Waking your Windows 11 PC from sleep mode should be a seamless experience, press any key on the keyboard the Windows screen wakes up automatically and allow continue your task. However, sometimes you may encounter a black screen instead of your desktop. Users report Windows 11 PC gets stuck on a black screen after waking up from sleep mode. This issue can be caused by multiple factors, ranging from software conflicts and driver issues to power setting misconfigurations and external hardware interference. Here we have several troubleshooting steps you can take to identify and resolve the Windows 11 black screen issue.

Windows 11 black screen after sleep

The black screen after sleep issue in Windows 11 typically indicates a problem with the display driver, power management settings, or system conflicts. It means that the operating system has resumed from sleep, but the display is not properly initialized or responding.

  • Driver issues: Outdated or incompatible display drivers can prevent the system from resuming properly.
  • Fast Startup conflicts: The Fast Startup feature may cause sleep mode-related glitches.
  • Power settings misconfiguration: Certain power settings can interfere with how Windows resumes from sleep mode.
  • Windows updates or bugs: Some updates may introduce issues affecting sleep mode.
  • External devices interference: Connected peripherals may cause system conflicts after waking up.

Wake Up the Screen Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Sometimes, the black screen is due to the display not waking up properly after the system enters sleep mode. If this happens, your computer may still be running, but the display remains unresponsive

  • Press Win + Ctrl + Shift + B to restart the graphics driver. This command refreshes the display system and often resolves temporary black screen issues.
  • If you are using a laptop, try closing and reopening the lid. This action can trigger the display to turn back on.
  • Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to check if the system responds. If the menu appears, it means your system is still running, and you may be able to restart Windows Explorer to restore visibility.

Disconnect External Devices

Certain peripherals such as USB drives, external hard disks, or docking stations may interfere with sleep mode operations.

  • Disconnect all non-essential devices (USB, HDMI, external monitors, etc.).
  • Put your computer to sleep and try waking it up.
  • If it works, reconnect the devices one by one to identify the problematic hardware.

Disable fast startup

Fast Startup is a feature designed to reduce boot time by saving system information to a temporary file when shutting down. However, this feature can sometimes cause problems with sleep mode.

  • Open the control panel, search for and select power options,
  • Now click on “Choose what the power button does” on the left pane.
  • Click “Change settings that are currently unavailable” on the top of this page.
  • Scroll down until you find “Turn on Fast Startup” and uncheck it.
  • Now save the changes and close it,

Fast Startup

Run power troubleshooter

Run the built-in power troubleshooter that automatically detects and fix problems with your computer’s power settings.

  • Open Settings and navigate to System > Troubleshoot > Other troubleshooters.
  • Locate Power and click Run.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to apply any suggested fixes.
  • Restart your computer and test sleep mode.

 

Change power management setting

  1. In Windows, search for and open the Device Manager.
  2. Click the arrow next to Keyboards and double-click the name of your keyboard.
  3. Move to the Power Management tab
  4. Here make sure that the box next to Allow this device to wake the computer is checked.

Allow this device to wake the computer

Update Display Drivers

Outdated or corrupted display drivers are a common cause of black screen issues after sleep mode. Ensuring that your drivers are up-to-date can resolve these problems.

  • Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
  • Expand Display adapters to see your graphics driver.
  • Right-click your graphics driver and select Update driver.
  • Choose Search automatically for drivers to let Windows find the latest version.

Update display driver

If Windows does not find an update, visit the manufacturer’s website (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel) and download the latest driver manually.

Adjust Power & Sleep Settings

Misconfigured power settings can prevent the system from waking up correctly after sleep mode.

  • Open Settings (Win + I).
  • Navigate to System > Power & battery.
  • Under Screen and sleep, ensure that the display and sleep settings are set appropriately to avoid unnecessary shutdowns.
  • Click Additional power settings and select High performance to maximize power efficiency.
  • Test sleep mode again to see if the issue is resolved.

Install the latest Windows update

Microsoft regularly releases cumulative updates with a number of bug fixes and installing the latest Windows updates fix the previous problems as well. Install the latest Windows update that may have the bug fix for the Windows 10 black screen problem.

  • Open Settings and go to Windows Update.
  • Click Check for updates and install any pending updates.
  • Restart your PC and test sleep mode.

Run system file checker utility

Sometimes due to corrupt system files Windows 10 Freezes with a black screen after waking from sleep, and windows get problematic like a slow start, not perform well, black screen after system startup, or waking up. In such situations run the build-in sfc utility that detects and restores corrupted system files with correct ones.

  • open command prompt as administrator,
  • Type the command sfc /scannow and hit the enter key,
  • let the process complete 100%
  • Once done restart your PC.

Run system file checker

If none above solutions help to fix the problem, still windows 11 is stuck on the black screen after waking from sleep then turn off the Hibernation following the steps below.

  • open command prompt as administrator,
  • Type the command powercfg /h off and hit the enter key,
  • Note: It will give you no output if it works – simply restart your PC.

Now onwards your PC/Laptop never go to sleep mode and you never face a black screen problem on Windows 10.

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Robeg
Robeg
I am Robeg founder of this blog. My qualification. completed Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP). With a strong background in computer applications love write articles on Microsoft Windows (11, 10, etc.) Cybersecurity, WordPress and more.

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