Solved: Screen Goes Black for A Second in Windows 10 - 15 Ways

Why does my computer screen go black for a few seconds?

"I recently purchased a highly configurable laptop with an external Dell monitor via HDMI cable. However, during use, the screen of my external monitor would go black for 2-3 seconds every 2-10 minutes before coming back on again. I confirmed that there was no problem with this laptop before and the black screen seems to have appeared in recent times. Does anyone know what is going on? Can you provide me with some solutions?"

Regardless of whether you are using a desktop computer or a laptop, you may encounter the situation where the screen goes black and it has gradually become a common nuisance. From the data collected, many users have had similar troubles, and even these common types can be summarized as follows.

• The screen goes black for a second in Windows 10.
• The second monitor keeps going black in Windows 10.
• The monitor randomly goes black.
• The screen goes black every few seconds.
• The screen randomly goes black for a few seconds.

These problems about black screen may seem to be a bit troublesome, but they are still quite solvable as long as the computer does not fall into a state of death. However, before trying any solution, it is recommended that you understand the cause of the problem so that you can solve it more effectively.

What causes the screen to go black for a few seconds in Windows 10?

The following are common causes of why my computer screen goes black for a few seconds. Please try to solve the problem after you fully understand the cause.

• The monitor connection cable is loose or faulty.
• Conflicts caused by external devices.
• The display shows that the adapter driver is incorrect.
• There are conflicts with third-party anti-virus software or other applications.
• The current Windows version is less compatible.
• The power supply is not set correctly.
• Incorrect monitor settings or hardware failure.
• Windows settings are incorrect.

15 Ways to fix the Screen goes black for a few seconds in Windows 10

In fact, no matter what kind of black screen you encounter, you can try the following 15 methods. We believe these methods can help you solve the problem effectively.

Before starting the repair solution, you can check and replace the monitor connection cable to see if it can be restored to normal. If not, then disconnect all non-essential external devices, such as external hard drives, headphones, Bluetooth receivers, printers, scanners, etc.

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Method 1. Wake up the monitor screen with a shortcut key

When you encounter a problem with the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10, it is recommended to restart your computer first and then try to wake up the monitor screen using a specific shortcut.

1. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds to force your computer to shut down.
2. After the computer is turned off, wait 30 seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
3. In case of black screen problem, use Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B shortcut to wake up the screen. See if the above problem has been solved, if it is still not resolved, go to the next method.

Method 2. Check and change the power settings

Incorrect power settings can be the trigger for the problem of the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10. Therefore, it is recommended that you change the power settings and disable fastboot to resolve this issue.

1. Right-click the Start button on the far left side of the taskbar and select Power Options from the expanded menu.
2. Tap the Additional power settings button below Related settings.
3. Find the power plan currently in use and tap the Change plan settings button next to it.
4. Change Turn off the display and Put the computer to sleep to never, and tap the Save changes button.

5. Go back to the Power Options window, find and click Choose what the power buttons do in the left panel.
6. First click the Change settings that are currently unavailable button, uncheck the Turn on fast start-up (recommended) checkbox, and click the Save changes button.

Method 3. Update/roll back/reinstall the display adapter driver

The display adapter will directly affect the computer display, and when your display adapter driver is outdated, incorrect or becomes incompatible, it may cause the problem that the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10. For this reason, you need to update, roll back or reinstall the display adapter driver.

💡 Update display adapter driver

1. Right-click the Start button on the far left side of the taskbar and select Device Manager from the expanded menu.
2. Locate and expand Display adapters, select the currently used display adapter, right-click it and select Update driver in the expanded menu.

3. In the Update Drivers window, tap Search automatically for drivers and wait for this process to complete to update the display adapter driver and restart your computer.

💡 Reinstall display adapter driver

1. Open Device Manager in the same way, select the currently used display adapter, right-click it, select Uninstall device in the expanded menu, and confirm this action.
2. Wait for the Device Manager window to refresh automatically, then right-click on this computer name and select Scan for hardware changes, and the previously uninstalled drivers will be installed automatically.
3. Wait for the Device Manager window to refresh again and expand Display Adapter to confirm that the Display Adapter driver has been successfully installed. If it is confirmed to be successfully installed, please restart your computer.

💡 Roll back display adapter driver

1. Open Device Manager in the same way, select the currently used display adapter, right-click it and select Properties in the expanded menu.
2. Switch to the Driver tab at the top of the content window, tap Roll Back Driver, and confirm this action.

Method 4. Check and reset the monitor

When you encounter the problem that the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10, you can check the monitor first to confirm if there is any hardware damage. If the monitor is fine, you can try to fix the problem by resetting the settings.

You can use another computer that is running normally to check if the monitor is in a normal state. After confirming that there is no problem with the monitor, press the menu button on the monitor, find and select the Reset all settings option, confirm this action, and wait for the monitor to reboot.

Method 5. Uninstall all overclocking software on your computer

Some users may use professional overclocking software to overclock their CPU or GPU to get more powerful performance. However, overclocking can increase the pressure on your computer's power supply, which may affect the display and cause the problem of the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10. For this reason, you need to uninstall all overclocking software from your computer.

1. Use Windows + I to open Windows Settings, find and tap Apps.
2. Switch to the Apps & features tab and select all overclocking software in turn in the right panel, such as MSI Afterburner, EVGA Precision X, AMD Overdrive, etc.
3. Tap the Uninstall button and confirm this action and wait for the software uninstallation to finish. Restart your computer and see if the above problem has been solved.

Method 6. Restart Windows File Explorer

As you can see from the results of some user feedback, Windows File Explorer may also be the trigger for the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10. For this reason, you can restart the File Explorer in Task Manager.

1. Use Ctrl + Shift + ESC shortcut to open Task Manager and tap More details.
2. In the list below the Processes tab, find and select Windows File Explorer, right-click on it and select Restart.

Method 7. Start Windows 10 in Safe Mode

If you are no longer able to access your desktop, or are unsure if a black screen is caused by a third-party application, then you can troubleshoot by booting Windows 10 through Safe Mode.

1. Enter the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) by forcing the computer to shut down twice after booting.
2. Click Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> Startup Settings -> Restart in order.
3. In the Startup Settings window, press 4 or F4 to Enable Safe Mode to see if the black screen problem has been resolved. If the black screen does not appear in Safe Mode, the problem is with a third-party application.

Method 8. Uninstall all potentially conflicting applications

As mentioned in the previous method, the issue of the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10 when the computer starts in Safe Mode has been resolved, indicating that it is caused by a third-party application. At this point, you can uninstall all potentially conflicting applications in Safe Mode.

1. Enter Safe Mode in the same way as above and use Windows + I to open Windows Settings.
2. Tap Apps and find applications in the Apps & features list that may have conflicts, such as Nvidia GeForce Experience, etc.
3. Tap the Uninstall button and confirm this action and wait for these applications to finish uninstalling.

Method 9. Update or go back Windows 10 version

In fact, an outdated version of Windows 10 or the latest version of Windows 10 can cause compatibility issues and be the trigger for the screen to go black for a few seconds in Windows 10. For this reason, you need to update or revert to the Windows 10 version.

💡 Update Windows version

1. Use Windows + I to open Windows Settings and tap Update & Security.
2. On the Windows Update tab, in the right panel, click Check for updates.

3. If there are any updates, please click the Download and install button.

💡 Go back Windows version

1. Use Windows + I to open Windows Settings and tap Update & Security.
2. Switch to the Recovery tab in the left panel, tap the Get started button below the Go back to the previous version of Windows 10, and follow the prompts to confirm.

Method 10. Disable high contrast function

From the results of some user feedback, the high contrast feature may also cause the problem of the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10. For this reason, you need to disable the feature.

1. Use Windows + I to open Windows Setting and tap Ease of Access.
2. Switch to the High contrast tab in the left panel and Turn on high contrast to off in the right panel.

Method 11. Ending the RunOnce Handler

RunOnce is a useful feature of Windows 10 that allows you to specify that the corresponding command will be executed once during the next restart of your computer. However, sometimes this feature can cause black screen problems. Therefore, you need to end the RunOnce handler.

1. Use Ctrl + Shift + ESC shortcut to open Task Manager.
2. In the list below the Processes tab, find and select RunOnce and tap the End task button in the lower right corner.

✨ Tip: You can also find and stop the RunOnce service in the Task Manager, by switching to the Services tab.

Method 12. Uninstall third-party anti-virus software

1. Use Windows + I to open Windows Settings and tap Applications.
2. Find the third-party antivirus software in the Applications & features list and tap the Uninstall button.

Method 13. Create and log in to a new user account

A corrupt user account can also be the cause of the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10. Therefore, you can create a new user account and log in to fix this issue.

1. Use Windows + S to open the search box, type cmd and select Run as administrator.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type net user ACCOUNT-NAME /add and press Enter. Note: You need to replace ACCOUNT-NAME in this command with the name of the user you want to create.
3. Type net localgroup administrators tempuser /add again and press Enter. This command will change the account type to system administrator.

Restart your computer and log in to a new user account to see if the above problem has been resolved.

Method 14. Perform a clean boot

Clean boot is a Windows diagnostic mode similar to Safe Mode that allows you to disable third-party applications and services manually. This method also helps you to solve the problem of screen goes black for a second in Windows 10.

1. Use Windows + R to open the Execute window, type msconfig and press Enter.
2. Switch to the Services tab at the top of the System Configuration window, check the Hide all Microsoft services checkbox in the lower left corner, and then click the Disable all button.

3. Switch to the Startup tab again and tap on the Open Task Manager button.
4. In the boot tab list, select each startup item in turn, and tap the Disable button in turn, then close Task Manager.
5. Go back to the Startup tab of System Settings and tap the OK button.

Method 15. Restore Windows 10 system

 If the screen went black for a few seconds before the problem appeared in Windows 10 was created System Restore Point then you can use the System Restore feature to restore your computer to a previous point in time to fix the black screen problem.

Enter the Windows Recovery Environment and click Troubleshoot -> Advanced options -> System Restore in order.

Next, simply follow the prompts to select the appropriate restore point and wait for the process to complete.

Provide comprehensive security for your computer data

The problem of the screen goes black for a second in Windows 10 will cause you a lot of unnecessary troubles, but you can fix it with the 15 methods mentioned in the article after understanding the cause of the problem. To make sure the system restore process won't have any accident, we recommend you to use AOMEI Backupper Standard to make a file backup to prevent the loss of important data.

AOMEI Backupper Standard allows you to backup your important data to any location on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 etc. for free, including to backup files to cloud , to NAS devices, to external hard drives, etc. Next, we will introduce you the detailed steps of AOMEI Backupper Standard File Backup. First of all, you need to download the software.

1. Open AOMEI Backupper Standard, select Backup in the left panel, and select File Backup in the right panel.

✨ Tip: You can also use the Cloud Backup feature to backup your data. It comes along with a cloud drive - AOMEI Cloud and 1TB free cloud storage in 15 days after you registry an AOMEI account. 

2. Select Add File or Add Folder as appropriate and choose the folder or archive you want to back up. In addition, you can tap 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.

✨ Tip: You can make some additional settings before starting a backup by clicking on Options, Schedule Backup and Backup Scheme in the lower left corner.

✔ Option: This option includes three functions: backup comments, enable encrypted backups, and enable email notifications, of which enabling encrypted backups requires upgrading to the Pro version to use.

✔ Schedule Backup: You can set it to automatically backup files on a daily, weekly, monthly, event triggers and USB plug in basis, with event triggers and USB plug in requiring an upgrade to the Pro version.

✔ Backup Scheme: Allows you to have three backup methods (full backup, incremental and differential backup), where differential backup requires upgrading to the Pro version. After upgrading to the Pro version, you can also enable the automatic cleanup backup feature.

✨ Tip: If your computer has a black screen and you can't get to the desktop, create bootable media on another computer that is running properly and plug it into this computer that has a black screen to make sure it boots properly.

Summary

The screen goes black for a second in Windows 10 is a common problem, but it is not troublesome to solve, you can do so by the 15 methods mentioned above after understanding the cause.

However, it should be noted that no one can ensure that there will be no accidents during the system restore process. For the sake of your data safety, it is recommended to use AOMEI Backupper Standard for file backup to prevent any possible data loss situation. You can also use it to help you upgrade hard drive of your computer. Try it now!