Why won't my Dell Venue 8 Pro Windows Tablet turn on?

Anonymous
2014-02-04T17:06:49+00:00

I was using my new Dell Venue 8 Pro Windows tablet with 32 GB (I got it this Christmas) when all of a sudden the screen went blank and turned this almost black color, with a slight glow to it. I tried turning it back on, pressing the power button and the Windows button, but it refused to respond. I plugged it into the charger and let it charge overnight, no change whatsoever. The screen still had a slight glow to it and it stayed blank no matter which buttons I pressed. I've tried unplugging it and plugging it in again, no response. The only thing that happens when I plug it into the charger is that the white battery light comes on. I tried plugging it into the computer, no difference. I had been sorting through eBooks in my virtual library on my tablet when the screen went blank on me, could this be a factor? Honestly, I have no idea what the cause for this odd behavior is, if anybody has some hints or ideas as to this problem, please respond to my question. I'm really at my wit's end! Thank you in advance, graceSGZ

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2014-02-05T22:23:50+00:00

Ok, so I searched up a bunch of help articles on the Microsoft site and the Dell site, and I found an online manual for my tablet. I finally got it to turn on by pressing and holding the power button for ten seconds and then another ten seconds. Based on my research, I'm guessing that somehow I managed to shut off the screen on my tablet without turning the tablet itself off, and that I shut it down. Because when I got it to turn back on, it was like I had shut it down, where I had to sign in and everything. Whatever the cause, I'm glad I fixed it, and I hope that if anybody else has this same problem,  my question and how I fixed it will help them too. 

UPDATE: If you're still having trouble, you can try scrolling through the comments; I have posted more detailed instructions in one of the comments. :)

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-10-11T05:30:14+00:00

                glowing screen after an overnight charge for reasons unknown.

    Sounds like there is something there.  Possibilities are first: the second half of an Extended display with the first half being rendered on a phantom monitor.  This one seems to happen most to nVidia users.  Workaround:  press Win-P, CursorUp, Enter ( as if you could see a Project dialog and use it).  Then watch (and listen) for signs of anything happening from that procedure.  Ideally it would switch the Display configuration from Extend to Duplicate and thus render the hidden screen on the real monitor.  Second:  explorer.exe has crashed.  Then try Ctrl-Alt-Delete and see if you can get into Task Manager.  However, you might not be that lucky and have a mix of the two cases, e.g. a completely blank multi-monitor scenario because explorer.exe was gone but the Task Manager prompt was occurring on the phantom monitor.  Then you would need to first: launch Task Manager, even though you couldn't see to do that (e.g. press End, Enter), then engage your pointer with its Title bar in order to do a Move, e.g. press Alt-Space M, CursorRight and then start dragging in the direction that the mouse pointer had been coming out of the side of the screen.  Another good thing to try to do is get Narrator started, e.g. (if you're lucky), press Win-Enter, have your speakers turned on and let it guide you through your dark maze.   ; )

    FYI

    Robert Aldwinckle

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-10-10T10:02:58+00:00

    Thanks for the research and help. This solved the problem (with your help) and tablet is back up and running.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-09-24T03:24:26+00:00

    RoseBud51,

    I'm so glad I was able to help you out :) At the time I posted this question, I was in the same situation as you; except no one else had posted a solution. I'm happy that I was able to make it a lot easier and (hopefully) less stressful for those with the same problem :)

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-09-24T03:03:13+00:00

    Thank you so much for posting this informative information.  I encountered the glowing screen after an overnight charge for reasons unknown.  After many failed attempts, I followed your instructions and was successful in getting full operation of the tablet back.

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