most likely pretty outdated.

 

[PerfectRa1n]

Yes I've tried both with McAfee. I'll try disabling it again and running it as administrator. The drivers on the disk are actually current, I just checked on Dell's website.

 

[Andrew Buck]

Yes I've tried both with McAfee. I'll try disabling it again and running it as administrator. The drivers on the disk are actually current, I just checked on Dell's website.

Alright, try windows updates.

 

[PerfectRa1n]

I just did two solid playthroughs with 4 hours in total. I installed any missing display driver programs, or whatever overlord Dell tells me to install for this display. I also ran it as an administrator. No problems whatsoever. I looks like things are taking a turn for the better. Could V-Sync have caused problems between Skyrim and the monitor itself?

 

[Andrew Buck]

I just did two solid playthroughs with 4 hours in total. I installed any missing display driver programs, or whatever overlord Dell tells me to install for this display. I also ran it as an administrator. No problems whatsoever. I looks like things are taking a turn for the better. Could V-Sync have caused problems between Skyrim and the monitor itself?

Maybe so. VSync isn't always the best option.

 

[ImOblivious]

I just did two solid playthroughs with 4 hours in total. I installed any missing display driver programs, or whatever overlord Dell tells me to install for this display. I also ran it as an administrator. No problems whatsoever. I looks like things are taking a turn for the better. Could V-Sync have caused problems between Skyrim and the monitor itself?

Not necessarily, V-sync just syncs pixels to prevent screen tearing. I've never heard of it causing games to crash unless you're using beta drivers. Make sure your display and GPU drivers are up to date. If you're not able to run the game outside of admin mode, let us know.

 

[PerfectRa1n]

I installed a bunch of display programs and a load of drivers for it off of Dell's website. No problems since. I'll post here if it happens again, but it hasn't in 8+ hours of gameplay.

 

[Andrew Buck]

I installed a bunch of display programs and a load of drivers for it off of Dell's website. No problems since. I'll post here if it happens again, but it hasn't in 8+ hours of gameplay.

That's good I hope it stays that way. Glad to help.

 

[numanator]

Did you install the R9 270x drivers from AMD's website? That is always the best place to get the most recent drivers (I usually don't get the beta drivers).

 

[PerfectRa1n]

Yes I did. In all honesty, I've installed and uninstalled them 4 times to make sure that the graphics card software wasn't the problem. I installed it again a few days ago.

 

[numanator]

Haha, ok just making sure

 

[PerfectRa1n]

Yep no problem! Thanks to everyone again 🙂