Unexplained black screen using Windows 8

This may be why. Okay I just came across some new information that I think explains the random black screens I get sometimes in Windows 8. I've seen it trying to start Flight Simulator X for example. Makes sense since in Windows 7 starting FSX you always get message that aero has been temporarily disabled but not in Win8 because it's not possible to turn it off Application fails due to graphics and display issues Since Desktop Window Manager (DWM) is always on in Windows 8, some older Windows XP era apps can fail if the app uses mixed mode graphics APIs, as in using both GDI and DirectX APIs to draw to the screen (mostly older games), and tries to use full screen mode: DWM will prevent painting directly to the desktop and the game or app will either fail, or draw a black screen on to the desktop and none of the graphics will be visible In such cases, when the app quits, Windows detects that the app or game has a problem with full screen mode, and applies the DXMAXIMIZEDWINDOWEDMODE compatibility mode that allows the app or game to run in a maximized windowed mode instead of a full screen mode.