Black or blank screen
When the screen goes black decides the cause. Find yours below.
A black screen can mean very different things. The monitor may get no signal from the graphics card. The PC may not find a drive to start from. The graphics driver may have stopped responding. Or Windows may have started without loading the desktop.
Microsoft groups blank screens by when they appear: with a cursor, at sign-in, after an update, or with a blinking cursor before Windows starts. Try the quick fixes first, then follow the guide for your case.
Quick fixes from Microsoft
- Check that the PC is charged or plugged in, and that an external monitor is connected, plugged in and switched on.
- Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B to reset the graphics driver; you should hear a beep or see a flicker.
- Press Windows + P, press P again and Enter to cycle through display modes, in case the picture is going to another display.
- If you see only a cursor, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, find Windows Explorer and choose Restart, or use File > Run new task and type explorer.exe.
- If nothing responds, hold the power button for 20 seconds to force a restart.
No signal when the PC is switched on
The fans run, but the monitor shows "No signal" and there is no maker logo. The problem is the display connection, graphics card or memory.
GPU-BLACK-SCREEN
The PC turns on, fans spin and lights come on, but the monitor stays black or says "No signal". The monitor is not receiving a picture, either because the cable or input is wrong, or because the PC never finishes its…
MotherboardPOST-CODE-55
On motherboards whose manual defines POST code 55 as memory not installed or not detected, startup has stopped during memory initialization. The number is a firmware diagnostic code, not a Windows error.
Black screen with a blinking cursor or a boot message
Microsoft explains that a blinking cursor before Windows usually means the firmware cannot find a boot device.
Boot Device Not Found
Before Windows starts, the PC shows "Boot Device Not Found", "No bootable device" or a similar firmware message. The message comes from the BIOS/UEFI, not from Windows: it did not find a drive it can start from.
Windows & BSODBOOTMGR-MISSING
Instead of starting Windows, the PC shows a black screen saying that BOOTMGR is missing and asking you to press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart. BOOTMGR is the Windows Boot Manager on PCs that start in legacy BIOS mode.
The screen goes black during games or videos
The graphics card stopped responding and Windows reset its driver, or the game lost the graphics device.
VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE
Windows tried to recover an unresponsive graphics driver, but the recovery failed.
DirectXDXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_REMOVED
A game or app lost its connection to the graphics card and had to stop. Microsoft lists the situations that cause it: the graphics driver was updated, a laptop switched from its power-saving to its performance GPU,…
When the screen stays black after sign-in or an update
These steps from Microsoft's blank screen article help when the PC starts but the desktop does not appear.
- Check all video cables (HDMI, DisplayPort) and try another cable or monitor; on a laptop, disconnect external displays and devices.
- Force the PC off with the power button 2 to 3 times during startup to open the recovery menu.
- Choose Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart and press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
- In Safe Mode, open Device Manager > Display adapters, right-click the graphics card and choose Update driver, or Roll back driver if it started after an update.
- If the problem began recently, use Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore and choose a point from before it started.
Sources
- Microsoft Support: Troubleshooting blank screens in Windows
- Microsoft Learn: Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR)
Written and reviewed by Matyáš Rada.