If you are facing black screen problems in Windows 11/10, the following may help fix the issue. There are three different scenarios that we are going to talk about. The first is when you can log in to your computer and don’t get any display. The other scenario is when you can’t even sign into the computer and see a black screen. This post will show you how to resolve Windows 11/10 Blank or Black Screen problems after login – with or without the cursor, on boot. It will also help you if Windows 11/10 is stuck on a black screen.
Fix Black Screen of Death problems in Windows 11/10
There are scenarios here, and we will check out the troubleshooting steps you can follow in each of them:
- Black Screen on boot before signing in
- Black screen after login or signing into Windows PC
- Screen stays black after waking computer from Sleep Mode
- Screen goes black when Scrolling with Mouse
- Black or colored screen with spinning dots after restarting your PC
- Black Screen during a Windows Upgrade or Installation
- Black Screen when installing new programs.
As a general first step, press WinKey+Ctrl+Shift+B keyboard shortcuts to restart your Display driver and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, then you can also use the online Black Screen Troubleshooter from Microsoft and see if that helps. If it doesn’t, then read on to learn about the specific troubleshooting suggestions.
Black Screen on boot before signing in
1] Check all your connections
Make sure that all your cables are inserted and fixed firmly; your display monitor is turned on, etc., physically.
2] Try to wake the device
Press the CapsLock or NumLock key to see if the status light above the key turns on. If you have a keyboard connected, press WinKey+Ctrl Shift+B. If you’re in tablet mode, simultaneously press the volume-up and volume-down buttons three times within 2 seconds.
If you are not able to sign in because of the black screen problem in Windows 11/10, it could be a driver issue or the projection could be automatically set to a different device such as a second monitor or a TV. You will need Windows Installation Media.
On a working computer, download and burn the Installation media to USB or DVD. Connect the media to the problem computer, turn it off and boot using the installation media. When asked, select Repair This Computer. You will get a Select an option screen with options to continue to Windows 10, Shut down the computer, and Troubleshoot computer. Select Troubleshoot computer. Select Advanced Options. Click on Startup Settings and then on Restart. When the computer reboots, you will get some options. Press F5 or scroll to Safe Mode with Networking and press Enter to enter Safe Mode.
3] Check the Default Display
Once in the Safe mode, you have to check the different displays attached to the computer. Press Windows Key + P to bring up the display list (see image above). Try selecting options to move the display to other attached displays such as a TV or a second monitor. If you select TV, make sure TV is connected and turned on. Check the TV to see if it is set to receive signals from your computer. If the TV shows display, correct the display by selecting the current computer monitor as a default display in the listed devices when you press Windows Key with P.
PS: If pressing Windows Key + P does not bring up a sidebar, you can get it from Control Panel > Display > Project to a Second Screen.
4] Uninstall the Device Driver for Display and Auto-install
If the above does not work, boot again using the Installation media and go to Safe mode. Uninstall the device driver for display using steps 2.1 to 2.5 mentioned above.
You might also want to ensure that Windows 11/10 supports your graphics card.
Read: How to fix Black Screen after Windows Update
5] Isolate Device causing problem
If there are more than one display driver in Device Manager,
- Disable all of them except one.
- Reboot without installation media to see if the issue is fixed.
- If not, reboot with installation media and go to Safe Mode again.
- This time, disable the one that you left out earlier and enable another driver.
- Again reboot without installation media to see if that worked; This is called isolation of device driver; You simply enable one driver at a time and check if it worked until you find the driver that is causing problems.
- Once you find it, keep it disabled and contact the manufacturer of that device for updates.
Black screen after login or signing into Windows PC
The other scenario we will talk about is when you can log in, and then the screen goes blank.
The first thing you want to try is to press Ctrl+Alt+Del and see if it brings up the Task Manager. If it does, great. Click on File > Run new task. Type explorer.exe and hit Enter. This worked for me once when I faced this issue.
If this does not work for you, unplug & remove all external devices and reboot. If you can get a display, it might mean that one of the external hardware is causing the problem. If that is the case, start plugging in external devices one by one until you lose the display. Remove the last device you plugged in and see if you get the display back. If yes, don’t use that hardware device until you contact the device’s manufacturer. Check again with other external devices.
If removing external devices does not fix the issue, go to the Safe Mode. Since we assume that you are getting display until you sign in and not after you sign in, you will have to reboot your computer. At the lock screen, click on the power icon towards the bottom left of the display. While holding down SHIFT, click on RESTART. This will make your computer reboot. After the reboot, you are given some options – select Safe Mode with Networking mode. You can simply press F5 on the screen to enter Safe Mode.
If instead of a reboot, you are presented with a screen having three options: Continue to Windows 10; Troubleshoot; and Shutdown, click on Troubleshoot and then on Advanced. Then click on Startup Settings and then Restart. The option to enter Safe Mode will be presented when the computer reboots.
Now, when Windows Safe Mode do the following:
1] Check to see if the correct display is selected
See if the display is set to some other device. From Control Panel, select Display. On the left side of the Display window, select Project to a Second Display. A sidebar will appear towards the right and show you a list of displays connected to the computer (see image below). Check to see if the correct display is selected. If not, correct it. Else continue with troubleshooting blank screen problems in Windows 11/10.
2] Reinstall or rollback the Display Driver
We have to reinstall or rollback the Display Driver. Open Device Manager and remove the Display Driver.
- Click on search bar and type “device manager” without quotes
- From the list that appears, click on Update Device Drivers to bring on the Device Manager window
- In the Device Manager window, locate and click to expand Display Adapters
- Right-click on the Display Adaptor Driver and click on Uninstall
- Reboot to auto-install the drivers again.
This should fix the issue of a black screen for you.
Read: Fix Microsoft Office black screen glitch
3] Close RunOnce processes
Open Task Manager. If you see a RunOnce32.exe or RunOnce.exe, stop the Process or Service.
Though a tedious process, the above should fix black screen problems in Windows 11/10.
Read: Windows 11/10 Black Screen with cursor.
Black or colored screen with spinning dots after restarting PC
1] Restart PC
Restart your device and see if it helps.
2] Unplug all USB devices
Try unplugging all of your unnecessary USB devices. Then press and hold the power button on your device for 10 seconds to turn it off. Then press and release the power button to turn your device back on.
Read: Black box on Windows Desktop.
Read: Black screen when playing games on Windows PC
Black Screen during a Windows Upgrade or Installation
In the rare eventuality that you get a Black Screen while upgrading to or installing Windows, you can try and see if any of the following troubleshooting steps help you.
The reasons for getting a black screen during the upgrade could be many. It could be a hardware problem, a driver problem, or a multiple video output issue.
First, please see if you meet the Hardware requirements. If you meet them, you can try and see if any one of these help you:
- Restart your PC in safe mode and select Enable low-resolution video option.
- The video output may have switched to an alternate port when the driver was re-installed during online configuration. So please check for multiple video ports on your computer.
- Please also check for display output during BIOS POST. If the POST logo or text is not being displayed on-screen then the issue could be with the hardware.
- Boot the computer in safe mode by pressing F8 on restart. You may receive a message, on a restart, that Windows could not complete the installation. Open command prompt, type devmgmt.msc and hit enter to open the Device Manager. Here disable Display Adapter. On restart, the installation should complete OK. Do remember to update the Display Adapter settings again, later.
- If you have a second monitor, unplug it, from your graphic card and see if it helps.
- If your video card has two DVI outputs, try plugging the monitor into the one you’re not currently using.
- Maybe your BIOS is old and you need to flash upgrade it.
Also read: Windows 11 stuck at the login screen after an upgrade.
