Solved Black screen WITHOUT cursor, but the computer is not froze

I upgraded from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 8.1 Pro about a week ago. Everything seems fine, unless I leave the computer idle for a long time. What happens is I get a black screen, with no cursor, when I return to the computer after leaving it idle overnight. It is not asleep. It is also not frozen. I can tell because I am able to reboot it while it's like this by:

Press: WIN+R
Type: shutdown /r /f [ENTER]
Wait 90 seconds.


The computer reboots just fine when I do this. Could it be a bad display driver perhaps? I have an AMD Radeon HD 7950 and am using the latest display drivers from AMD.

Hello Wepp,

I may have SOME solutions to your problem. I have not encountered this problem myself. I also have some questions too.
Can you be sure it's a graphics driver issue?
Have you got the recent update for your driver?
64-bit or 32-bit?
What type of AMD Graphics Driver do you have?
Desktop/Laptop?
Can you open any files/programs?? Or the WHOLE screen is black and cannot click?
If you need support for you AMD Radeon HD 7950 click here

You may try these:
SAVE ANY IMPORTANT FILES YOU MAY HAVE RECENTLY CHANGED!
Solution 1 (Safe Mode): Shutdown your whole PC/Laptop with a "power down" option until you computer is completely off. Make sure it is plugged in. Turn it on. As soon as you see the manufacturer name appear and the "loading circle" with the dots, HOLD Shift + HOLD F8 until you get to the Safe Mode Boot screen. Also, if this is a Driver issue, uninstall the Driver you believe is causing the problem. If you cannot find Driver downloads online, reply to me and I will try and help you. Try the AMD Driver first, the downloads for the Drivers are here

Solution 2: Open Command Prompt (CMD), if you do not have access to it for some reason hold your Windows Key and Press R like you did (WIN+R), type the following: shutdown /r /o. Until the loading screen "You're about to be signed off" has appeared, press "Close" or "Cancel". If you see "Please wait" this means you will be directed to the Advanced Startup Options Menu in a few seconds. Choose "Restore" if you wish to restore your PC/Laptop.

If you need more information about Advanced Startup Menu, you can go to Brinks' post here.

Good Luck!

Wepp said:

I upgraded from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 8.1 Pro about a week ago. Everything seems fine, unless I leave the computer idle for a long time. What happens is I get a black screen, with no cursor, when I return to the computer after leaving it idle overnight. It is not asleep. It is also not frozen. I can tell because I am able to reboot it while it's like this by:

Click to expand...

Hey, I have similar problem too!

My HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-B050LA Laptop comes factory with Window 8 and from day one, I have the same problem. Even updated to 8.1, I still have the problem.

Instead of the Screen Protector that I set up if the computer is unattended for 15 min, the screen get completely black. When I try to access the computer, is freeze in the black screen, then when the black screen goes, I can see the image of the screen protector freeze too. Then I can start using again my computer.

If I desactivate the Screen Protector, then I dont have any problem. Its look like the problem start only when the set time has pass and the Screen Protector need to beguin to work.

I will check OptimalVorteX advise on Monday since I leaved my laptop at my office and report back.

Here are my HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-B050LA Laptop Specs:

• CPU: AMD E-Series E2-1800 (1700 MHz)
• RAM: 4 GB DDR3 (1333 MHz)
• Pantalla: LED 14.0" (1366x768)
• Batería: 4 celdas (2550 mAh | 14500 mV | 37000 mWh)
• Almacenamiento: HDD 500 GB (5400 rpm)
• Tarjeta de video: AMD Radeon HD 7340 (Integrada)

• Sistema Operativo: Microsoft Windows 8 (64 bits)
• Unidad óptica: No
• Puertos de video: HDMI

THX,

Isaac

Just installed the latest version of the AMD Catalyst Suite about one week ago. It is a 64-bit desktop computer. When it goes blank, the entire screen goes blank. Nothing is visible at all, not even a cursor. However, I can tell that the monitor is on.

I actually do have some background services that I want to run continuously, so I never want it go to sleep. As such, I just now went to the power options and set it to run in High Performance mode, then went in to the advanced power options and disabled all sleep/low-power options that I could find, except I do still allow the monitor to be turned off after 15 minutes. I will wait 24-48 hours and report back if this solves the issue.

Turbo Boss said:

Wepp said:

I upgraded from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 8.1 Pro about a week ago. Everything seems fine, unless I leave the computer idle for a long time. What happens is I get a black screen, with no cursor, when I return to the computer after leaving it idle overnight. It is not asleep. It is also not frozen. I can tell because I am able to reboot it while it's like this by:

Click to expand...

Hey, I have similar problem too!

My HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-B050LA Laptop comes factory with Window 8 and from day one, I have the same problem. Even updated to 8.1, I still have the problem.

Instead of the Screen Protector that I set up if the computer is unattended for 15 min, the screen get completely black. When I try to access the computer, is freeze in the black screen, then when the black screen goes, I can see the image of the screen protector freeze too. Then I can start using again my computer.

If I desactivate the Screen Protector, then I dont have any problem. Its look like the problem start only when the set time has pass and the Screen Protector need to beguin to work.

I will check OptimalVorteX advise on Monday since I leaved my laptop at my office and report back.

Here are my HP Pavilion Sleekbook 14-B050LA Laptop Specs:

• CPU: AMD E-Series E2-1800 (1700 MHz)
• RAM: 4 GB DDR3 (1333 MHz)
• Pantalla: LED 14.0" (1366x768)
• Batería: 4 celdas (2550 mAh | 14500 mV | 37000 mWh)
• Almacenamiento: HDD 500 GB (5400 rpm)
• Tarjeta de video: AMD Radeon HD 7340 (Integrada)

• Sistema Operativo: Microsoft Windows 8 (64 bits)
• Unidad óptica: No
• Puertos de video: HDMI

THX,

Isaac

Click to expand...

This may be caused by an internal program allowing you to have third-party features, which Microsoft does not allow. I tried using various types of "Theme Patchers" that would let me use an Alienware theme. I had to go into Safe Boot, which surprised me, open Task Manager, go to the "Startup" tab, and disable the file. I also had to delete anything related to that file. I'll do my best to try and find the solution for these problems.

Regards,
VorteX

Changing the performance settings to set the computer to never go to sleep or reduce power in any way appears to have resolved the problem. It has not gone to a black screen since making the change.

Now this is weird I am running windows 8.1 with an AMD machine ive altered the power saving items in windows to never shut down and screen and monitor never to go off! ive checked AMD catalyst software but gauranteed if i leave it running overnight (monitor powered down i may add) on restoring power to monitor hey ho black screen with no cursor but press the mouse or keyboard hey ho it comes back to life! weird any ideas? please