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Fix

Laptop is on but the screen is black

Step 1 of 3

Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B

This wakes up the screen. You may hear a beep and the screen may flash.

  1. Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B

    This wakes up the screen. You may hear a beep and the screen may flash.

    WindowsCtrlShiftB

  2. Turn up the brightness

    Press the key with a sun icon on the top row. On some laptops, hold Fn at the same time.

    Fn☀ +

  3. Restart by holding the power button

    Hold the power button for 10 seconds until it turns off, then press it once to start again.

    Still black? Try connecting a monitor or TV, or take it to a repair shop.
Technician fixes (advanced)

The simple steps didn’t help? A technician would try these next, in this order. Stop as soon as the problem is fixed. Commands marked “as administrator”: right-click Start › Terminal (Admin).

  1. Decide: is the laptop on, or is only the screen dark?

    Caps Lock light toggles when pressed, fan spins, power light on → the laptop runs and only the picture is missing. No lights at all → it is a power problem, see “Laptop won’t turn on”. Shine a torch at the screen at an angle: a very faint picture means the backlight has failed (repair shop).

  2. Test with an external monitor

    Connect a TV or monitor via HDMI and press Win + P › Duplicate. Picture on the TV → the laptop screen, its cable or backlight is faulty. No picture anywhere → Windows or the graphics driver; continue below.

  3. Start in Safe Mode

    Turn the laptop on and hold the power button to force it off as soon as the Windows logo appears; do this 3 times. Windows opens Automatic Repair › Advanced options › Troubleshoot › Advanced options › Startup Settings › Restart › press 4. Safe Mode uses a basic graphics driver: if the screen works there, the graphics driver is the cause.

    Forcing the power off is only for reaching repair mode; don’t do it during updates.

  4. In Safe Mode: remove the graphics driver

    Device Manager › Display adapters › right-click the graphics card › Uninstall device › (tick “Attempt to remove the driver”) › restart normally. Windows starts with a basic driver; then install the right one from the laptop maker’s site. If a Windows update caused it: Settings › Windows Update › Update history › Uninstall updates.

  5. Power reset (embedded controller)

    Unplug the charger and all USB devices, then hold the power button for 30–60 seconds. This empties leftover power and resets the chip that controls the screen and keyboard. Plug the charger back in and start. On laptops with a removable battery, take the battery out first.

Technical details (for the curious)

Why Win + Ctrl + Shift + B helps

This shortcut restarts the graphics driver. A black screen after sleep or after unplugging a monitor is often a “stuck” graphics driver.

Black screen with a pointer

If you can see the pointer, Windows is running but the desktop (Explorer) is stuck. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, then in Task Manager right-click Windows Explorer › Restart.

Test with an external screen

Plug in a monitor or TV via HDMI and press Win + P. If the picture appears there, the laptop screen or its cable is faulty, not Windows. If it doesn’t, try Safe Mode or update the graphics driver.

Coming soon

Still not fixed?

In the next update you can tell us what happened, and our AI helper will suggest another way. Until then, restart the device and go through the steps once more.