How to fix an Acer laptop with a black screen

You're happily surfing the internet when it happens—your Acer® laptop screen goes black. You can hear the hum of the laptop's internal components, so it's still running. But there's no display. While this may seem like a hopeless problem, there's likely an easy fix that doesn't require buying a new laptop. 

Asurion Experts are here to resolve your most pressing tech problems. Whether you need help updating computer drivers or booting your computer in Safe Mode, we can help. Try these troubleshooting solutions when the screen isn't working on your Acer laptop.

Why is my Acer laptop screen black?

Techies sometimes refer to black screen issues as the "Black screen of death." That sounds a little ominous, but a black screen doesn't mean your laptop kicked the bucket. Before jumping into fixes, let’s explore some common reasons why your screen might be black:

• Laptop sleeping: If you're not actively using your computer, it may go to sleep. The screen will go black until you interact with the keys or touchpad.
• Battery deterioration: A laptop's battery loses its capacity over time. If the battery can't hold a charge or has a defect, it may cause display issues. 
• Driver corruptions: A malfunctioning driver may prevent the laptop from loading or displaying images.
• Software conflicts: Newly installed applications or updates may interfere with your laptop's display driver.
• Hardware problems: Certain components, such as the laptop's graphics card or motherboard, may fail and cause screen issues. 

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How to troubleshoot a black screen on your Acer laptop

There are several ways to fix an Acer laptop with no screen display. Try these steps to see if you can resolve the issue yourself.

Perform a hard restart

Sometimes a reset can make all the difference and restore your computer back to working order. Here’s how to hard restart, aka force restart, your Acer laptop:

• Press and hold the power button for 10–15 seconds until the laptop shuts off.
• Disconnect the power adapter and remove the battery (if possible).
• Wait 30 seconds, then reconnect the battery and power adapter.
• Press the power button to turn the laptop back on.

Check for hardware issues

Devices connected to your Acer laptop may conflict with screen performance. To see if another device is causing the problem, try these steps:

1. Turn off the laptop. 
2. Remove any external devices, such as USB drives and printers. 
3. Turn the laptop back on to see if the screen works. 

Test with an external monitor

There's an easy way to determine if there's a problem with the screen itself or device firmware—an external monitor. 

1. Find a device you can use as an external monitor. Other computers, a monitor, or a flat-screen TV will work. 
2. Connect the two devices using a compatible cord. Make sure the laptop is on.
3. Wait for the laptop's screen to appear on the external device. If it doesn't, press the F4 key repeatedly to see if that enables the display. 

If the laptop's display appears on the external monitor, there may be a driver problem keeping it from appearing on the laptop itself. Updating the laptop's graphics driver or chipset may correct the issue. 

Boot in Safe Mode

If your laptop powers on but the screen stays black, Safe Mode can help you troubleshoot the issue by loading only essential system files. This means any faulty drivers or third-party applications causing the problem won’t load, making it easier to diagnose and fix software-related display issues.

To get to safe mode and all other troubleshooting tools, you’ll need to access the Windows™ Recovery Environment (WinRE). Follow these steps to get started:

1. Press and hold the Power button until your laptop turns off completely.
2. Press the Power button again to turn it back on. When the Windows logo appears, hold the Power button for 10 seconds. You’ll complete this step a total of three times.
3. Then, press the Power button again. Your laptop should turn on in WinRE.

Take a few minutes to navigate the desktop in Safe Mode. If you don't have any screen display problems, you may need to uninstall recently added applications.

Update or reinstall display drivers

A corrupt or outdated graphics driver may cause your Acer laptop's screen to go black. 

To update the driver:

1. Right-click the Start icon, then click Device Manager.
2. Expand the Display Adapter options.
3. Right-click on the driver and choose Update driver.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts to install the update.

To uninstall/reinstall the driver:

If there are no available driver updates, or the update didn't fix the issue, try reinstalling the driver.

1. Right-click the Start icon, then click Device Manager. 
2. Expand the Display Adapter options. Write down the driver's information.
3. Right-click on the driver and choose Uninstall driver.
4. Follow the prompts to facilitate the driver removal.

You can reinstall the driver by downloading it from the manufacturer's website. For instance, if you have an Nvidia® GeForce® graphics driver, you could visit the Nvidia product downloads page to find the driver files. Follow the manufacturer's directions to reinstall the driver on your laptop. 

Reset BIOS settings

A recent change to your Acer laptop can impact its Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), which may cause the screen to go dark. To reset the BIOS to its factory settings, follow these steps.

1. Press and hold the Power button to shut down the laptop.
2. Turn it back on. When the Acer logo appears, immediately press the F2 key.
3. Press the F9 key and Enter to load the default BIOS settings.
4. Press the F10 key and Enter to save the changes.