Common as it is, it is a quite frustrating issue — and quite scary. Your laptop doesn’t output anything on the screen, nor can it accepts any input (perhaps). You can’t use or access the data on your laptop. And you may not know how to fix it!

But don’t worry. This issue CAN be fixed. The following are the methods that can help your get your laptop screen back to normal. They have helped many laptop users and they may be able to help you! 

Try these one at a time:

  1. Restart the explorer.exe process
  2. Enter safe mode and undo recent changes
  3. Hard reset your laptop
  4. Reinstall your memory
  5. Have your laptop serviced

 

And there are also things you can do after troubleshooting if one of the methods above can help you:

  1. Restore your system from a restore point
  2. Update your device drivers

 

Method 1: Restart the explorer.exe process

You may get the black screen issue because the explorer.exe process on your computer has been closed (possibly by a virus). It is a process that manages the desktop, taskbar, etc, on your operating system. Closing it can make your desktop and taskbar invisible, and you get the black screen issue.

To fix this issue, you can check and restart the process manually. To do so:


1) Press the Ctrl, Shift and Esc key on your keyboard at the same time. This will open Task Manager.

2) Click the Details tab (or the Processes tab in Windows 7’s Task Manager) and see if there exists a process called “explorer.exe“

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If there is, try ending the process (right-clicking it and selecting End task or End process) and then reboot your computer. Then check to see if this fixes your problem.

But if you can’t see the explorer process, you can run it on your own:

i. Click File and click Run new task.


ii. In the Create new task dialog that pops up, type “explorer.exe” and press Enter on your keyboard.


iii. The process will run and you can see if your desktop becomes normal.

3) If the steps above bring your desktop back, you may need to restore your system to a previous state in order to prevent your issue occurring again.

 

Method 2: Enter safe mode and undo recent changes

You may have change some settings or installed a program on your computer, which are incompatible with your operating system. And it causes the black screen problem of your laptop.

You can try going into safe mode of your system and undo these changes. Safe mode is a diagnostic mode of your operating system. You can use it to troubleshoot issues on your computer. The method of entering safe mode varies depending on the Windows version you are using. You can check this guide to learn how to do this.

When you are in safe mode, undo the recent changes you have made to the system settings. Or uninstall the program you have recently installed on your program. If you have updated your system right before you got the black screen issue, uninstalled these updates and contact Microsoft for advice. If you are not clear what you have changed, it is recommended that you use System Restore feature to revert your computer’s state.

Method 3: Hard reset your laptop

Hard resetting your laptop can clear all the information in your memory and the charges in your laptop. This is helpful for restoring your laptop screen. To hard reset your laptop:

1) Turn off your laptop.

2) Disconnect all the peripheral devices on your laptop.

3) Remove the battery. (If it is not removable, skip this step.)

4) Disconnect the power cable from your laptop.

5) Press and hold the power button on your laptop for about one minute.

6) Connect the power cable to your laptop and turn it on.

7) Turn off your laptop.

8) Connect the battery to your laptop and turn it on.

9) If this method works for you, you will see there starts to be something showing up on your laptop screen.



 

Method 4: Reinstall your memory

It is also possible that your laptop screen issue comes from your laptop memory (RAM).

Laptop memory

It has gone wrong and stops your laptop from completing the self test. You can try reinstalling your laptop memory and see if this can fix your screen issue.

To do so:

1) Turn off your laptop and disconnect the power cable and the battery from your device.

2) Remove the cover on the memory module compartment on the back of your laptop. (You may need to check the manual or the official guides of your product for instructions on how to do this.)

3) Remove the memory from your laptop.

4) Rub the golden contact of your memory with an eraser. (This can clean the golden contact of your memory.)

5) Install the memory back to your laptop.

6) Place the memory module compartment cover back to your laptop.

7) Turn on your laptop and see if your issue is fixed.

 

Method 5: Have your laptop serviced

If none of the methods above could help you, your issue may be a hardware problem that you can’t solve yourself. You may need to ask a computer expert to help you. If your laptop is still under warranty, you can contact the manufacturer of your device. They can check your laptop and get it repaired or replaced.

 

Extra tips

If you have resolved the problem with your laptop screen, it is suggested that you try the things below to totally get rid of this issue and keep your computer healthy. 

1. Restore your system from a restore point

Once your laptop recovers, you can restore your Windows from a system restore point. This can prevent your computer from getting issues resulting from the previous changes you have made.

Note that you can restore your system only when you have previously created a restore point.

To restore your operating system:

1) Click the Start button in the bottom left corner of your screen. Then type “restore“.

2) Open the System Restore wizard from the list of result.On Windows 7, just click System Restore in the search result:


On Windows 10, click Create a restore point,


And then in the dialog popping up, click the System Restore button.


3) In the System Restore wizard, follow the instructions to select a restore point and complete the restoration.


 

2. Update your device driver

You may get various hardware issues (not just this black screen one) if your device drivers on your computer are wrong or out of date. To keep your laptop healthy, you should make sure your drivers are updated.

You can update your drivers manually, but the process can be very time- and energy-consuming. If you want it to be easier, you can use Driver Easy.


Driver Easy will automatically recognize your system and find the correct drivers for it. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to be troubled by the wrong driver you would be downloading, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.