Why Is My Laptop Screen Black? How to Tell a Software Glitch From a Dead Screen

A black laptop screen means one of two things. Either the laptop is running and the picture is stuck, or the screen hardware has failed. The first one is common and free to fix. The second one costs money. Most people guess, and many pay for a new screen they did not need.

You can tell which one you have in about five minutes with two keyboard shortcuts, a forced restart and any TV or monitor with an HDMI port. Here is the order.

The Short Answer

Is it on at all? Look for lights, listen for the fan, and tap Caps Lock. If nothing at all happens, it is a power problem, not a screen problem.
On Windows, press Windows, Ctrl, Shift and B together. Microsoft says a beep or a flicker means the graphics driver reset.
Still black? Press Windows and P, then P again and Enter. The laptop may be sending its picture somewhere else.
Still black? Hold the power button for 20 seconds, then start it again.
Still black? Plug in an external monitor. A picture there means the laptop screen or its cable is the problem.

First, Is the Laptop Really On?

Start here, because the fix is different. Look at the power light and the keyboard lights. Listen for the fan. Press Caps Lock and see if its little light comes on. If you get any of those, the laptop is running and only the picture is missing. Keep going.

If you get none of them, plug in the charger, give it a few minutes, and try again. A laptop with a dead battery and a bad charger looks exactly like a laptop with a dead screen.

Also try the obvious one. Press your brightness up key a few times. On many laptops it sits on a top row key with a sun on it, and you may need to hold Fn with it. A screen dimmed all the way down can look fully black.

Fix It on Windows

Microsoft's guide sorts blank screens by when they happen. A black screen with a cursor usually means a stalled process or driver. A black screen at sign in can come from display settings. A black screen after an update usually points to a driver that does not get along with the update. Here are the steps, in the order to try them.

Reset the Graphics Driver

Press Windows, Ctrl, Shift and B at the same time. Microsoft says you will hear a beep or see the screen flicker if it worked. This restarts the graphics driver without closing your apps, so try it before anything else.

Cycle the Display Modes

Press Windows and P, then press P again and Enter. Do it a few times. Microsoft says this moves through the display modes, like PC screen only, duplicate and extend. If the laptop was ever plugged into a projector or a TV, it may still think it should show the picture there.

Restart Windows Explorer

If you see a mouse cursor on the black screen, Windows is running but the desktop is not. Press Ctrl, Shift and Esc to open Task Manager. Find Windows Explorer, right click it and choose Restart. If it is not in the list, click File, then Run new task, type explorer.exe and press Enter. You can also press Ctrl, Alt and Delete to check if Windows is responding at all.

Force a Restart

Microsoft says to hold the power button for 20 seconds. Then turn it back on. Unplug any docks, external screens and USB drives first, so you are only testing the laptop.

Use Safe Mode if It Stays Black

If the screen stays black every time, Microsoft says to start in Safe Mode. Hold the power button for 10 seconds to turn it off. Do that two or three times in a row and Windows opens its recovery screen. Choose Troubleshoot, then Advanced options, then Startup Settings, then Restart, and press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

From Safe Mode, open Device Manager, expand Display adapters, and right click your graphics card. Pick Update driver. If the black screen started right after an update, pick Roll back driver instead. Microsoft also suggests System Restore from the same Advanced options menu, using a restore point from before the trouble started.

The External Monitor Test

This is the most useful five minutes in this whole guide. Plug the laptop into a TV or monitor with an HDMI cable, or USB C on newer laptops. Then restart it.

Picture on the external screen, black on the laptop. Windows and the graphics chip work. The fault is the laptop screen, its cable or the light behind it. That is a hardware repair.
Black on both. The problem is deeper. It could be software that never finishes loading, or a bigger hardware fault. Go back to Safe Mode, and if that fails, it is time for a repair shop.

One more trick for a screen that looks dead. In a dark room, shine a flashlight at an angle onto the black screen. If you can just make out the desktop, the picture is there and the light behind the screen has failed.

Dell Has a Built In Screen Test

Dell laptops can test their own screen. Dell says to shut down, unplug everything but the charger, then hold the D key and press the Power button. Keep holding D until colors fill the screen. The screen cycles through solid black, white, red, green and blue. Press Esc to stop it.

If the colors show up clean, Dell says the screen hardware looks fine and the problem is the graphics driver, Windows settings or updates. If you see lines, dark areas or distortion, Dell says the screen may need service. Other brands have their own diagnostics, so check your maker's support site for your model.

Fix It on a Mac

Apple's steps for a Mac that starts to a blank screen are short.

Power off and on. Hold the power button for up to 10 seconds until the Mac turns off, then turn it on again. On a laptop with Touch ID, Apple says to press and hold Touch ID, not just touch it.
Start from macOS Recovery. If the Mac reaches Recovery, use Disk Utility to repair the startup disk and restart. If it is still blank, start in Recovery again and reinstall macOS.
If it will not reach Recovery. Apple says Macs with Apple silicon or the T2 chip may need their firmware revived or restored. If you use an external display, check that the display is not the problem.

If none of that works, Apple says the Mac may need service.

Fix It on a Chromebook

Google's fix is a hard reset. Turn the Chromebook off. Hold the Refresh key, the circle arrow, and tap Power. Let go of Refresh when it starts. Google also lists holding Back, Refresh and Power together for at least 10 seconds.

Google says to save this for after other fixes fail, because it might delete some files in your Downloads folder. Copy anything important to Google Drive once the screen is back.

The Advice We Disagree With

Reinstalling Windows first. Several of the pages that rank for this question jump to a reset or a reinstall early. Do not. A reinstall does nothing for a dead screen, and it wipes your apps when the real fix was a two second shortcut. Run the shortcuts and the external monitor test first.

Buying a new screen before you test. A black screen does not prove the screen is dead. A stalled driver, a laptop stuck sending its picture to another display, or a failed light behind the panel can all look the same. The external monitor test, and the D key test on a Dell, tell you for free.

Endless restarts. One forced restart is useful. Ten in a row are not. If it is still black after one, move to the next step.

The Bottom Line

Check that the laptop is on. On Windows, press Windows, Ctrl, Shift and B, then Windows and P. Hold power for 20 seconds. Then plug in an external monitor, because that one test splits a software glitch from a hardware repair. If the picture shows up on the monitor, the laptop screen needs work. If it does not, start in Safe Mode and roll back the last driver. On a Mac, use Recovery. On a Chromebook, use the hard reset.

If your laptop shows a blue screen with an error instead of a black one, read our guide on why your computer keeps blue screening. If it works but crawls, our guide on why your computer is so slow is the next stop.

Keep Reading

Laptop makers keep changing their drivers and recovery tools. Follow the latest in our devices news, or browse more plain tech advice.

Questions Readers Ask

Why is my laptop on but the screen is black?

Most often the picture is stuck, not broken. The graphics driver stalled, the laptop is sending its picture to another display, or Windows did not finish loading. Press Windows, Ctrl, Shift and B, then Windows and P. If that does not work, hold the power button for 20 seconds and start it again. If it is still black, plug in an external monitor to see if the screen itself has failed.

Why is my laptop screen black after entering my password?

That usually means Windows signed you in but the desktop did not load. Microsoft links a black screen with a cursor to a stalled process or driver. Press Ctrl, Shift and Esc to open Task Manager, find Windows Explorer and choose Restart. If it is not listed, use File, then Run new task, and type explorer.exe.

How do I fix a black screen on my laptop without turning it off?

Try the shortcuts first. On Windows, press Windows, Ctrl, Shift and B to reset the graphics driver. Then press Windows and P, then P again and Enter, to move through the display modes. Also press your brightness up key in case the screen was simply dimmed all the way.

Why is my MacBook screen black?

Hold the power button, or press and hold Touch ID, for up to 10 seconds until the Mac turns off, then turn it on again. Apple says if it still starts to a blank screen, start up from macOS Recovery and repair the disk with Disk Utility. If that fails, reinstall macOS from Recovery. Apple silicon Macs that will not reach Recovery may need their firmware revived.

Why is my Chromebook screen black?

Try a hard reset. Google says to turn the Chromebook off, hold the Refresh key and tap Power, then let go of Refresh when it starts. Google also warns that a hard reset might delete some files in your Downloads folder, so use it after the simple steps fail.

How do I know if my laptop screen is broken?

Connect an external monitor. If the picture shows up there but not on the laptop, the screen, its cable or its light has failed. On a Dell, run the built in screen test by holding D and pressing power. If the colors show up clean, Dell says the panel is fine and the problem is software or drivers.