How to Remove Black Bars on the Sides of Your Screen

Black bars on the sides of the screen can appear for several reasons, and fortunately, there are multiple ways to resolve this issue. These bars often result from incorrect screen resolution settings, mismatched aspect ratios, or graphics card driver settings. Here are some effective methods to eliminate black bars on the sides of your screen.

Check Your Screen Resolution Settings

Often, black bars appear when the screen resolution does not match your monitor’s specifications. To fix this:

• Right-click on your desktop and select “Display Settings”.
• In the “Resolution” section, choose the recommended resolution for your monitor.

Adjusting to the recommended resolution should remove the black bars if the resolution fits the physical dimensions of your screen.

Adjust the Aspect Ratio

Some videos and games may display with black bars if the aspect ratio doesn’t align with your screen. You can usually adjust this in the video player’s settings or the game’s options menu. Select “Fullscreen Mode” or an aspect ratio that matches your display to eliminate the bars.

Configure Your Graphics Card Driver

Your graphics card drivers can also contribute to black bars. Here’s how to adjust this:

• Open your graphics card control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Catalyst Control Center).
• Navigate to the display settings and find the scaling options.
• Set the scaling mode to “Fullscreen” or choose “GPU Scaling” to stretch the image.

Update Your Graphics Card Drivers

Outdated drivers may cause display issues. Visit your graphics card manufacturer’s official website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) to download the latest drivers, which can help resolve such issues.