Laptop black screen? Why no display?

Have you encountered a black screen on your laptop? Usually we start to panic if we do not see our Windows desktop or the manufacturer logo coming up. Instead, sometime it is a total black screen and we start smashing our power button constantly. What’s the solution for your laptop’s black screen?

Power

The first thing you can check is LED, sound and activity for your laptop that can tell if you have power. When your screen goes black or stay black during startup, you can only rely on the surrounding components to tell you more information about your laptop. Checking if there is power LED indicator and hard drive activity light. Lastly, you can check if your fan spins by placing your ear near the exhaust area. These are good indicators that your laptop has power or not without looking at the screen. It is a good idea to plug in your power adaptor to continue diagnose at this point.

Display

If your laptop comes with the functionality to project or mirror the display to an external source, do try and plug in either HDMI or VGA cables and power on your laptop. These cables are commonly found attached to TVs or desktop computers. If you have one that is compatible with your TV, you can try that as well.

If you see display on your TV or external monitor but not your laptop, you can attempt to switch the display. Usually on your keyboard has a function key that mirrors or shift the primary display. That is different for different make or model of laptop. If you still see a black screen on your laptop as well as your external monitor, this could mean your mainboard could be faulty. If there is display on the external monitor but not on your laptop, likely your laptop LCD screen needs to be replaced.

Black screen with backlight

If you happen to have a black screen on your laptop but still able to see certain back light and does not boot into Windows, you are likely to have a bad drive. Your operating system is stored inside a drive. Most common types are SSD and HDD. It is advisable to do a health check on your drive if you have an older laptop more than 3 years. HDD have a shorter lifespan compared to SSD and a common problem all laptops have. They get corrupted easily along with Windows and become unstable.

If you are suspecting a bad drive when you see black screen with backlight on your laptop, you can bring it to a professional service to get it replaced or to attempt to recover your data.

Constant black screen

Black screen without LED indicator lights or backlit can be the most worrying problems that can happen. If you do not see your manufacturer logo and your laptop remains black, you would have to check for power. Usually the LED lights will tell if power is going in to your laptop. But sometimes the light does not show at all and the fans do not spin. This happens if you have a bad battery. Power goes through your rechargeable battery first before powering up your laptop. This ensures the battery gets charged before you use your laptop. The next time you unplug and use your laptop without the adaptor, it will either remain the same charge or has more charge in it.

But this solution is not perfect. If your battery is out of its lifespan, the battery may not get charged or recognized by the laptop. When it is time for use, there is zero charge left in your battery and the power adaptor is just not able to charge your laptop battery. Therefore, if you try to power on your device, it is just a black screen because there is no power.

So if you have a removable or external battery, try to remove it first. Plug in your power adaptor to your laptop without the battery attached and try to power on. If you have built in battery for your laptop, you will have to open up the back panel and remove the battery to test. Most people are uncomfortable or unsure how it is done and you should consult professional services to attend to your laptop. If not done properly, you could do more harm to your laptop then it currently it.

For a quote, do SMS or Whatsapp us at Budget PC Upgrade & Repairs.

Let us know your Windows laptop model number or Macbook model and we’ll give you a quote!

Alternatively, you may send it down to our shop for a free diagnostic test to find out the reason why your laptop is faulty.