15 Solutions for “Laptop Screen Black but Still Running” Issue

Urgently: Need to Solve the Troublesome Black Screen Problem of Laptop

“I am using an HP Pavilion 15 laptop with Windows 10 system. Recently, it has started to have frequent problems. When the Windows 10 system is idle for more than an hour, the HP laptop screen goes black but still running and cannot wake up. This problem also occurs when I shut down the system after working with it continuously for a whole day. My only solution at present is to press and hold the power button to force it off. But this is not a long-term solution. I must try to fix it, or I'm afraid the system will crash one day. The problem of HP laptop screen goes black but still running really gives me a headache. Can someone tell me how to do it? "

In fact, in addition to the HP laptop described in the above case, this problem may also occur in the laptop of Dell, Acer, Samsung and other brands, which really gives many users a headache. To solve this problem, you need to understand the cause of the problem and try to solve it according to the cause. Next, let's take a look at the common causes of this problem.

Why the “Laptop Screen Goes Black but Still Running” Problem Occurs?

The problem of "laptop screen is black but still running" can be caused by both hardware and software. Therefore, when listing the reasons, we need to consider comprehensively. The following are the common reasons for this problem.

☀ Laptop display failure
☀ Poor memory contact of laptop
☀ The graphics card driver is incorrect
☀ Laptop power setting is incorrect
☀ Presence of virus or malware
☀ Incorrect quick start setting
☀ A BIOS error occurred
☀ Screensaver settings stuck

How to Solve “Laptop Screen Black but Still Running” Issue – 15 Solutions

If you are troubled by the problem of the laptop screen turning black but still running, you may try the following 15 solutions in turn, I believe they can help you solve this problem.

Solution 1. Hard Reset the Laptop

Many laptop manufacturers have a hard reset method that allows you to restore your laptop if it goes black but still running. Although this method may result in data and application loss, it is still a valid workaround. If you do not know how to hard reset, it is recommended to contact your laptop brand manufacturer for support. The following steps use a similar HP laptop in the above case as an example.

1. Completely shut down your computer and disconnect the power cord. Then disconnect all external connected devices, including USB drives, monitors, headphones, docking stations, etc.
2. Open the laptop's battery compartment and remove the battery. Press and hold the power button for an additional 15 seconds to ensure that all current is drained from the laptop.

3. Install the laptop battery and connect the power cord, still do not connect any external devices at this time.
4. Turn on the computer with the power button and see if you can enter the boot menu. If you can get to the boot menu, use the arrow keys to select start Windows normally and press Enter to confirm.
5. After entering the Windows system normally, connect the external devices in turn.

Solution 2. Check the Laptop Display

Corrupted graphics drivers or problems with the LCD display backlight can cause the laptop screen goes black. Therefore, you need to check whether the laptop display is working properly.

1. Connect another monitor through the HDMI or DP port on the laptop to check whether the laptop is normal.
2. If the computer screen cannot be displayed on the external monitor, you can try pressing F4 to display the screen. If neither the computer screen nor the external monitor display an image, it is recommended that you contact the computer manufacturer for repair.
3. If the image appears properly on the external monitor, it may be caused by a conflict between the graphics driver and the laptop LCD screen. You need to install the latest graphics card driver to resolve this issue.

Solution 3. Reinstalling Computer Memory

When the computer memory is poorly connected or loose, it can lead to a laptop screen black but still running problem. To do this, you will need to reinstall the computer memory. Please note that this method may lead to some unintended consequences, it is recommended that the computer novice operate with the assistance of a professional.

1. Shut down the computer completely and disconnect the power cord before removing the computer cover.
2. Locate the computer memory module and carefully remove it. Wait for a while before reinstalling computer memory.
3. Next, please press the power button and try to turn on the laptop to see if it returns to normal. If it doesn't work, go to the next solution.

Solution 4. Use Shortcut Keys to Wake up the Laptop Monitor

Once you've ruled out your computer hardware problem, you can try other methods to fix the “laptop screen black but still running” problem. For example, you can use a specific shortcut to try to wake it up.

Simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B on the laptop keyboard and see if that resolves the issue.

This method can reset the display mode, if there is no response at one time, please try several times. If you still can't resolve the issue after several attempts, move on to the next method.

Solution 5. Restart the Computer in Safe Mode

Safe Mode starts your computer without loading any third-party device drivers, and can help resolve the problem that laptop screen goes black but still running.

1. Enter the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) by forcibly shutting down and then rebooting twice.
2. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

3. After your PC restarts, you’ll see a list of options. Select 4 or F4 to start your PC in Safe Mode.

★ Note: If the computer does not experience the black screen problem in Safe Mode, the black screen problem may be caused by something internal to the laptop. You need to keep trying the methods below.

Solution 6. Reinstall the Graphics Card Driver in Safe Mode

If your laptop's graphics card startup program is outdated or incorrectly configured, it can cause the “laptop screen black but still running” problem.

1. Refer to the above method to enter the Windows Recovery Environment, and press the number key 4 or F4 in the startup settings to enter the Safe Mode.
2. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager from the expanded menu.
3. In the Device Manager window, click Display adapters. Select the graphics card driver in the expanded list. Right-click it and select Uninstall device in the expanded menu, and click Uninstall again in the confirmation popup.

4. Next, all you need to do is exit Safe Mode and restart your computer, during which Windows will automatically install the graphics driver. After the restart is complete, see if the problem is resolved. If not, move on to the next solution.

Solution 7. Change Power Settings in Safe Mode

The “laptop screen black but still running” issue may be caused by an incorrect power setting. To do this, you can enter Safe Mode and change the power settings to fix the problem.

1. Refer to the above method to enter the Windows Recovery Environment, and press the number key 4 or F4 in the startup settings to enter the Safe Mode.
2. Use Windows + S to open the search box, type control panel and open it.
3. Tap Hardware and Sound > Power Options > Choose when to turn off the display to enter the Edit Plan Settings interface.

4. Next, set the Turn off the display option to Never and click Save changes.
5. Exit Safe Mode again and restart the computer to see if the problem is resolved. If that doesn't work, go to the next method.

Solution 8. Scan for and Remove Viruses or Malware

Viruses or malware can sometimes cause the “laptop screen black but still running” problem. To do this, you need to scan and remove viruses or malware in Safe Mode.

1. First enter the Windows Recovery Environment, and then press the number key 5 or F5 to Enable Windows Safe Mode with Networking.

2. Check and enable Windows Defender Firewall first. Then run third-party antivirus software on your computer to scan your computer for possible viruses or malware (If you do not have third-party antivirus software installed on your computer, please download one first). If any virus or malware is scanned, remove it immediately. Then restart your computer and see if the problem is resolved. If no virus or malware scans, go to the next solution.

Solution 9. Adjust Settings via Nvidia PowerMizer

Nvidia PowerMizer is a power management software designed to extend battery life and reduce power wastage by optimizing the power usage of notebook computers. According to some users' feedback, using this software can help solve the problem of “laptop screen black but still running”. If you're using an NVIDIA graphics card, this is a method worth checking out.

1. First enter the Windows Recovery Environment, and then press the number key 5 or F5 to Enable Windows Safe Mode with Networking.
2. Download and install Nvidia PowerMizer, and run it. In the Nvidia PowerMizer window, set battery and power to medium, and select Disable Overheat Slowdown.

3. Exit Safe Mode again and restart the computer to see if the problem is resolved. If that doesn't work, go to the next method.

Solution 10. Restart Windows Explorer

File Explorer affects the display of the computer's desktop, taskbar, and other processes. When it goes wrong, it causes the desktop and taskbar to disappear, which in turn causes the entire laptop screen to go black. Therefore, you need to restart the file explorer to resolve the black screen issue.

1. Refer to the above method to enter the Windows Recovery Environment, and press the number key 4 or F4 in the startup settings to enter the Safe Mode.
2. Use Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager and switch to the Details tab at the top.
3. Select explorer.exe in the list below, and click the End task button in the lower right corner.

4. Exit Safe Mode again and restart the computer to see if the problem is resolved. If that doesn't work, go to the next method.

Solution 11. Disable Fast Startup

Fast Startup is a new feature in Windows 10 that saves the system state to the hibernation archive, making your computer start up faster. However, in some cases, this feature may also cause the "laptop screen black but still running" issue. Therefore, it is recommended that you disable this feature.

1. Refer to the above method to enter the Windows Recovery Environment, and press the number key 4 or F4 in the startup settings to enter the Safe Mode.
2. Use Windows + R to open the Run dialog, enter powercfg.cpl and press Enter.
3. In the Power Options window, click “Choose what the power buttons do” from the menu on the left.
4. Scroll down to Shutdown settings and uncheck the box for “Turn on fast startup” and click Save changes to apply the changes.

★ Note: If these options are greyed out then you may need to click "Change settings that are currently unavailable".

5. Exit Safe Mode again and restart the computer to see if the problem is resolved. If that doesn't work, go to the next method.

Solution 12. Change the Screen Saver Settings

According to some user feedback, the screen saver setting can sometimes be the culprit for the problem that “laptop screen black but still running”. To do this, you need to change this setting.

1. Refer to the above method to enter the Windows Recovery Environment, and press the number key 4 or F4 in the startup settings to enter the Safe Mode.
2. Right-click an empty area of ​​the desktop and select Personalization from the expanded menu.
3. Switch to the Lock Screen tab in the left panel, and click Screen saver settings at the bottom of the right panel.
4. Switch the Screen saver to None, click Apply and then OK to save the changes.

5. Exit Safe Mode again and restart the computer to see if the problem is resolved. If that doesn't work, go to the next method.

Solution 13. Use Shortcut Keys to Restore BIOS

When your laptop screen goes black but still running, you can try to restore the BIOS using specific shortcut keys to fix the problem.

1. Enter the Windows Recovery Environment and click Troubleshoot > Reset this PC.

2. You can choose to Keep my files or Remove everything according to your needs, here it is recommended to choose the first option.

3. Finally, click the Reset button, wait for the computer to reset automatically. Then restart the computer to see if the problem is fixed.

Solution 15. Reinstall the System

If resetting the computer doesn't fix the problem that “laptop screen goes black but still running”, then you have to reinstall the system. Here is an example of reinstalling Windows 10.

1. Insert the Windows 10 installation disk and start your laptop.
2. In Windows Setup window, enter your language and other preferences and click Next. Then, click Install now.
3. Then enter the product key (you can also skip it directly) and select the version of Windows 10 you want to install. Next, select the Windows installation type.

4. Select the drive where you want to install Windows 10 and click Next. Wait for the installation process to be done. Finally follow the prompts to set up and wait for Windows 10 to start, this will help to fix the “laptop screen black but still running” error.

The Best Solution to Prevent Data Loss—AOMEI Backupper Standard

You can try the above 15 solutions in turn, which can help you solve the “laptop screen black but still running” problem. However, resolving this problem involves hard resetting the computer and reinstalling the system, which may result in the loss of data on the computer. It is recommended that you use AOMEI Backupper Standard to back up your files before solving the problem to add an extra layer of security to your laptop.

AOMEI Backupper Standard has a clear interface and is easy to operate, allowing you to backup important files you need on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 and other systems for FREE. In addition, you can flexibly back up your files to other devices, such as backing up files to the cloud, NAS devices, external hard drives, and more.

If you create an AOMEI account, you can backup files to AOMEI Cloud. It offers you 1TB free storage for 15 days after you sign up for an AOMEI account. Next, the detailed steps of File Backup via AOMEI Backupper Standard will be introduced for you. First, you need to download the software:

1. You need to create bootable media first and insert it into a computer with a black screen. AOMEI Backupper Standard will run automatically after the computer starts normally. Select Backup in the left menu, and select File Backup in the right panel.

2. You can choose Add Folder or Add File to select the folders or files you want to back up. In addition, you can click the pencil icon in the upper left corner to name this backup task.

3. Select the destination path you want to save, and then click the Start Backup button.

✍ Tips: In addition, you can also click Options, Schedule and Scheme at the bottom left to customize the settings.

▶ Options: This feature includes backing up comments, enabling encrypted backups, enabling email notifications. Among them, the encrypted backup function needs to be upgraded to the professional version before it can be used.
▶ Schedule: This software allows you to turn on scheduled backups, including daily, weekly, monthly, event triggers and USB plug in. It should be noted that event triggers and USB plug in need to be upgraded to the professional version to use.

▶ Scheme: It includes backup methods and auto-clean backup features. You can choose incremental backup, full backup or differential backup. The differential backup and automatic cleanup backup functions need to be upgraded to the professional version before they can be used.

4. Click Start Backup to run the operation.

In addition to File Backup, AOMEI Backupper Standard also provides you with more functions:

✦ When you encounter file loss or corruption, you can use the File Restore feature to restore previously created file backup images. If you are unsure of the contents of your file backup images before restoring them, you can view these backup images with the Explore Image feature to properly restore your files.
✦ In addition, you can also use the automatic File Sync feature, which helps you automatically synchronize files or folders to the target location on a schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.), saving time compared to file backup.
✦ If you want to further keep your computer data safe, you can use the Disk Backup feature.

Conclusion

The issue “laptop screen black but still running” are more common and have many solutions. After understanding the cause of this problem, you can try the 15 solutions listed in this article in turn, I believe these solutions can help you solve this problem.

However, the above solutions involve hard resetting the computer and reinstalling the system, which may result in the loss of data on the computer. Therefore, it is recommended that you use AOMEI Backupper Standard for file backup.

AOMEI Backupper Standard has a clear interface and simple operation, which can help you backup important files in multiple Windows systems to protect your data security. In addition, the software can also provide you with functions such as disk clone and partition clone, giving you more choices.