Are you unable to use your Dell laptop because of its black screen, though the keyboard is lit up?
You’re not alone!
The black screen issue is common in laptops and indicates a software problem or hardware failure. Generally speaking, it has something to do with your graphics card driver or graphics card itself.
In most cases, you can solve it by updating your GPU drivers or reinstalling Windows.
Keep on reading to explore what causes black screen on a Dell laptop. Also, we’ll see how to overcome this issue to get back to using your laptop with ease.
How to Fix Black Laptop Screen on My Dell Laptop?
The best way to overcome the black screen on your Dell laptop is by restarting your graphics drivers or force shutting down your laptop.
Moreover, booting into Safe Mode or updating the graphics drivers can help.
Some other fixes include resetting or updating BIOS and repairing your PC through Windows settings.
Below, we’ll explore the most effective ways to get rid of the frustrating black screen on your Dell laptop:
1. Restart Your Graphics Driver
Restarting your graphics driver is an easy way to overcome the black screen on your Dell laptop. Follow these steps to restart the graphics driver:
Step #1: Press your keyboard’s Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys simultaneously. This will open the Windows Security screen.
Step #2: Click on the Task Manager option from the list of available options.
Step #3: In the Task Manager window, click on the Processes tab.
Step #4: Locate the “Windows Explorer” process and click on it to highlight it.
Step #5: Click on the “Restart” button in the bottom-right corner of the Task Manager window.
Step #6: The screen will flicker for a few seconds as the graphics driver restarts. Once the process is complete, your screen should be back to normal.
2. Force Shut Down Your Laptop
If restarting the graphics driver doesn’t work, you can try force shutting down your laptop:
Step #1: Press and hold the power button on your Dell laptop for at least 10 seconds. Hold it until the laptop shuts down completely. This will force shut down your laptop.
Step #2: Unplug the power cord from your laptop and remove the battery (if it is removable).
Step #3: Hold down the power button for another 15 seconds to discharge any remaining power.
Step #4: Reinsert the battery and plug the power cord back in.
Step #5: Turn on your Dell laptop and check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
3. Boot into Safe Mode
Safe Mode allows you to start your laptop with minimal drivers and services, which can help you diagnose and fix the issue.
If force shutting down the laptop also doesn’t work, try booting it into Safe Mode by following these steps:
Step #1: Turn off your Dell laptop completely.
Step #2: Press the power button to turn on your laptop and immediately start pressing the F8 key repeatedly until you see the “Advanced Boot Options” screen.
Step #3: Use the arrow keys to select the “Safe Mode” option and press Enter.
Step #4: Wait for your laptop to boot into Safe Mode. You may see a different resolution, or the desktop may look different, but this is normal behavior for Safe Mode.
Step #5: Once you are in Safe Mode, try to identify and fix the underlying cause of the black screen issue. This may involve updating drivers, running a virus scan, or performing a system restore.
Step #6: Restart your laptop once you have resolved the issue, and it should boot normally.
4. Update Your Graphics Driver
Another effective way to get rid of the black screen on your Dell laptop is by updating the graphics driver. Follow these steps to do so:
Step #1: Press the Windows key + X on your keyboard and select “Device Manager” from the list of available options.
Step #2: Expand the “Display adapters” category to reveal your graphics card.
Step #3: Right-click on your graphics card and select “Update driver” from the context menu.
Step #4: Choose the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option and wait for Windows to search for and install the latest driver software for your graphics card.
Step #5: Once the driver installation is complete, restart your Dell laptop and check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
5. Restart Your Explorer.exe Process
If updating the graphics driver doesn’t work, try restarting the Explorer.exe Process on your Dell laptop by following these steps:
Step #1: Press your keyboard’s Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys simultaneously. This will open the Task Manager window.
Step #2: Click on the “File” menu in the top-left corner of the Task Manager window and select “Run new task”.
Step #3: In the “Create new task” window, type “explorer.exe” (without quotes) in the text field and click on the “OK” button.
Step #4: Wait for the explorer.exe process to restart. This may take a few seconds, and your screen may flicker for a while.
Step #5: Once the process is complete, check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
6. Repair Your PC Without Losing Any Files
Repairing your PC can help with any software glitches that prevent your Dell laptop’s display from working properly.
But backing up your important data before using this feature is important to ensure you don’t lose it.
Follow these steps to repair your PC without data loss:
Step #1: Create a bootable Windows 10 installation media using a USB drive or DVD. You can download the Windows 10 ISO file from the Microsoft website.
Step #2: Insert the bootable Windows 10 installation media into your Dell laptop and restart your laptop.
Step #3: Press any key when prompted to boot from the installation media.
Step #4: Select your language preferences and click on the “Next” button.
Step #5: Click on the “Install now” button.
Step #6: Accept the license terms and click on the “Next” button.
Step #7: Choose the “Upgrade” option to repair your PC without losing any files and click on the “Next” button.
Step #8: Wait for the installation process to complete. This may take some time.
Step #9: Once the installation is complete, restart your Dell laptop and check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
7. Reset BIOS
BIOS (basic input/output system) is an essential program that manages data flow between Windows and other hardware parts, including display and graphics card.
If the disturbance of connection between your graphics card and Windows is causing the black screen issue, resetting BIOS can help solve it.
Follow these steps to reset BIOS on your Dell laptop:
Step #1: Turn off your Dell laptop and unplug it from the power source.
Step #2: Press and hold the power button for at least 15 seconds to discharge any residual power.
Step #3: Locate the CMOS battery on your Dell laptop. The CMOS battery is a small circular battery on the motherboard that helps to retain BIOS settings even when the computer is turned off.
Step #4: Remove the CMOS battery from its socket by gently pushing down on the metal clip that holds it in place.
Step #5: Wait for about 10-15 minutes to allow any residual power to drain from the system.
Step #6: Reinsert the CMOS battery into its socket and make sure it is securely in place.
Step #7: Reconnect your Dell laptop to the power source and turn it on.
Step #8: Enter the BIOS setup by pressing the appropriate key (usually F2, F10, or Del) when prompted during the boot process.
Step #9: Restore the default BIOS settings by selecting the “Load default settings” or “Reset to default” option in the BIOS setup.
Step #10: Save the changes and exit the BIOS setup.
Step #11: Restart your Dell laptop and check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
8. Update BIOS
If resetting BIOS on your laptop doesn’t help, try updating it by following these steps:
Step #1: Go to the Dell Support website and download the latest BIOS update for your Dell laptop. Make sure to choose the correct model and operating system version.
Step #2: Save the BIOS update file to a USB drive.
Step #3: Insert the USB drive into your Dell laptop.
Step #4: Turn on your Dell laptop and press the appropriate key (usually F2, F10, or Del) to enter the BIOS setup.
Step #5: Locate the “Boot” menu in the BIOS setup and change the boot sequence to boot from the USB drive first.
Step #6: Save the changes and exit the BIOS setup.
Step #7: Restart your Dell laptop and follow the on-screen instructions to update the BIOS. This process may take several minutes to complete.
Step #8: Once the BIOS update is complete, restart your Dell laptop and check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
9. Reinstall Windows
Reinstalling Windows will give your laptop a fresh start and remove any software glitches or viruses that may be causing the black screen issue.
Follow these steps to reinstall Windows on your laptop:
Step #1: Back up all your files, applications, and settings to an external hard drive or cloud storage service.
Step #2: Create a Windows installation media by downloading the Windows installation file from the official Microsoft website and saving it to a USB drive or DVD.
Step #3: Insert the Windows installation media into your Dell laptop and restart it.
Step #4: Press the appropriate key (usually F2, F10, or Del) to enter the BIOS setup.
Step #5: First, change the boot sequence to boot from the USB drive or DVD.
Step #6: Save the changes and exit the BIOS setup.
Step #7: Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows. Choose the option to perform a clean installation of Windows, which will erase all data from your hard drive.
Step #8: Once the installation is complete, reinstall all your files, applications, and settings from the backup you created in step 1.
Step #9: Restart your Dell laptop and check if the black screen issue has been resolved.
10. Connect an External Display to Your Laptop
If you have tried all the troubleshooting steps and the black screen issue persists, the problem may be with the laptop display itself.
In such cases, try connecting an external display to your Dell laptop to confirm if the issue is with the laptop display.
Here are the steps to connect an external display to your Dell laptop:
Step #1: Turn off your Dell laptop.
Step #2: Connect the external display to your laptop using a VGA, HDMI, or DisplayPort cable.
Step #3: Turn on the external display and ensure it is set to the correct input source.
Step #4: Turn on your Dell laptop.
Step #5: Press the Windows key + P key to open the Project menu.
Step #6: Select “Duplicate” or “Extend” to display your laptop screen on the external display.
If the external display works properly, the problem is with the laptop display.
In this case, you can continue using the external display as a temporary solution. Or, visit a computer repair shop and get your laptop’s display replaced.
Why is My Dell Laptop Screen Black, But the Keyboard is Lit?
If your Dell laptop shows the black screen of death but the keyboard lits up, it means the laptop is running, but there’s a problem with the display.
Since a graphics card powers a laptop’s display, it may be causing the issue. Or, the graphic driver may be corrupted, leading to no display on the screen.
That said, here are the main reasons your Dell laptop is showing a black screen:
- Problematic display – The laptop’s display may be damaged, disconnected or malfunctioning.
- Misbehaving GPU – The graphics processing unit (GPU) may be faulty or damaged.
- Corrupted graphics driver – The driver may be outdated, corrupted, or conflicting with other drivers.
- Virus/malware – The laptop may be infected with a virus or malware causing the black screen issue.
- Corrupted Windows – The Windows operating system may be corrupted, causing the laptop screen to turn black.
- Hardware failure – Other hardware components, such as the motherboard, RAM, or hard drive, may be malfunctioning.
- Malfunctioning power system – The laptop’s power system may be malfunctioning, causing the laptop not to boot up properly.
Key Takeaways
If your Dell laptop’s screen is black, but the keyboard is lit, it means there’s an underlying hardware or software issue with your laptop.
Since the graphics card is responsible for the display, a problematic graphics card or graphics card driver can cause your laptop to show a black screen.
There are many ways you can try to overcome this issue, such as:
- Restart or update the graphics driver.
- Replace your laptop’s display panel or use an external display.
- Reset or update BIOS.
- Reinstall Windows or use the repair your PC function.
- Restart the Explorer.exe Process or boot into Safe Mode
If nothing works, it’s worth visiting a computer repair shop and having an expert examine your laptop.
They should be able to spot the underlying issue and fix exactly that to get you back to using your top effortlessly!