Nvidia has stepped in with an emergency solution for a persistent problem plaguing RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti users. The company has released a specialized firmware update to address widespread black screen issues that occur when systems restart, marking another chapter in the RTX 50 series' troubled launch history.
Affected Hardware:
- RTX 5060 (GB206 silicon)
- RTX 5060 Ti (GB206 silicon)
- Older motherboards without full UEFI support
The Core Problem and Its Impact
The black screen issue specifically affects users during system reboots, leaving them unable to see their display output. This problem appears to stem from communication conflicts between Nvidia's vBIOS and the system's BIOS or UEFI firmware. The issue is particularly pronounced on older motherboards that may not fully support modern UEFI boot modes, creating compatibility gaps that result in display failures.
What makes this situation particularly frustrating is that the problem only manifests during specific scenarios - primarily when restarting the system. Users report that their RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti cards work normally during regular operation but fail to display anything when the computer reboots, effectively trapping them in a cycle where they cannot access their system.
Targeted Solution Through vBIOS Update
Rather than addressing this through traditional driver updates, Nvidia has chosen to release a firmware update that modifies the GPU's vBIOS directly. This approach suggests the problem runs deeper than software-level compatibility issues and requires fundamental changes to how the graphics card initializes during system startup.
The company has been very specific about who should install this update. Nvidia strongly recommends that only users actively experiencing black screen problems during reboot should apply the firmware. This cautious approach reflects the inherent risks associated with firmware updates - an interrupted or failed vBIOS update can permanently damage the graphics card, effectively bricking the hardware.
Installation Requirements:
- Download: NVIDIA GPU UEFI Firmware Update Tool v2.0
- Close all applications before running
- Ensure no pending OS updates
- Only install if experiencing black screen issues
Installation Challenges and Workarounds
The catch-22 situation is obvious: users need to access their operating system to install the firmware update, but the black screen issue prevents them from doing so. Nvidia has provided several workarounds to help users gain temporary access to their systems. These include completely powering down the system before booting, ensuring the latest motherboard BIOS is installed, switching to UEFI boot mode instead of Legacy/CSM, or using alternative graphics sources like integrated graphics or a secondary graphics card.
Once users manage to boot successfully, they must download Nvidia's GPU UEFI Firmware Update Tool v2.0 and follow the installation process carefully. The company emphasizes closing all applications and ensuring no operating system updates are pending before running the firmware update tool.
Workarounds for Installation:
- Completely power down system before booting
- Update to latest motherboard BIOS
- Switch to UEFI boot mode (disable Legacy/CSM)
- Use integrated graphics or secondary GPU for display
- Wait for OS to fully load before running firmware tool
Broader Context of RTX 50 Series Issues
This firmware fix represents just one solution in a series of problems that have plagued Nvidia's RTX 50 series launch. The graphics cards have faced stability and compatibility issues since their release, with the problematic R570 driver branch affecting not only the new RTX 50 series but also older RTX 20, 30, and 40 series cards. It took Nvidia several weeks to address most of these issues with the subsequent 576.02 driver update.
Hardware-Specific Nature of the Problem
Interestingly, this black screen issue appears to be isolated to the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti models, both of which are based on the GB206 silicon. Other RTX 50 series cards using different chip architectures remain unaffected, suggesting that specific design changes or optimizations in the GB206 silicon may have introduced this compatibility problem with certain motherboard configurations.
The targeted nature of this issue raises questions about the validation process for these specific GPU models and whether sufficient testing was conducted across diverse motherboard and BIOS configurations before launch. For users experiencing these problems, the firmware update represents a necessary fix, but it also highlights the ongoing challenges Nvidia faces in ensuring broad compatibility across the diverse PC hardware ecosystem.