Are you using a Windows 10/11 laptop but the computer screen goes black randomly? What do you do when your laptop screen goes black? Laptop screen black is an annoying thing but don't be worried. Here, this post is written for you to fix a laptop black screen (2 cases) to run the computer smoothly.
HP/Dell/Lenovo/Asus Laptop Screen Randomly Goes Black for a Second
According to users’ feedback, computer getting a black screen is a common issue. Some users have reported that the black screen doesn’t always occur. However, when it does, the laptop screen goes black for a second; then 5 seconds later, it happens again. It can even repeat several times.
Perhaps you are experiencing a random PC black screen that can bother you a lot since there is not any error code or message giving you an idea where to start troubleshooting. Sometimes, you meet the situation – laptop screen black but still running/on.
An unexpected black screen can happen on Asus, Lenovo, HP or Dell laptops in a number of scenarios in Windows 10/11, which may stem from hardware issues and logical faults – for example, a connection problem with your display, power supply, hard disk, internal memory, graphics card, virus attack, mistaken operations, software incompatibility and more.
In the following section, we’ll show you many steps to help you troubleshoot and fix the black screen problem on your Windows 10/11 device.
Important: Back up Important Files before Troubleshooting Black Scren
No matter which method you use to fix the issue of the screen goes black randomly, in order to ensure your data security, we strongly recommend backing up your important files first of all since data loss may happen at any time and anywhere in case of a random black screen.
If the laptop screen keeps going black, you might be unable to enter the computer desktop. Then, you may ask: how can I back up my files in the event of an unbootable laptop? Actually, it is easy as long as you use a professional Windows backup software for Windows 11/10/8/7.
Here, we suggest using MiniTool ShadowMaker Bootable Edition to create a file backup when the screen goes black randomly. First, you need to use the Trial Edition of this software and create a bootable disc or USB flash drive by using the Media Builder feature to back up files in WinPE.
Note that Trial Edition only offers you 30-day free trial. To use the software all the time, you can upgrade to a full edition like Pro Edition.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
After the bootable disc or drive is created, go to BIOS to change it as the first boot order to run your PC from it and then start a backup.
You may need to refer to:
- How to Build Boot CD/DVD Discs and Boot Flash Drive with Bootable Media Builder?
- How to Boot from Burned MiniTool Bootable CD/DVD Discs or USB Flash Drive?
Step 1: In the MiniTool PE Loder interface, you can click the first option Minitool Program to launch MiniTool ShadowMaker.
Step 2: Then, this backup software for Windows 11/10/8/7 will run. Just go to the Backup page where you can view all system related partitions are selected in the Source section.
Here, your purpose is to back up files before fixing the random laptop black screen, so you need to manually choose what you need to back up. Just go to the Source module to enter the following interface, click Folders and Files and choose the significant files you want to back up in the pop-up window.
Step 3: Next go to the Destination module where some options are offered for you to choose. Just select one to store the backed up file image. Here, it is recommended to select an external hard drive or USB drive.
Step 4: After finishing the source and destination selection, click Back up Now button to run a file backup at once.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Right now, it is time for you to fix the random laptop black screen problem after you have backed up or saved your important data. Go to the next step to find the solutions.
Fixed – Screen Goes Black Randomly Windows 10/11/8/7
As mentioned in the first part, your laptop screen may get black due to many reasons. Here in this part, we will show you the different solutions to laptop screen black but still running/on due to different cases: hardware issues and software issues.
Case 1: Hardware Issues Cause Screen to Get Black Randomly
Perform Simple Checks
The most common and critical hardwares that can cause laptop black screen are the power supply, liquid crystal display, memory bank, hard disk, motherboard, etc. So it is necessary for you to troubleshoot these one by one.
1. First, check your power supply. Sometimes, for a laptop, if the power itself has a problem, it is possible that the screen goes black even though plugging in an external power supply.
In this case, you can choose to remove the power from your laptop and plug in an external power supply. If the Windows can boot up, perhaps the internal power is corrupted. Just go to buy another to replace it.
2. If the power indicator is on all the time and the external power is plugged in properly, then a random laptop black screen is not caused by the power. So you need to carefully check the cooling fan port to see whether there is wind and check if the hard disk indicator light is on.
3. If there is no problem, restart your laptop and hear if there is a continuous beeping voice. If yes, perhaps the memory stick is loose. Just plug it back in.
4. Next, check your graphics card or liquid crystal display. Connect the external monitor to the external display interface of the laptop, restart Windows OS and see whether the external display can work normally.
If yes, the motherboard, CPU, hard disk, graphics card, and memory don’t go wrong. And perhaps it is the liquid crystal display that leads to the issue laptop screen keeps going black. And then you need an after-sales service to fix the displayer.
If the external displayer doesn’t show anything, the motherboard or graphics card may be broken. Also, you need to ask an after-sales service for help.
5. Sometimes, the laptop temperature is too high; in this case, if you often play games despite the heat dissipation performance bot being good, as a result, the screen goes black randomly due to the graphics card temperature being too high.
Check your graphics card to see if it’s burned out. If not, please clear the dust thoroughly, reclean the exhaust system, apply silicone, and replace the fan.
Case 2: Laptop Screen Goes Black Randomly due to Software Isuses
In addition to hardware issues, your computer screen goes black randomly because of some software problems. First, try a simple way.
Wake up the Display
This way is an easy solution to laptop screen black but still running. Just use the Windows logo key + Ctrl + Shift + B keyboard shortcut to wake up your display. If Windows is responsive, a short beep will sound and the screen will blink or dim when Windows attempts to refresh the screen.
If it couldn’t work, you can boot your laptop to Safe Mode to fix a black screen problem.
Boot in Safe Mode to Fix Black Screen
Quick Video Guide:
Step 1: If you are unable to see anything on the screen due to a black screen, restart your PC, when the blue Windows logo appears, press the power button and reboot. Repeat these steps several times until Windows 10/11 automatic repair is triggering.
Or you can prepare a repair disc and use it to boot your laptop, then click Repair your computer to enter WinRE.
Step 2: Once you see the Choose an option menu, just click Troubleshoot.
Step 3: Go to Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
Step 4: In the Startup Setting page, press F4 or F5 to enter Safe Mode.
In Safe Mode, you can try some troubleshooting steps. Let’s see details from the following paragraphs.
Way 1: Reinstall Your Graphics Card Driver
Some of you report the issue – the computer screen goes black but computer still running. For example, you are listening to music or playing the games, but only the screen becomes black while the voice is still present. In this case, you can take the graphics card driver into consideration.
If the video driver isn’t working properly, you can uninstall it in Safe Mode, and then let the operating system reinstall the driver automatically in the process of a restart.
Step 1: If your Asus, HP or Lenovo laptop screen goes black randomly in Windows 10/11, right-click on the Start button and choose Device Manager.
Step 2: Expand Diskpay adapter, find your graphics card driver and right-click on it to choose Uninstall device to fix laptop screen goes black but still on issue.
Step 3: In the pop-up window, click Uninstall to confirm.
Later, restart your laptop to see whether screen goes black randomly or not.
Way 2: Change Power Settings
Perhaps the screen goes black automatically or turns black every minute, but can go back after moving a mouse. In this case, maybe it is due to the power setting of your laptop.
Step 1: In Safe Mode on Windows 10/11, type Control Panel in the search box and run this utility.
Step 2: Click Power Options.
Step 3: Click Choose when to turn off the display link to enter the Edit Plan Settings interface.
Step 4: Next, set the Turn off the display option to Never and click Save changes.
Way 3: Scan and Remove Virus or Malware
Sometimes viruses can cause the screen to go black. If you haven’t installed antivirus software on your laptop or the installed program isn’t powerful enough to block the viruses or malware, viruses may attack your laptop.
To scan and remove viruses, you also need to boot in Safe Mode with Networking, then run the installed antivirus program or download one online, and next perform a full scan of your Windows system to fix laptop screen black but still running/on.
Bottom Line
Right now, all possible ways to fix laptop black screen are shown to you. If your screen goes screen randomly, please try the above solutions to troubleshoot.
But firstly, you should use MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up your important files since the random black screen may lead to data loss due to all possible causes of the laptop turning black.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
On the other hand, if you have any question regarding our software or any method to repair black screen on your Asus, HP, Lenovo or Dell laptop, please send an email to [email protected] or leave your idea in the following comment part.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Vera is an editor of the MiniTool Team since 2016 who has more than 7 years’ writing experiences in the field of technical articles. Her articles mainly focus on disk & partition management, PC data recovery, video conversion, as well as PC backup & restore, helping users to solve some errors and issues when using their computers. In her spare times, she likes shopping, playing games and reading some articles.