Windows 11 Black Screen: Fixes at Startup and After Sign-In

A Windows 11 black screen looks alarming, but in most cases the PC is still running and only the picture has gone. The cause can be as simple as a loose cable or a display set to the wrong mode, or as stubborn as a graphics driver that broke during an update. The steps below run from the quickest checks to the recovery tools, and they apply to Windows 11 version 24H2 and 25H2 on both Home and Pro.

Before you start, work out when the screen goes black. That single detail tells you where to look.

Which black screen do you have?

What you see	Most likely cause	Start with
No maker logo, monitor says “No signal”	Cable, monitor input, display hardware	Quick checks
Logo appears, then black before sign-in	Graphics driver, failed update	Safe mode and driver rollback
Black screen with a mouse cursor after sign-in	Windows Explorer stalled, startup app, driver	Restart Explorer
Black after an update installed	New driver or update	Uninstall the update, System Restore
Black with a blinking text cursor, no logo afterwards	Firmware cannot find a boot drive	Boot order and drive checks
Only the external monitor is black	Display mode, cable, refresh rate	Windows key + P, display settings

If the screen shows a stop code such as “Your device ran into a problem”, that is a different problem: see the Windows 11 blue screen guide.

Quick checks that fix most cases

Try these in order before touching drivers:

1. Power and cables. Make sure a laptop is charged or plugged in. On a desktop, check that the monitor is on, the cable is firmly seated at both ends and the monitor’s input (HDMI 1, DisplayPort and so on) matches the port you use. Try another cable or another port on the graphics card if you have one.
2. Brightness. Laptop brightness keys can turn the panel down to nothing. Press the brightness-up key a few times.
3. Wake the graphics driver. Press Windows key + Ctrl + Shift + B. Microsoft describes this as a graphics driver reset; a short beep or a flicker tells you Windows is alive.
4. Cycle the display mode. Press Windows key + P, then press P again and Enter to move between PC screen only, Duplicate, Extend and Second screen only. Wait a few seconds after each change.
5. Disconnect extras. Unplug docks, external drives, USB hubs and second monitors, then restart.
6. Force a restart. If nothing responds, hold the power button until the PC turns off, wait a moment and turn it on again.

If a Windows update was installing when the screen went black, give it time before forcing a shutdown. Interrupting an update repeatedly can leave Windows half-updated and harder to repair.

Black screen with a cursor: restart Windows Explorer

When you can move the mouse but there is no taskbar or desktop, Windows has loaded and its shell has not.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. If nothing happens, press Ctrl + Alt + Del and choose Task Manager.
2. On the Processes page, find Windows Explorer, right-click it and select Restart.
3. If it is not listed, select Run new task, type explorer.exe and press Enter.

If the desktop comes back but the problem returns at every sign-in, a startup app or service is the usual suspect. Turn off non-essential items in Settings > Apps > Startup, then restart. Signing in with another user account is also a useful test: if that account works, the problem is tied to your profile rather than the driver.

Get into safe mode when the screen stays black

If you cannot see anything after sign-in, use the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to reach safe mode:

1. Turn the PC on. As soon as the maker’s logo appears, hold the power button until it turns off.
2. Repeat once more. On the third start, Windows should show Preparing Automatic Repair and then the Automatic Repair screen.
3. Select Advanced options, then Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.
4. Press 5 or F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

Two other entries in the same Startup Settings list help with display trouble: 3 Enable low-resolution video starts Windows with a basic resolution, which rescues a monitor that cannot show the configured mode, and safe mode itself uses the basic display driver. If BitLocker or device encryption asks for a recovery key at this point, our BitLocker recovery guide explains where to find it. More ways in are covered in Windows 11 safe mode.

Fix the graphics driver

A broken or mismatched display driver is the most common reason for a black screen after the logo.

1. In safe mode (or normal mode if you can see the desktop), right-click Start and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Display adapters, right-click your graphics adapter and select Properties.
3. On the Driver tab, select Roll Back Driver if the button is available. This returns to the version you had before the last driver change.
4. If rollback is greyed out, choose Update driver, or Uninstall device and restart so Windows reinstalls a driver.

After that, get a known-good driver. Windows Update offers tested drivers, and newer ones sometimes appear under Settings > Windows Update > Advanced options > Optional updates. Laptops with two graphics chips are usually best served by the driver from the laptop maker’s support page; desktop graphics cards by the driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel. Our graphics drivers guide walks through a clean reinstall.

When the black screen started after an update

If everything was fine until an update installed, undo it from the recovery environment:

• Uninstall Updates. In WinRE, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Uninstall Updates and choose Uninstall latest quality update (the monthly update) or Uninstall latest feature update, whichever matches what was installed.
• System Restore. In WinRE, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Restore and pick a restore point from before the problem. Apps and drivers installed after that point are removed; documents are not touched.
• Startup Repair. Also under Advanced options, it can fix some problems that stop Windows from loading properly.

External monitors and display settings

When only a second screen is black, open Settings > System > Display. Select Multiple displays > Detect, check that the screen is not set to “Disconnect this display”, and set the resolution marked (Recommended). A refresh rate the monitor cannot handle produces “Out of range” or a black picture: change it under Settings > System > Display > Advanced display. If you use HDR, try turning it off on that display. Our multiple monitors guide covers arrangement and docks.

When it is not Windows

Some black screens happen before Windows is involved at all:

• No logo and no firmware screen. If you cannot see the maker’s logo or open the UEFI setup, the problem is the display, cable, graphics card, memory or power. Try an external monitor on a laptop. If the external monitor works, the built-in panel or its cable is at fault.
• Blinking cursor on black. Microsoft notes this happens when the UEFI or BIOS cannot find a boot device. Remove USB sticks, check the boot order in the firmware settings and make sure the system drive is detected.
• Still black after a reset. If Reset this PC or a clean reinstall does not help, contact the PC or graphics card maker, especially while the device is under warranty.