[Solved] MZ won't start (white screen) after moving to a 2nd monitor

[Dawsmead]

I accidentally moved the RP Maker MZ app to a second monitor while it was opened, and it immediately crashed. When I try to start the app, it displays the splash art but then nothing else. Looking at the app on my tool bar, the app is a white screen, and when I click on the app icon it tries to pop up to the 2nd monitor but nothing appears.

I looked through some old posts and seems like some people had this issue before. Things I've tried so far:
1. Windows key + Shift + left arrow: nothing happens.
2. Unplug the 2nd monitor: the app still tries to pop up to the right where my 2nd monitor is, even after I unplugged the 2nd one.
3. Update driver directly from NVidia website.
4. Uninstall RPG maker from Steam, clear download cache, re-install.

So far nothing has worked. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Andar]

yes, MV and MZ cannot initialize on a second monitor - and Windows remembers that in the registry even if you deinstall it.

Solution:
Shut down your computer
physically disconnect the second monitor
boot up and start MZ
move the window a tiny bit for the new position to be stored
shutdown, reconnect the second monitor, boot up again.

It should now work again

 

[ATT_Turan]

Unplugging the second monitor should force everything to open on the remaining screen (just turning it off wouldn't, but unplugging should).

You can also try: right-click on the application's icon in your taskbar, then press Alt+Space bar. That should force it to maximize on the primary screen.

 

[Dawsmead]

yes, MV and MZ cannot initialize on a second monitor - and Windows remembers that in the registry even if you deinstall it.

Solution:
Shut down your computer
physically disconnect the second monitor
boot up and start MZ
move the window a tiny bit for the new position to be stored
shutdown, reconnect the second monitor, boot up again.

It should now work again

Tried this step-by-step, unfortunately it doesn't work. Even with only one monitor physically connected, the MZ app still tries to maximize to the right side of that only screen when I click on it. So I can't actually see the app on the only screen, and can't move the window.

I found some old posts where people did fix their white screen problem by unplugging, but also a couple of posts where this didn't work (I looked around for like 2 hrs before posting this). I think it might have smth to do with the fact that I'm on a desktop PC instead of a laptop, so there are no default integrated screen. Just a guess.

If the monitor preference is stored in the registry, I'll try to find and delete all registry entries related to RPGmaker. Will post an update if this works.

 

[Dawsmead]

Unplugging the second monitor should force everything to open on the remaining screen

I read that in some older posts too, and I've tried every variant of this I can think of: physically unplug, plug in the only monitor in a different port, switch around which monitor is the main one, start the app then unplug... unfortunately nothing has worked. The app always tries to maximize to another screen, even if there's only one screen connected to my PC.

right-click on the application's icon in your taskbar, then press Alt+Space bar.

Nothing seems to happen, even when I tested this on a different working app? When I right-click on the app's icon in the taskbar, a menu pops up for "pin to taskbar" and "close window" options; and then nothing happens when I press Alt + Space.

 

[ATT_Turan]

Try pressing X after. Alt+Space opens the window settings menu of the currently selected window, then if you can't see that menu, X is the hotkey for Maximize.

 

[Arthran]

I read that in some older posts too, and I've tried every variant of this I can think of: physically unplug, plug in the only monitor in a different port, switch around which monitor is the main one, start the app then unplug... unfortunately nothing has worked. The app always tries to maximize to another screen, even if there's only one screen connected to my PC.


Nothing seems to happen, even when I tested this on a different working app? When I right-click on the app's icon in the taskbar, a menu pops up for "pin to taskbar" and "close window" options; and then nothing happens when I press Alt + Space.

Rather than right clicking, try left clicking. Alternatively, you could alt + tab and choose RPG Maker MZ. The important thing is that you designate RPG Maker MZ as the currently focused application. After that, Alt + Spacebar, and either choose "Maximize" or press X.

 

[Andar]

If the second monitor problem were the only problem, then my steps above should have solved it, as well as some of the other instructions.

Since that didn't work I think that there are two or more problems interfering with each other.
But the only other thing I can think of would need a further clarification of

3. Update driver directly from NVidia website.

Was that a setup you downloaded, or did you point the internal windows updater at the driver?

If you go into the device manager, display card, is there one or two display cards listed?

If you doubleclick the NVidia card, the first page should list NVidia as the manufacturer.
But if you switch to the driver tab, is that one also made by NVidia or does it list Microsoft as the programmer (ignore the signature part, that is always Microsoft)?

 

[TheAM-Dol]

So if the application is actually open (and not crashed) when it opens, hold the windows key and continually press the arrow key towards your primary monitor. Typically people do a left-to-right configuration, so I presume your primary monitor is on your left and the secondary is on your right. If that is the case, press left arrow key to move it towards the primary monitor. If your monitors are in a different configuration, be sure to press the correct arrow key that will move the application towards the primary monitor. It really shouldn't take more than 4 presses to get the application to snap to a visible location. If it doesn't snap to a visible location, then the application may be continuing to crash and is being unresponsive.
(it's unlikely that unplugging your monitor would NOT make your single monitor the primary display, but it might also be worth checking which monitor Windows is assigning as your primary monitor and making sure your are unplugging the one Windows declares to be the secondary monitor.)

In which case, if Andar is correct about the registry key saving the application location, then you could manually edit the registry and remove the key. This might be difficult to do, however, if you don't know what key to look for. You might need to Google it. Don't go deleting things willy-nilly in the registry if you are not 100% confident about what files to delete.
Alternatively, some apps can do total uninstalls of applications. These apps not only uninstall the software, but any registry keys associated with it and any caches or app data the software created. You can use one of these softwares to remove RPG Maker. They shouldn't delete project folders, but to be safe, make sure to back up your project in a safe location before doing so.
Iirc, I think one software I use to use many, many years ago was called Rever Uninstaller. Not sure if it's still around or if it even does what I think I remember it doing.
You can also use CCleaner - I hate what this software has become, becoming nagware and bloated (I used it for so many years before it became the awful piece of freeware it has become today). I believe it has a total Uninstaller for apps and it can also remove unused registry keys. So use it to uninstall RPGMaker (make a back up of your project), then restart your computer. Next use the registry tool to clean up unused registry keys. After you have completed that, remove CCleaner from your computer.

 

[Dawsmead]

If the second monitor problem were the only problem, then my steps above should have solved it, as well as some of the other instructions.

Everything was running perfectly well, until I accidentally dragged RPG Maker to my 2nd screen.

Based on the old posts I read, seems like most people fixed this by unplugging the 2nd monitor. However, I did find two posts where the same fix was suggested, but did not work; I think one of the OPs ended up resetting the whole OS to fix it, which I REALLY hope I don't need to do...

Was that a setup you downloaded, or did you point the internal windows updater at the driver?

I went to the NVidia official site, searched for my graphics card, and then downloaded and installed the latest driver. I only have one display card, and the "Driver Provider" line says "NVIDIA".

 

[Dawsmead]

So if the application is actually open (and not crashed) when it opens, hold the windows key and continually press the arrow key towards your primary monitor.

If I have 2 screens connected and tries to open the app, the app pops up on the 2nd screen as a blank white window, and almost immediately become irresponsive.

If I only plug in the primary screen, then the blank window does not actually show up on the screen (only the splash art appears); when I click on the app from the taskbar to maximize it, it shows a brief animation of a blank window popping up towards the right edge of the screen (my 2nd monitor, when connected, is to the right of my primary). Then the app became irresponsive.

The SHIFT + Windows + Arrow shortcut to move apps between monitors does not seem to function when there's only one monitor plugged in (which does make sense). I also tried that when I have 2 monitors plugged in, but it didn't appear to have any effect.

So use it to uninstall RPGMaker (make a back up of your project), then restart your computer. Next use the registry tool to clean up unused registry keys. After you have completed that, remove CCleaner from your computer.

I'll try this! Yeah messing with registry keys by myself seems very risky and I'll probably leave that as a last resort.

 

[TheAM-Dol]

The SHIFT + Windows + Arrow shortcut to move apps between monitors does not seem to function when there's only one monitor plugged in

No, it's not shift + windows + arrow keys. That will move the whole window to the other monitor. There are snap zones in Windows for snapping windows to, regardless of whether you use 1 monitor, 2, or 100, it doesn't matter, the snap zones were added with Win8 (iirc, if not 7). Do not press shift.
Press Windows + the arrow key that is towards your monitor. This will move the window to an available snap zone. Across 2 monitors pressing left or right there are 6 possible zones: Monitor 1; left, center, right, Monitor 2; left, center, right. By the fourth arrow press the window should definitely have snapped to your visible screen space. If it didn't then the software may be unresponsive (which is not surprising since it crashed on the second screen anyways) in which case, you can start messing with registry and stuff. But try the easier solution first.

edit:
also, plug in your second monitor again, go to display settings, and double check which monitor is being assigned as your primary monitor. Make sure Windows didn't do anything funny when you unplug your second monitor.

 

[Andar]

OK, more research needed.

Can you tell us what exactly you see when you shutdown the computer, disconnect the second monitor and start the maker after rebooting with a single monitor?
Perhaps even with a screenshot how the programs look in the taskbar?

 

[Dawsmead]

So I managed to fix the problem today... still not 100% sure why it worked, but I'll just leave my fix here in case anyone else having the same issue find this post.

I've tried every method mentioned above (huge thanks to everyone that gave suggestions). Seems that unplugging the 2nd monitor and restarting the computer fixed this issue for a lot of people, but in case you're unlucky (like me) and that doesn't work:

1. Restart the computer with only one monitor plugged in.
2. Open RPG Maker.
3. In pure frustration, spam Alt + Spacebar keys multiple times, until the app appears on your main monitor. Do NOT click on the RPG maker icon on the taskbar.

You'll have to do this after a fresh restart, and do Step 3 as soon as you launch the RPG Maker app and see the splash art.

Some explanations: This fix does not work if the app is irresponsive ("(not responding)" will be added to the app's name). In the first launch after a fresh restart, the app seems to hang on for about 5 seconds before becoming irresponsive, and you'll need to do Step 3 in that 5 seconds. If you close the app and relaunch without restarting the computer, the app will almost immediately becomes irresponsive. Clicking on the taskbar icon, maximizing or minimizing the window also seem to kill the app, so don't touch anything other than Alt + Spacebar.

Pressing Alt + Spacebar only once also doesn't seem to work. The app finally moved back to my main screen after I spammed Alt +Spacebar for about 10 times.

 

[slimmmeiske2]

This thread is being closed, due to being solved. If for some reason you would like this thread re-opened, please report this post and leave a message why. Thank you.