Installing Windows 10 Switched Off My Laptop Screen (& How I Fixed It)

-
Windows 10 is very new so bugs are absolutely expected. I took a leap of faith by installing it. Happy I did though...
Last night, I left my Asus N61j (bought in 2010) on overnight for the lengthy Windows 7 to Windows 10 free update. The update downloaded quietly in the background & a window appeared early last night informing me that it was ready & prompting me to install it. Since I depend on this laptop to get work done, I didn't want to have my current system configurations messed with (like the many horror stories I've heard about Windows 8.1) so I wanted to delay the installation. Unfortunately, I clicked wrongly & ended up at the point of no return. The installation was confirmed so I restarted my computer to allow it to happen. It took a really long time so I left & went to bed.

When I woke up the next morning, I was excited to try out the new OS. I moved my mouse & wondered why the screen was still off. I pushed the power button & restarted the computer. There was a new Windows loading screen but after that... nothing. I restarted again... same thing... nothing!

The computer was clearly still running so I plugged it into my TV & found out that installing Windows 10 had shut off my laptop screen. On another screen, I checked Device Manager, Display Drivers, Display Settings & couldn't find anything wrong! My laptop screen was detected &, according to the OS, it should be on. Then, I decided to take my troubleshooting online. I couldn't find anything on this topic at all!

If installing Windows 10 gave you the same problem, how I fixed my screen shutting off might be of help to you or someone you know. It's so simple even a 10 year old could do it.


1. Searching Online Was Futile

There were websites with information about screen problems but none of them were for Windows 10. The solutions were for similar issues in Win7 or Win8. However, a common prescription was tweaking the Power Settings. So, I decided it was worth a try on my laptop.

2. Load the Power Options = Problem Solved... BUT!!!

Loading Power Options seemed to solve the problem.
When I decided to load the Power Options manager provided by Asus, I got a User Account Control warning. After clicking "Yes", my laptop screen miraculously SWITCHED ON!!! I was so happy, I jumped around the room & kissed my wife.

BUT!!! As I was exploring the new OS, I clicked the "Brightness" button in the Action Center. Suddenly, my screen switched off again!

3. The Real Fix = Display Brightness

62 is the minimum brightness to keep my laptop screen on.
My heart sank. What did I do this time? Once again, I switched to another screen & continued troubleshooting. I loaded the Power Options again & clicked around randomly. Soon, I found out that the display brightness setting affected whether my laptop screen was on or off. Anything below 62% brightness & my screen will switch off so I kept it there.

I don't like bright screens when I'm using my laptop but this is something that I can live with. Better to have it on & bright.

4. My Thoughts On Windows 10

Switching from Win7 & having played around a little bit with Win8.1, I find that Win10 is somewhere in between Win7 & Win8. It's also surprisingly smooth & quick. I do like the Action Center & Start Menu.


Was this helpful to you? Do you have better solution? I really want to lower my display brightness without switching off the screen.
Do share your thoughts in the comments!

Popular posts from this blog

What To Do When Your Unifi Service Suddenly Drops

-
Image
After finally putting my kid to sleep, I was about to settle into the couch with my wife & stream a movie, when my Unifi fiber optic internet connection suddenly dropped. When it didn't come back after 1 hour, I realized that I had to do something. Considering that I pay my bills promptly every month, it must be a technical issue. Here's what I did to fix the problem. It look me less than 20 minutes. 1. First, I checked my modem (the white machine). I checked the lights on the modem. When the modem is functioning properly, lights will be on for POWER, PON, LAN1 & TEL1. If the red light for LOS lights up, call 100 to resolve the issue. Also, I made sure that all the wire connections were tight. 2. Next, I checked my router (the black machine). Again, I checked the lights. When the router is functioning properly, lights will be on for POWER, GLOBE, WIFI, LAN1. My POWER light was blinking, so that means that there was no internet connection. Again, I made sure th
Open Full Post »

Understanding The New SPM (2021) English 1119 Paper Format

-
Image
This outline & those of other SPM language papers were made publicly available on the Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia (LPM) website . I'm sure you've seen the above being circulated on the internet. But, what does it mean? How does this paper compare to the current SPM paper for English? Do we have to change our testing practices in Form 4? At this moment, information is sparse despite great public interest. As the head of the English panel at my school, my Form 4 colleagues will come to me for what to do & parents will ask me what this is about. Until we have very specific instructions from the ministry, this is what I will be telling my colleagues & parents based on the limited amount of information available to me from my intimate experience with the current SPM paper & second-hand information about the PT3 English paper. Let me know if I got anything wrong or if you have more detailed information.
Open Full Post »

How To Fix Logitech Options Not Loading

-
Image
I use a Logitech K380 bluetooth keyboard at home & love it to bits. Very quiet & the tactile response is just perfect. Also, it's super small so easy to put away when I need to pile exam papers on my desk. Still, there's one small problem though... It is a compact keyboard so the multimedia buttons double as function keys. I use the function keys A LOT & it's really cumbersome for me to have to hold the "fn" button every time I want to use them. I.e., try pressing alt+fn+f4 with one hand. Thankfully, with the Logitech Options software, I can default to the function keys. A few months ago, I was chagrined to learn that my keyboard had spontaneously returned to factory settings. "No problem", I thought. "I'll just change the settings in Logitech Options." Only to find that the app wouldn't load on my Windows 10 machine, resulting in the blank window you see screen-captured above. "Let me try reinstalling." Uni
Open Full Post »

A Review of Mosquito Coils In The Market

-
Image
Mosquito coils = The first line of defence against savage jungle mosquitoes. Remember when there was completely no electricity at my school ? It happened during the dry season so the nights were really really warm & hard to sleep with the windows closed. Why close the windows you ask? Because if you don't close the windows, the savages from the jungle will climb in & suck your blood! Literally! I'm talking about swarms of mosquitoes gang-banging your skin & leaving you with clusters of chickenpox-like bumps on your skin in the morning! These guys even bite through clothing!! The itchiness that ensues will practically ensure that you never have a good night sleep. In order to keep those monsters at bay, I had to go really low-tech. I eventually experimented with mosquito coils. There are so many in the market & I thought that all of them worked the same since they had the same basic ingredients. I was wrong. They had different effects on the mosquitoes &am
Open Full Post »

Tip SPM Dari Pelajar-Pelajar Cemerlang Straight A+

-
Image
This morning, I attended Kapten Talk 2.0: Student Edition. After feeding my baby & tucking him in for his late morning nap, I finally had time to look at my messages. Lo' & behold, a friend sent me a poster about a webinar by straight-A+ students. Interesting! I sheepishly looked at the date, what? TODAY! Heart racing, I quickly glanced at the time, 11 PG. Oh, petang. Wait a minute, MANA ADA 11 PETANG? PAGI LA BODO! My eyes darted to the upper right corner of the screen. 10.45AM! I quickly forwarded the poster + some ulasan to ALL my students' groups as well as to my school staff's chatgroup on WhatsApp. Feeling bad that I gave them so little notice, I knew I had to attend, take notes & share those notes with my students. Since I'm doing that, I might as well share it with everyone. The notes are written in my broken BM to include my lowest-performing students. "How much you achieve is how much you prepare" - Luqman Nawar, 9A+
Open Full Post »