How to Fix a Black Screen on Windows: Step-by-Step TroubleshootingA black screen on Windows can be alarming, but in most cases it’s fixable. This guide walks you through a range of troubleshooting steps — from quick checks to deeper system repairs — ordered from simplest to more advanced. Follow the steps in sequence, and stop when the screen returns to normal.
Before you start: quick checks (do these first)
- Ensure power and connections are working. Check that the monitor is powered on, the power cable is firmly connected, and the display cable (HDMI/DisplayPort/DVI/VGA) is seated at both ends. If using a laptop, ensure the battery isn’t dead and the charger is plugged in.
- Try a different display or cable. Connect the PC to another monitor or TV, or swap cables to rule out a faulty cable or monitor.
- Look for signs of life. Listen for fans, hard drive activity, or Windows sounds. If everything is silent, the PC may not be powering up.
Step 1 — Determine whether this is hardware or software
- If the manufacturer logo or BIOS/UEFI screen appears briefly during startup, then the hardware is likely okay and the issue is probably with Windows or drivers.
- If the screen is black from the moment you power on and no BIOS/UEFI or POST messages appear, focus on hardware checks (power supply, GPU seating, RAM, monitor).
Step 2 — Force restart and try Safe Mode
- Hold the power button for 10–15 seconds to force shutdown.
- Power on. If Windows boots normally, the issue may be transient.
- If it still black-screens during boot, interrupt startup three times: power on, and as soon as Windows starts to load (spinner or logo), hold power to force shutdown. After three attempts Windows should enter Recovery Environment (WinRE).
- In WinRE choose Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart → press 4 to boot into Safe Mode (or 5 for Safe Mode with Networking).
Booting into Safe Mode disables third-party drivers and startup apps. If the display works in Safe Mode, the problem is likely a driver, recent update, or startup program.
Step 3 — Roll back or reinstall display drivers
If Safe Mode works:
- Open Device Manager (Win + X → Device Manager). Expand “Display adapters.”
- Right-click your GPU → Properties → Driver tab. If “Roll Back Driver” is available, use it to revert to the previous driver.
- If no roll back option or it doesn’t help, choose “Uninstall device.” Check “Delete the driver software for this device” if shown. Reboot — Windows will attempt to reinstall a generic driver.
- For a clean install, download the latest driver directly from your GPU maker (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel) using another PC if needed, and install it in normal mode after uninstalling the old driver.
Step 4 — Disable fast startup and check display settings
- Fast startup can cause display problems. In Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what the power buttons do → Change settings that are currently unavailable → uncheck “Turn on fast startup.” Reboot.
- If using multiple monitors, press Win + P and press the up/down arrow keys, then Enter to toggle projection modes (PC screen only / Duplicate / Extend / Second screen only).
Step 5 — Uninstall recent updates or software
- In WinRE go to Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Uninstall Updates. Try uninstalling the latest quality update first; if that doesn’t help, uninstall the latest feature update.
- In Safe Mode, open Settings → Apps and uninstall any recently installed apps or utilities, especially ones that modify display behavior (overclocking tools, third-party GPU utilities, virtual display software).
Step 6 — Run system checks and repair tools
- In Safe Mode or WinRE open Command Prompt and run:
sfc /scannowto repair corrupted system files. Then run:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth(If running from WinRE, use an offline image path as needed.)
- From WinRE use Startup Repair (Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Repair).
Step 7 — Check and reset graphics settings (for laptops)
- On laptops with hybrid graphics (integrated + discrete GPU), open the graphics control panel (Intel Graphics Command Center / NVIDIA Control Panel / AMD Radeon Settings) and set the integrated GPU as default to test.
- In Device Manager disable the discrete GPU temporarily to see if the integrated GPU can display.
Step 8 — Test RAM and storage
- Faulty RAM can cause boot/display failures. Reseat RAM sticks, try one stick at a time, or run Windows Memory Diagnostic (type mdsched in Run).
- Check storage health: use the manufacturer’s HDD/SSD diagnostic tools or run CHKDSK:
chkdsk C: /f /rYou may need to schedule it at next reboot.
Step 9 — Repair or reinstall Windows
- If none of the above fixes work, consider an in-place upgrade/repair install that keeps your files and apps:
- Download the Windows Media Creation Tool on another PC, create installation media, boot into Windows, run setup.exe from the media, and choose “Upgrade this PC now” or “Keep personal files and apps.”
- As a last resort, back up your files using a live USB or by connecting the drive to another PC, then perform a clean install.
Step 10 — Hardware-specific checks (desktop GPUs, laptop screens)
- Desktop GPU: reseat the GPU, try a different PCIe slot, ensure power connectors are attached, and test with the integrated GPU (remove discrete GPU temporarily).
- Laptop screen: connect an external monitor. If external works but internal doesn’t, the laptop display or its cable/inverter may be faulty. Replacing the panel or cable often fixes it.
Preventive tips
- Keep GPU drivers and Windows updated, but avoid installing drivers from non-official sources.
- Create system restore points before major updates or driver changes.
- Regularly back up important files.
Quick checklist (summary)
- Check power and cables.
- Try another monitor/cable.
- Boot Safe Mode.
- Roll back/uninstall/reinstall display drivers.
- Disable fast startup; toggle Win+P.
- Uninstall recent updates/apps.
- Run SFC, DISM, CHKDSK, Memory Diagnostic.
- Repair Windows or reinstall if needed.
- Test/replace hardware components if software fixes fail.
If you want, tell me the Windows version, whether this happens at boot or after login, and whether you’ve recently updated drivers or Windows — I’ll give targeted next steps.
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