This page provides some troubleshooting advice for resolving issues with Windows laptops when, after being turned on, the unit does not start correctly and displays only a black or blank screen.
Typically, the screen's backlight and power LED will be illuminated and the device will make noises that indicate it is turned on. However, the screen will remain black or blank and Windows will not start.
Problems of this nature are generally caused by either an issue with Windows or a hardware fault.
If you encounter a problem of this nature, the following troubleshooting suggestions may help to identify the cause of the problem and correct the issue.
- Check that your screen's brightness settings are set correctly. Try turning up the brightness.
- Perform a power reset on the unit:
- Turn the laptop off completely and disconnect any external devices and cables, including the charger.
- Leave the unit disconnected and turned off for 10-20 minutes.
- Press and hold down the power button for at least 20 seconds.
- Reconnect the unit to a power supply and attempt to start it as normal.
- Refresh the laptop during startup by pressing and holding Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B while the blank screen is visible, and wait until the laptop refreshes.
- Boot up the laptop several times. Repeated failures to boot may trigger Windows Startup Repair to launch, which can be used to correct any potential issues with Windows:
- When Windows Startup Repair launches, select 'Restart' to try to fix the issue.
- If this does not work, launch Windows Startup repair again, select 'Advanced options' > 'System Restore'.
- Attempt to start the laptop in Safe Mode:
- Turn off the laptop.
- Turn the laptop back on, then as soon as it shows any sign that it is starting up, press and hold the power button until it turns off again.
- Turn the laptop on again, then again press and hold the power button until the laptop turns off.
- Turn the laptop on once again and wait for it to restart. The laptop should now launch Windows Repair, which you can use to boot the laptop in Safe Mode.
- On the 'Choose an option' screen, select 'Troubleshoot' > 'Advanced options' > 'Startup settings' > 'Restart'.
- The laptop will show a list of options after restarting. Select option 5 to launch in Safe Mode, or press F5 to launch in Safe Mode with Networking, which allows you to access the network drivers needed to connect to the Internet.
- To exit Safe Mode after startup, restart the laptop.
- Attempt to reinstall Windows 10 by creating a recovery drive using a working PC and a blank USB with at least 8GB of storage:
- Connect a blank USB drive to a working PC to use as your recovery drive.
- On your working PC, navigate to Microsoft's website here.
- In the section titled 'Create Windows 10 installation media', click 'Download tool now' to download the Windows 10 media creation tool.
- Run this tool after it has downloaded and follow the prompts.
- When asked 'What do you want to do?', select 'Create installation media for another PC'.
- Enter your language, edition and architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). Newer models of Atlas laptops typically use a 64-bit version of Windows 10; however, the architecture you should use will depend on your particular unit.
- When prompted to select which media you wish to use, select 'USB flash drive'.
- Follow any remaining prompts to complete the creation of your recovery drive.
- To use the recovery drive, connect the USB drive to the non-working laptop and then turn it on.
- You should be prompted to set up your laptop. When prompted, select 'Repair your computer' > 'Troubleshoot' > 'Advanced options' > 'Recover from a drive' to reinstall Windows 10 from the recovery drive.
- Microsoft has provided some further troubleshooting instructions for black/blank screen errors, which you can view here.
If the troubleshooting suggestions above do not correct the issue, there may be a problem with your laptop's hardware, in which case the unit may need to be assessed by a technician for repair.
For further assistance with your laptop, please do not hesitate to contact our Customer Care Team through your account dashboard. We will be happy to help.