How to Fix a Black Screen on a Dell Laptop

"My laptop won't start and only displays a black screen. I have a Dell Inspiron with Windows 7 installed. It was working fine in the morning, but now it won't boot properly. It shows the Dell logo and then just a black screen. I've even tried to access System Repair by pressing F8, but that didn't work. Please help me."

When you are faced with Dell laptop black screen, you will collect many fixes waiting to refresh your laptop. If you are in a hurry and want to check your data, the Todo PCTrans Pro tool has updated a new feature, Data Rescue, to migrate your data from a non-bootable or poorly functioning computer.

Follow us for more troubleshooting tips.

Data Recovery from Unbootable Dell Laptop

How to Fix a Black Screen on a Dell Laptop - 6 Ways

Some reasons for a Dell laptop screen going black

A black screen is one of the most common issues you might encounter with a computer. There are multiple reasons why your computer might have a black screen, such as overheating, a damaged monitor, a faulty motherboard, hidden viruses, a damaged graphics card, issues with your system installation, or power problems.

Power issue: Your computer's power source might cause your laptop screen to go black. For example, the display might turn off when you use certain devices.

A failed component: A bad motherboard, RAM, or graphics card can cause your screen to go black.

Improper or loose connections between the motherboard and components: This could be due to incorrect or loose connections between your motherboard and devices such as your graphics card.

Other causes: A faulty BIOS update, a malicious virus, or issues with display adapter driver updates can also lead to monitor crashes.

With so many potential causes, you may need to try a few solutions. Before attempting any fixes that could result in data loss, we recommend that you first transfer your programs, accounts, and files from the unbootable broken computer. This is a safe and secure way to ensure that your data is protected before trying these methods on your device.

Data Rescue – Recovering Your Data When Your Dell Laptop Won't Turn On

The tool Todo PCTrans now offers a "Data Rescue" feature to help with unbootable computers, hardware failures, system loading issues, and irreparable Windows faults. This guide assumes you'll be removing the hard drive from the laptop. If you have any questions along the way, feel free to contact us via the LiveChat on the right side of the page.

The Todo PCTrans tool also works great for transferring files between two PCs/laptops.

Click to download the trial version:

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Step 1: Remove the hard drive from your old computer.

• Unplug the computer. If it's a laptop, remove the battery as well.
• Open up the case of the old computer so you can access the hard drive.
• Use a screwdriver to open up the case and locate the hard drive.
• Disconnect the drive and its cables, then remove the drive.

Step 2: Connect the hard drive to the new computer.

Multiple connectivity options:

1. USB Hard Drive Enclosure: Use this special case to connect your old hard drive and plug it into the new computer via USB.
2. USB Hard Drive Adapter: This is a "cable" that connects one end to the hard drive and the other end to a USB port on the new computer.
3. Desktop Computer: If your new computer is a desktop, you can connect the old hard drive directly as a second internal hard drive.

Step 3: Restore/migrate apps, files, and accounts from the old disk.

1. Download and run the Todo PCTrans tool. Choose “Data Rescue” mode, then click “Start.”

2. Browse through the steps, then click “Scan.”

3. Make sure the hard drive is connected to your computer. Select the old drive you want to recover, then click “Continue.”

4. Choose the apps, files, and accounts you want to restore.

5. Wait a few seconds for the data to transfer.

How to Fix a Black Screen on a Dell Laptop – 5 Methods

Here are 5 methods to fix a "Dell laptop black screen" issue. You can try one of the following: 1. Check power and battery: Ensure the laptop is properly plugged into an electrical outlet. If using a battery, try removing it and then starting the computer with only the power adapter. If the screen remains black, reinsert the battery and attempt again. 2. Force restart: Hold down the power button for about 10 seconds to force the computer to shut down. Then, press the power button again to start the laptop. This may help resolve temporary software issues. 3. Check external display: Connect your laptop to an external monitor like a TV or monitor to see if it displays correctly. If the external monitor works fine, the issue might be with your laptop's built-in screen. 4. Boot in Safe Mode: While starting up, repeatedly press the F8 key to access the "Advanced Boot Options" menu, and choose "Safe Mode." If the screen displays normally in Safe Mode, a driver or software conflict could be the cause. Update or uninstall related drivers accordingly. 5. Test memory and graphics card: Disconnect all external devices, including USB devices and the optical drive. Open the laptop to ensure the RAM is properly seated. If the memory is not the issue, the graphics card might be faulty. Consider contacting Dell customer support for professional assistance or repair services. Try one of these methods based on your situation. If the problem persists, it's recommended to seek help from a professional technician.

Fix 1: Force shutdown your laptop

Step 1: Disconnect all external devices from your laptop, including USB flash drives, printers, or any other peripherals.

Step two: Power down your laptop by holding down the power button, and unplug the AC adapter.

Step 3: Press the Power button for 60 seconds to drain any remaining power, then put the battery back in and plug in the charger.

Step 4: Restart the Dell laptop.

Fix 2: Restart in Safe Mode

If a forced shutdown doesn't resolve the issue of a black screen on your Dell laptop, you can attempt to use the laptop's Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a troubleshooting feature that allows you to boot the operating system without loading many hardware drivers, facilitating error detection and resolution.

Step 1. Press Shift + F8 before the Windows logo appears to enter Recovery Mode.

Step 2. From the Recovery menu, select Advanced options > Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

If the laptop runs normally in Safe Mode, try the next step.

Fix 3: Restart the Explorer.exe process.

Explorer.exe manages all the processes running on a laptop. When it malfunctions, the screen on a Dell laptop can turn black.

Step 1: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.

Step 2: Click on the “Details” tab, then select “explorer.exe” and click “End Task.”

Step 3: Restart your Dell laptop.

Fix 4: Update graphics driver

A black screen on a Dell laptop could be due to an improper connection between the graphics driver and the system.

Step 1: Press Windows + X and open Device Manager, then select Display adapters.

Step 2: Right-click the driver and select **Update driver**.

Step 3: In the next window, check the box for “Search automatically for updated driver software.”

Fix 5: Reinstall Windows

Step 1: Prepare your USB or DVD and connect it to your laptop.

Step Two: Turn the computer off, and then turn it back on.

Step 3: When the Dell logo appears, press F12 to enter the One-Time Boot Menu.

Step 4: Select UEFI Boot, then choose your USB or DVD, and finally select Troubleshoot and then Restore from Drive.