Laptop blank screen issues have now become a common phenomena. Most of the users face this issue frequently. Laptop Screen blackout issues can easily be rectified by doing a simple restart. However it doesn’t work all the time!. Blank screen error occurs due to multiple reasons. Here, we have listed out the possible reasons and the solutions for blank screen error problems.
Reasons for the laptop screen blackout
- Laptop doesn’t boot up the driver when waking up from sleep mode
- Lose connection in the hinge of the laptop.
- Using unsupported chargers is also a common reason.
- Last change in software and hardware like recently installed software or recently added hard drive like pendrive.
- Error in display driver may cause this which can be rectified by just updating the driver
- Incompatible recent OS updates can also be a reason behind this.
- In-compatible or old version of display driver being used.
- Corrupted Graphics card.
- Backlight failure in LCD.
Solutions for fixing the blank screen error
- Restarting the Laptop. Sounds simple yet an effective solution.
- Starting the laptop in a safe mode.
- Going to BIOS mode and starting the laptop. Starting the laptop in BIOS may result in loss of recently saved data or recently installed app. If there is no important data in your laptop you can proceed with this method.
- Updating the drivers / OS.
Sometimes fixing the laptop blank screen error may be as complicated as
- Replacing the display cable.
- Replacing a few display components.
- Sometimes replacing the whole display.
There are few simple fixes available which can rectify the Blank screen error. The common fixes are explained below.
Switch on your laptop and check if you can hear the fans and hard drive working, but only your screen remains blank. In this case,
- Restart the laptop by following steps below
a. Disconnect any cables including the power cable.
b. Press and hold the power button until the laptop turns off.
c. If your laptop has a removable battery, the press and release the battery latch and remove the battery and keep the batter aside.
d. Now connect to the power source and turn on the laptop by pressing the power button.
e. If the laptop turns on then switch off the laptop and slide the battery and use the laptop. If the above fix didn’t work, follow the step 2 below
- Connect the laptop to an external monitor.
a. Disconnect any cables including the power cable.
b. Switch off the laptop and remove the battery and connect the power source and switch on the laptop.
c. This step is done to check the video card. You need to connect the laptop to a external display through HDMI/VGA cable.
d. Now press F4 or function and F4 key to display the laptop screen content to external display.
e. If the external display works then just head on to the website and download the display drivers and install them and restart the laptop and you are good to go.
f. Even after following the steps mentioned above and still the Laptop Screen Blackout persist then follow the steps below.
- This is the last step to recover the laptop from Blank screen error. Just like other two process, remove the battery and connect the laptop to a power source,
a. Press and hold the power button until the laptop turns off.
b. Now press the windows and B keys along with power button for 1 sec
c. The power LED with power up and the screen will remain blank for about a minute.
d. If the screen boots up a BIOS menu screen then the issue is resolved.
If the screen blackout issue still persists then it is an LCD backlight failure which requires a service or replacement.
Laptop screen blackout issue can be prevented by just taking care of few things below
- Never put the laptop on longer sleep times, instead shutdown the device
- Always open and close the laptop display gently as the display connections are located right at the hinge.
- Keep the drivers up to date and never disable or delete drivers manually
- Update the OS only when it is available officially as force update may miss the drivers and may not install correctly
- Keep track of recently installed softwares.
