How do I get a black screen on my computer after a while?
Hi, everyone. Leo, note and boom here for askleo.com. let's dive right into this question.
My computer switches to a black screen after about five to 15 minutes of use,
then I have to turn it off to get another five to 15 minutes of use.
Can you tell me what part of my computer is causing this blackout?
No,
I can't tell you which part.
This is actually difficult to diagnose
because it could be so many different things.
But let's cover what I will call the most
common. Number one on that list with a bullet is overheating.
Chances are the computer is simply getting
too hot, and at some point the computer then
decides I'm too hot to run safely and shuts down.
The result is a black screen.
The solution, of course, is to make sure your computer has good
ventilation, make sure that the fans are clear, make sure that it's not in a place
where it's not getting any kind of airflow depending on where you live.
Yes, this could be a challenge, but it is important.
Desktop PCs in particular, laptops as well, often, especially if you have pets
in the home like I do, will often accumulate dust and dirt
in the fan openings that needs to be periodically removed every so often.
And that is something that can contribute to the PC simply overheating number two.
Well, hardware.
I mean, so many things on a computer can break
in such a way as to result in exactly this kind of failure.
Everything from the motherboard itself
to random components on the motherboard to add in cards.
Occasionally, even external devices can do it.
Pull the external devices that you don't need just to make sure low probability,
but it can happen, but it is something that is at least worth
considering, especially if the machine is I'll call of a certain age.
Malware is not particularly high on my list because most malware actually
tries to continue running these days, but especially in the early days where
malware tried to be more destructive than subversive.
Malware would occasionally just cause your machine to crash.
Malware also isn't written necessarily
to the highest of standards, so it's also possible that malware can
cause crashes simply because it has bugs in it.
It's always a good opportunity to make sure you run an up to date scan and make
sure your machine doesn't have any malware on it right now.
One of the other things that surprises people is that if you've got
a separate desktop and monitor, it could be the monitor.
In other words, the monitor itself could be failing, or the cable to the monitor
could be failing, or that cable could be just not plugged in completely.
Those are all things to check.
Try a different monitor if you can see if
you've got an opportunity to swap it out and try it.
And if it lasts for longer than your five to 15 minutes.
Then you've got a clue. It's probably the monitor.
The cable. Replace the cable.
Make sure it's a good cable.
The same kinds of things are true for laptops or devices with embedded
screens, but it gets a little bit more difficult to diagnose because you don't
have the option of checking the cables or necessarily replacing the display.
If you have the opportunity to connect up an external display to your laptop,
give that a try, and you may find, for example, that the laptops on screen
may die, but the external screen keeps working.
That is then a sign of a hardware problem,
probably on the laptop side, and it's probably going to need some
repair or at least some of the attention of a technician of some sort.
Finally, you know, I hesitate to say the obvious,
but sometimes it's not obvious to a lot of people.
If your machine goes into standby, your screen will go black.
If your machine goes into hibernate, your screen will go black.
If your machine has a screen saver, that is the black screen saver.
Simply not using it for a few minutes will cause the screen to go black.
In all of those cases, you can bring it back.
In the case of a screen saver, wiggle the mouse type of key.
In the case of standby or hibernate, turn it back on again.
But those are normal scenarios where the screen will in fact go black
specifically because that's what the machine is configured to do.
I hope that helps diagnose a little bit.
I hope that gives you some clues as to things to look at.
Should this happen to you?
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I'm Leo Notenboom. This is askleo.com