How to Fix a Dell Laptop Black Screen On Startup

When your Dell laptop displays a black screen on startup, it can be a frustrating issue to deal with, especially if you cannot get to Windows at all. This commonly happens after the Dell logo or just before the Windows desktop screen should appear.

While the issue isn’t exclusive to Dell laptops, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take to resolve the problem and get your system back up and running.

Why does your Dell laptop show a black screen on startup or after the Dell logo?

There are numerous reasons why you might get a black screen when starting up your Dell laptop. I personally had a problem with my graphics card driver and malware, but upon further research I found these other common causes:

Graphics Card Problems – Your GPU is responsible for processing all the graphics once Windows starts, so a black screen just before reaching the desktop is often related to the physical graphics card or its drivers.

Overheating – By their nature, laptops are more condensed than full desktop computers and overheating is common. This is especially true when you’ve been performing CPU-intensive tasks like video editing or gaming for long periods. Laptops can also suffer from ventilation problems when placed on certain surfaces.

Bad Overclocking – Similarly, overclocking your laptop’s CPU or GPU beyond their stable limits can cause both overheating and hardware problems.

Malware – Viruses and other malware are often at the root of Windows not starting up. In this case, the malware may have targeted Windows system files related to the startup process or the hardware drivers, such as the GPU.

Corrupted System Files – As well as malware, Windows can become corrupted for many reasons. This may include power surges and other improper shutdowns, failed updates, registry errors, and hard drive failure.

8 Quick Fixes for a Dell Laptop Black Screen on Startup

Regardless of why your Dell laptop is showing a black screen on startup, following these steps will help you get back to the desktop and get Windows running smoothly again.

1. Do a Full Shutdown and Remove External Devices

If your Dell laptop is stuck on a black screen and won’t boot up normally, the first step is to perform a forced shutdown. This will fully power down the system, allowing you to restart it with a clean slate.

1. To force a shut down your Dell laptop, hold down the power button for at least 15 seconds. The laptop should turn off completely.

2. Remove the power cable and any external devices like printers, USB drives, or external hard drives can interfere with the boot process. It’s also worth letting the laptop sit unpowered for a few minutes to cool.

3. Reconnect the power cable if not charged and turn the laptop back on.

2. Access Advanced Boot Options

Windows has a fail-safe for startup problems called Advanced Boot Options. Here you can perform certain tasks before Windows fully boots and shows the black screen.

1. To interrupt the boot process, you must press a specific key as the laptop starts booting. Depending on the model, this can be F8, F2, or F12. Tap and hold the key repeatedly to ensure it registers and enters the Advanced Boot Options environment.

2. Follow the onscreen prompts to navigate your desired settings. Read on for the most useful options.

3. Startup Repair

The Startup Repair tool will attempt to diagnose and fix issues that prevent Windows from starting. If this is not visible right away, it can be found by navigating to Troubleshoot and then Advanced Options.

Let the process do its thing and wait for your laptop to restart.

4. Safe Mode

If you still get the black screen, the second-best option is to try booting in Safe Mode, which is also available from the Advanced boot screen.

This only loads essential Windows components, bypassing unnecessary drivers and startup programs. You can then identify problems, such as driver conflicts or malware, while bypassing the black screen.

5. Check and Update Drivers

Once you get to the desktop in Safe Mode, it’s time to update any troublesome drivers. Focus on the display adapter but check for any exclamation icons for other drivers too.

1. You can use your hardware’s software utility to check for new drivers. This will install them automatically. Alternatively, you can locate them on the manufacturer’s website and download them.

2. To open the Windows utility, type Device Manager in the start menu search bar and open it.

3. Exclamation warnings show a driver needs addressing or the hardware isn’t being recognized properly.

4. Right click on a device and select Update Driver.

5. Browse to the driver files you downloaded to update them. Windows can also check for drivers automatically, but this is often unsuccessful.

6. Use Built-in Windows Repair Commands

Windows has two key utilities for repairing corrupted system files and you can access them in Safe Mode or from the Advanced Boot Options by opening the Command Prompt.

1. Type the following into the Command Prompt window and press Enter: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth

3. Wait for the process to complete and your laptop may restart.

4. Go back to the Command Prompt and type the following command: sfc /scannow

5. Wait for the process to complete and your laptop may restart.

7. Use the Fortect Repair Tool

You can use Fortect in Safe Mode if none of the other methods work or after applying the above fixes to make sure the laptop is completely repaired.

The all-in-one tool scans and detects damaged and missing system files, CPU overheating, Windows registry issues, and potential malware programs. All of which can contribute to the black screen.

1. Download and Install Fortect on your Dell laptop.

2. Launch the software and accept a scan.

3. Once complete, Click Start Repair and it will automatically replace corrupted or missing system files and fix registry entries from its repository of clean Windows components.

Fortect also deletes unneeded junk files that may be taking up hard drive space and slowing down your laptop.

8. Use a Restore Point

Another feature available from the Advanced Boot Options or Safe Mode is System Restore. This rolls back your system settings to a point before the black screen problem occurred. To find it from the desktop:

1. Type restore in the start menu search bar and select Create a restore point.

2. In the Recovery window, click Open System Restore.

3. Choose a restore point from before your laptop started showing the black screen.

4. Your Laptop will restart to complete the process.

9. Final Tips

1. Don’t forget to reconnect your external devices. Do this one-by-one, restarting your laptop each time to check if a specific device might need replacing or updating.

2. If you have an overclocked laptop, consider going back to the default settings or double-checking if you’re using a compatible overclocking profile that isn’t pushing the system beyond its limits, causing overheating or other issues.

3. Routinely run a tool like Fortect and scan for malware to ensure the problem doesn’t reoccur.

Final thoughts

When I got a black screen on startup on my Dell laptop, I considered taking it to a repair shop, but upon further research there are many steps you can take to fix the problem. As long as there isn’t a physical hardware problem, you can use the Advanced Boot Options to start fixing the problem.

Using a comprehensive tune-up tool like Fortect will not only repair corruption within Windows but also fix any other latent problems.