Chrome Displaying Grey Screen After Opening Tabs

[SpencerCoe]

I have an HP 17 Laptop that I've been using for about three years. Today, out of nowhere, it began acting strange - when I open Google Docs, E-mail, or my college's student portal, the page loads in for a split second and then displays a grey screen as though it's buffering or still attempting to load in.

I've tried clearing my browsing data and cache, I've done a full restart, and I've checked for updates (there are none). I have not dropped the laptop, spilled anything on it, or done anything else that would reasonably lead to damage.

Any ideas?

[Deep_World]

Hi @SpencerCoe,
 
Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

I Understand your concern about Display issue , don’t worry let me help you with this.

To better understand the issue, could you please provide a few more details?

• Does the grey screen appear only in Chrome, or do other browsers (like Edge or Firefox) show the same issue?
• Does it happen only with certain sites (Docs, Email, student portal), or with any webpage you open?
• Have you noticed if the issue occurs when multiple tabs are open, or even with just one?

Here are a few troubleshooting steps you can try in the meantime:

• Disable Hardware Acceleration in Chrome:
  1. Open Chrome settings.
  2. Go to System.
  3. Turn off Use hardware acceleration when available.
  4. Restart Chrome.
• Check Extensions:
  Sometimes extensions can cause display issues. Try opening Chrome in Incognito Mode or disable extensions temporarily to see if the problem persists.
• Reset Chrome Settings:
  In Chrome settings, scroll down to Reset settings → Restore settings to their original defaults. This won’t delete your bookmarks but will reset configurations.
• Test Another Browser:
  Open the same sites in Microsoft Edge or Firefox. If they work fine there, the issue is likely isolated to Chrome.
• Update Graphics Drivers:
  Since this is a display-related issue, outdated drivers can sometimes cause grey screens. You can check for updates via Device Manager → Display adapters.

If the issue continues after these steps, it may help to know whether the grey screen appears outside of Chrome (like in other apps), which could point to a broader graphics or system issue.

I hope this helps.