This is one of those days. You have a lot of work ahead of you, or maybe it’s just another daily session of yours. You turn on your PC as usual, but to your dismay, you only find a blank computer screen staring back at you.
Getting a blank screen isn’t a death sentence for your computer, but it can cause hiccups in your workflow. Thankfully, there are several ways to fix the blank screen error on your PC for good.
So let’s start with the most straightforward—and often unfairly neglected method—first.
1. Check the socket
This is for users using desktop monitors. Even if all you see is a big, blank screen on your desktop, when you turn on your PC, it should at least give a green light on your monitor (in most cases). If you don’t see any light there, something may be broken in the socket.
Try and plug something else in there, and see if you can get the device to work. If you can’t, you should repair the socket as needed or contact a specialist who can, and then try turning your computer on again. Also get the socket of the computer checked.
If the real problem is the socket, your computer will be up and running in no time once you fix it.
2. Forced restart
A restart often fixes most problems with your PC right off the bat. But specific PC restart is out of question as you cannot get your computer screen to work as usual.
So what do you do in such cases?
This is where a forced shutdown will come to your rescue. Your PC or laptop will have a power or reset button that will do that job for you, and your computer will reboot or shut down immediately. So look for the button, press it, and hold it until your computer reboots.
If there were no deeper problems, your computer should boot normally upon power-up.
3. Check Your Monitor’s Connection
Another possible culprit of a blank computer screen, a loosely connected monitor, could be the cause of your screen problem here.
If this doesn’t work, go to the next section.
4. Check the brightness of the monitor
If your computer’s brightness has been turned down too much, you may get a blank screen error. Look for the button that manages the brightness of your desktop; They’re usually just below your desktop screen, and in rare cases, right behind it.
Similarly, some laptops let you manage the screen brightness from your keyboard. For example, in a MacBook Air, by pressing the F1 key, you can reduce your screen brightness to almost zero; In fact, it may appear that the laptop is not turned on at all.
In cases like this, it becomes easy to think that something is wrong with the screen when it is just the brightness settings that have to be tampered with. So make sure you double-check your computer’s brightness settings before moving on to other solutions.
5. Eliminate unnecessary devices
You should remove all hardware unnecessary for computer startup, such as webcams, USB sticks, etc., and power on your PC with only essential hardware. Then see if you still encounter the blank screen.
If you do not encounter the blank screen problem on the next boot-up, then external peripheral hardware is causing your computer screen problem at the moment. From here, you can easily remove the device responsible for the blank screen by plugging in all the devices one by one.
When you find the particular peripheral, you now know the device that needs to be replaced.
6. Check Your Computer’s Hardware
If you’ve tried all of the above methods but are still stuck with a blank computer screen, another possible solution is to try your hand at computer hardware. This hardware problem can manifest itself in a number of ways. For example, you may have problems with your monitor, video card, computer motherboard, etc., which in turn is affecting the smooth functioning of your computer.
So, giving a thorough check to these different devices is definitely another option to fix your screen here.
For example, try connecting a different monitor to your computer, if possible. If the PC now boots smoothly, it is clear that it is the desktop monitor that is the real culprit for your blank screen. In this case, if the monitor is old enough, the best solution would be to go to the nearest electronics market for a new desktop.
Likewise, see if you can arrange for a video card from someone, and give it a try and see if it fixes your PC problems. In fact, we have a detailed guide on how to fix your hardware problems exactly like this, and it goes over all the different ways to get your failing hardware working again.