Guide to solving the black screen problem when turning on the computer: It's frustrating to try to power on your computer only to be met with a black screen and no explanation. Has your computer screen stopped working? Don't worry, we're here to help. Below are some troubleshooting methods and steps to take if your device fails to start. Follow our guide to solving the black screen problem when turning on the computer.
Diagnosing a black screen can be tricky, as it can be caused by many factors. Your entire computer could be malfunctioning, or it might just be the display. You might see a message like "no input" or "cable not connected," or you might see nothing at all. Let’s go through some troubleshooting steps so you can get back to work without wasting time.
Guide to solving the black screen problem when turning on the computer
1. Ensure your computer has enough power
The first step in our guide is to make sure your computer has sufficient power, whether from the battery or plugged into an outlet. If you're using an external monitor, it needs to be connected to a power source as well. So, ensure it’s receiving power too.
It’s quite possible that you accidentally hit the monitor's power button or kicked the plug with your feet without realizing it.
2. Check the cable connections
The second step is to ensure that the cable connecting your monitor to the computer is securely plugged in on both ends. Even if everything seems fine, there could be a connection issue between the computer and the monitor. If you have any spare cables, try using a different one, as the one you’re using might be damaged. This could also be due to a faulty USB port, so try a different port as well.
3. Have you tried turning the device off and on again?
The third step is to restart your computer if it’s already on to see if the issue persists. Turn off the device, wait a few seconds, then press the button again to turn it back on.
4. Increase the brightness
Your computer screen might not be malfunctioning at all; the brightness could simply be too low. Many laptops allow you to dim the screen to the point where it appears completely off. There should be brightness buttons on the top of your keyboard, so increase the brightness and see if that resolves the issue.
5. Try a different cable
If your computer offers multiple connection options, you can also try a different type of cable—for example, an HDMI cable instead of a DisplayPort cable—to see if that fixes the problem.
If you have a dedicated graphics card, make sure your monitor is connected to it, not to the HDMI port on the motherboard.
The issue could also be with the adapter. You might have a faulty adapter or be using it incorrectly. For instance, HDMI to VGA adapters only work in one direction; if you're trying to connect a VGA computer to a DVI monitor, you'll need a different type of adapter.
Additionally, ensure your cable meets the necessary specifications for the job. If you're using DisplayPort, make sure it's VESA certified; for HDMI, there may be a certification label on the packaging that you can scan with an HDMI cable certification app for iPhone or Android.
If you're trying to run a 4K monitor at a high refresh rate, you'll need a high-speed HDMI cable instead of an older model.
6. Try another monitor
If you're not currently using an external monitor, consider connecting one to see if the issue lies with your laptop's display or its internal components. You can even use your TV for this purpose. If you get a picture on the second screen, it may indicate that your computer can display an image but there's an issue with the built-in screen itself.
In that case, you should replace the faulty display.
7. Change the input
Make sure your monitor is set to the correct input. Most people automatically detect the right input, but it never hurts to double-check. You might even need to unplug the monitor entirely.
8. Check your power settings
If your monitor turns off randomly, it could be an issue with the computer's battery or sleep settings. You'll need to ensure that your power settings aren't set to turn off the monitor sooner than you typically expect.
Go to Settings > System > Power & Sleep (Windows 10) or Settings > System > Power & Battery > Screen and Sleep (Windows 11) and make sure nothing is set to turn off your computer's screen prematurely.
Next, type "power Plan" in the Windows search and open the Control Panel.
Go to Change advanced power settings and open the battery entry.
Open the critical battery level and ensure it's not set too high, so the screen doesn't turn off unexpectedly.
Open the low battery action and make sure your computer isn't shutting things down when the battery reaches 20%.
On a Mac running macOS Ventura or later,
go to System Settings > Lock Screen and ensure that the options indicating when to turn off the screen aren't set too low.
Users on macOS Monterey or earlier can open System Preferences > Battery > Battery and adjust the slider to set the duration before the screen turns off.
9. Disconnect your peripherals
It's also possible that one of your peripherals is causing an issue preventing the computer from starting. Disconnect any unnecessary devices from your computer (like the mouse, keyboard, printer, and monitor), then try to power it on again.
If everything works fine after removing the peripherals, one of those items is the culprit. You can narrow it down by rebooting again with one USB device connected at a time to see how the computer responds during startup. Once you identify the problem, you'll need to uninstall the faulty drivers and reinstall them to see if that resolves the issue.
In Windows, right-click the "Start" button and select "Device Manager," then look for the relevant peripheral device.
Right-click the entry and choose Uninstall device; you can then reinstall the driver from the manufacturer to see if that fixes the problem.
10. Multiple monitor issues
If you're trying to connect a second monitor, you may encounter issues where only one of the screens works properly.
First, ensure that your computer can support two or more monitors at once, as some devices may not support all the displays you want to connect.
For example, Apple’s M1 and M2 Macs only support one external display at a time.
If you have a MacBook Pro, the exact model and the external displays you have will determine how many monitors can be connected.
If the system recognizes your second monitor but it shows a black screen, you may have set it to display only on the laptop screen.
In Windows, open Settings > System > Display and ensure the multiple display settings are set to either duplicate the desktop on both screens or extend the desktop across both screens.
Mac users can go to System Settings > Displays for a similar list, open Display settings, and choose to extend the display.
11. Listen for beeps
If your computer emits a quick beep when you turn it on, it means it’s not detecting any hardware issues.
However, if it produces a specific sequence of beeps—like a long beep followed by two short ones—it’s trying to tell you something.
This could be due to a RAM failure, an overheating CPU, or a video card that isn’t seated properly. (Some devices may instead have a digital display showing error codes or a series of lights that light up in a specific order to indicate a problem.)
12. Fix your boot order
Sometimes, your computer may attempt to boot from the wrong drive—and when it can’t find an operating system, it will give you a black screen (sometimes with a blinking cursor in the corner). This is easy to fix.
To do this, restart your computer and press a specific key—usually DEL or F2—during startup to access the BIOS.
From the BIOS menu, look for the Boot Order option and ensure the correct hard drive is at the top of the list. Save your settings and exit; if you're lucky, it will reboot into Windows.
If that doesn’t work, you can also try loading the optimized default settings from the BIOS.
If you’ve misconfigured something else in the past, this will revert to the default settings, which may allow you to boot.
I recommend taking a picture of your BIOS settings first, in case you actually need something other than the default boot setting to work properly.
This way, you can revert everything back if resetting the default settings doesn’t work.
13. Reseat your graphics card, RAM, or other hardware
If you recently built, upgraded, or moved your desktop computer, it’s likely that a piece of hardware is not seated properly inside the case, preventing the computer from starting.
Remove the side panel of your computer and take a look inside.
If you have a dedicated graphics card, try removing it and reinserting it into its PCIe slot until it clicks into place, or try moving it to a completely different slot.
Make sure its power cables are securely connected as well.
Still not resolved? The issue might be with your graphics card, and it may be time for an upgrade.
While you’re inside, reseat your RAM sticks as well; press down on the arms near the edges to release the stick from its slot, then press it back in until you hear a click. Ensure all cables connected to the motherboard are fully seated, and that your drives are connected.
14. Safe mode
The final step in our guide is if you still can’t see an image when you power on your computer, you might have a driver or other software issue.
You may be able to get a picture by booting into safe mode, but without an image, how can you access such a screen?
On a Windows computer, you can interrupt the startup process three times (by pressing the restart button during Windows startup, for example). This will take you to the automatic repair menu, where you can open advanced options to find safe mode.
If that doesn’t work, create a Windows installation drive using another computer, boot from that USB drive, then go to Repair your computer > Troubles
