The laptop display might face some issues after a few years of use. It’s also possible that the screen goes black even when the laptop is turned on. There’s also a chance you’ll see some white lines going vertically across the screen.
In the event that your laptop display not working, you can try a few different troubleshooting methods to see if any of them work. Read through each of the sections for possible reasons and their solutions.
Common Problems Why Laptop Display Not Working
No Display Display
Let’s start with a classic desktop computer screen problem (LED or LCD screen): the inability to display anything. There is a multitude of context that contributes to this issue. As luck would have it, there are a number of troubleshooting steps you can take to see if any of them work.
The motherboard may have defective hardware components, or the LCD or LED may be broken. There’s a good chance that either of these two factors is to blame, and identifying which one is essential to finding a solution.
Lines Or Dots On The Screen
Before doing anything else, you should try pressing your laptop’s LCD or LED screen with just enough force to change the display if you notice any noticeable black dots or lines. Wedged or imprisoned pixels are usually to blame for this issue. You can generally press on it to unstick it, to see at which point the dots and lines will vanish.
If pressing down on it doesn’t eliminate or lessen the dots, though, the screen will need to be replaced. If the lines and dots on your monitor aren’t too distracting, there’s no need to get a new one until they become more noticeable.
Corrupted Graphics Drivers
If your laptop’s screen isn’t working due to an issue with your graphics drivers, you can still use a perfectly adequate external monitor. A laptop’s graphics card, also called a video card, is a specialized piece of hardware designed to render visual content for the screen.
To put it simply, a graphics driver is the piece of software that acts as a translator between your laptop’s visual processing unit and the rest of the system.
Broken Laptop Screen?
The majority of the time, physical damage is the cause of a damaged laptop screen. It’s possible that you accidentally dropped your laptop or something heavy on it. The screen of a laptop computer can shatter if even a grain of sand gets wedged in the space between the keyboard.
The following are some of the additional potential causes of a broken or non-functioning laptop screen:
- Stuck pixels
- Burnt screens
- Failure of the backlight
- Problems with cables and plugs
- An Old and Outdated graphics Driver
System Operation Problems
There could be a problem with the operating system if the laptop starts up, but the screen remains black or blank after login. If only the mouse cursor is visible on the screen, it’s likely that the operating system isn’t loading correctly.
A black or blank screen may be caused by a damaged system file that prevents the operating system from loading. To test if the problem is essentially transitory and disappears after Windows is restarted, you might remove your hard drive and reinstall Windows if the issue remains after doing so.
Solutions
1. Remove Battery And Power Supply
In the event that your laptop screen black issue after being plugged in, removing the battery and then the power supply may help you determine what went wrong. Here are the actions you need to do to reset:
- Unplug the battery and power cord
- Disconnect the battery
- To discharge any excess static electricity charge, hold and press the power button for 30 seconds
- Reinstall the battery and plug in the power source
- The laptop must be turned on
Normally, when you turn on a laptop, the operating system should load on the screen. If not, go on with the methods mentioned below.
2. Try Updating The Display Drivers
If your laptop still functions properly when connected to an external display, but the screen remains blank, you might try updating the graphics display driver files. The LCD’s functionality may be compromised if the system has a corrupted graphics driver.
To fix this, you need to upgrade the graphics driver files, which may be done by downloading the updated version from the manufacturer’s website. Here are the measures to do in order to update the graphics card driver files on a laptop:
- To access Device Manager, right-click the Start button
- To change the screen driver, select that option
- Choose Update by right-clicking on HD graphics.
3. Detect Display
If Windows 10 loses connectivity with the display, the user may see a blank screen. To reboot the video driver and restore the link to the display, press the Windows logo key plus Ctrl + Shift key + B.
If Windows 10 is responsive to the wake command, you’ll get a beep and see on-screen activity as it tries to connect to the network.
The “Project” flyout interface can also be accessed with the keyboard shortcut Windows key + P.
If the black screen persists after pressing P twice, try switching between display modes by pressing P and Enter.
4. Perform A Hard Reset
Doing a hard reset on the laptop may be the only way to get it to stop displaying a blank screen and start functioning normally again. The hard reset process will erase everything, including your laptop’s memory but will leave your hard disk undamaged.
Each and every peripheral component should be unplugged from the computer. Here is how to force the computer to restart:
- Power down your laptop and take out the battery;
- The laptop’s battery should be completely drained by pressing the power button for at least 15 seconds.
- Reconnect the battery and restart the laptop by clicking the power switch.
5. Update Windows
Updating Windows could be another option to try. Many of your laptop’s functions can be managed by the latest Windows update. And therefore, if you fall behind on them, your device may start acting up. You can try updating to the newest version of Windows to check if that solves the problem and gets your screen to light up.
6. Reinstall Your RAM
This can also be brought on by a faulty interface between your RAM and motherboard. The RAM in your computer has to be reinstalled. Here are steps on how to do it:
1) Start by turning your laptop off by pressing and holding the power button.
The specifics of this procedure will change based on the type of laptop being used. Read the manual that came with your laptop, or contact a professional if you need assistance.
2) Turn off your laptop’s power source by unplugging the AC adapter power cable from the back of the case.
3) Take the RAM out of the motherboard’s slot.
4) Insert the memory stick once again into its slot.
5) Turn on the laptop after plugging in the AC power cord to the wall outlet.
7. Optimize Your GPU Temperature
When running intensive programs or playing demanding video games, your computer’s graphics processing unit (GPU) will heat up significantly. A laptop’s GPU often becomes overheated, leading to the dreaded black screen.
The performance of your laptop once the GPU has cooled down is something you should test. If that’s the case, then you might want to investigate ways to lower the temperature of your graphics processing unit. If you want to keep your laptop cool, you should avoid placing it on a soft surface like a bed or mattress and instead use something firm like a book.
Place a cooling pad beneath your laptop for optimal results. Similar to how overclocking your CPU causes the GPU to run hotter, overclocking your graphics card will increase the temperature of the chip. You should reduce your game’s settings as well as reset to the defaults.
Alternative Solutions
Here are some of the methods you can try if the above methods don’t work:
- If the issue remains, try replacing the video or graphics card.
- You can examine the heat sink to see if the GPU is overheating and find a way to cool it down.
- Beeping sounds during bootup may indicate a problem with your computer. Learn what those computer sounds mean.
- The monitor may automatically adapt without further intervention if you try entering the BIOS to start the computer in the Windows recovery environment. The screen returned to normal operation when I exited BIOS.
- After that, you should check the motherboard and processor for any signs of damage.
The Final Thoughts
These are some of the things you could try to fix on your laptop display not working. The aforementioned recommendations can be applied to fix a laptop whose display is malfunctioning, and they constitute a comprehensive guide to this common problem.
Multiple suggestions for fixing the damaged screen have been provided. If the aforementioned steps don’t fix your laptop, you should take it to a repair shop and ask to speak to a laptop expert.
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