Claude Desktop goes blank on Windows, requires Task Manager to kill all processes before app can reopen #49551

Description

The Claude Desktop app screen goes completely blank during use. Once blank, the app cannot be closed normally or reopened — all claude.exe processes must be manually ended via Windows Task Manager before the app will launch again.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 Pro (10.0.22631)
• App: Claude Desktop (Windows)
• First noticed: After model update on April 16, 2026

Steps to reproduce

1. Use Claude Desktop normally
2. Screen goes blank (no apparent trigger — seems intermittent)
3. Attempt to close and reopen app — new window also blank or app won't launch
4. Must open Task Manager → end all claude.exe processes → reopen app

Expected behavior

App recovers gracefully or can be restarted without Task Manager intervention.

Related issues

• Claude Desktop renders blank screen due to Electron cache corruption (recurring, Windows) #38014 — Electron cache corruption (blank screen, recurring)
• [BUG] App intermittently goes permanently blank/white during active session — no crash logged, no recovery #44558 — Intermittent blank screen during active session
• BUG] Claude Desktop shows white/blank screen after Windows Hibernate with external monitor #21803 — Blank screen after Windows Hibernate
• [BUG] Claude Desktop renders black screen when Windows HDR is enabled (MSIX GPU flag limitation, unresolved since Feb 2026) #45031 — HDR rendering blank screen

Notes

Workaround: delete %APPDATA%/Claude/Cache, Code Cache, and GPUCache folders, then restart. This is a recurring pattern across multiple reports — flagging as a new data point tied to the April 2026 model update rollout.