I am working off of a laptop and have a second monitor to extend my displays. I have been using this set up for two years now and have not had a problem until last night. It seems that my attached monitor only (main monitor on laptop is not affected) will go black for a few seconds before turning back on and showing my screen. It should be noted that my laptop does not reset the display to place the windows back onto the main screen when this happens but the extended monitor goes black at random. Note that I am running Windows 10 and unable to upgrade to Windows 11 as of now. So far, I have tried the following solutions but still cannot figure this out. Bought brand new chords (HDMI + Adapter) Bought a brand new second monitor (issues happening with both old and new monitor) Checked for updates on all drivers Reinstalled both graphics drivers Rolled back graphics drivers Checked basic settings (sleep/power/screen saver settings) Disabled all services in background apps in "System Configuration" Restarted Windows explorer This means I have spent time replacing and even buying new equipment to get around this issue but cannot seem to figure it out! This is very important since I work at home as well. Please let me know if there is anything else I can possibly do outside of hard resetting the computer (which I cannot do for a few reasons). Thank you!

Any luck finding a fix? Clearly this is a widespread issue. Also, I am experiencing the blackouts with my only HDMI connected output source (sony tv) I have tried every possible settings combination for both windows and the tv display settings as well. Only lowering to 60hz eliminates the issue entirely. I believe you could be on the right track with hdcp handshake and power fluctuations. I have yet to try and use displayport for the tv, as that would be alot of work to run a new cable through a wall into another room. I'm considering getting a HDCP defeat device or software to try and solve this issue.

I'm actually beginning to wonder whether it's a power-related HDMI/HDCP issue. AFAIK I have only had this problem with monitors connected via HDMI (not DisplayPort). Has anyone had the problem with a monitor connected via DP? My theory is: a temporary fluctuation in the power supply may prompt the HDCP "handshake" (between the display adapter and the monitor) to be repeated, causing the display to go blank until the handshake is completed. This usually takes a few seconds. I used to have a Humax PVR which did something similar - my TV would go blank for a few seconds while the HDCP handshake repeated itself. ????

I am still in the midst of troubleshooting, but I realized the issue for me stops occurring when my monitors are directly plugged into my laptop (it has dual outputs HDMI + USB-C Display Port). It comes back when I plug the screens into my dual monitor KVM switch, which is strange because the switch is supposed to handle 4k @ 60HZ (what my monitors are capable of and what the graphics settings are set to). All of my cables are "high speed" hdmi so I do not believe it is the cables, and most likely the switch. I will likely be buying another switch with higher capabilities and will update here with the results.

I agree. For me it was swapping out the power strip with a new one. I also unplugged a few things that I didn't use that were plugged into the old strip, so they were not plugged into the new one, as well as plugging the new strip into a different wall jack. I think you are right about some other appliance in the room being plugged in and turned on. All I know is I have not had the issue since I switched the power strip out (Knocking on wood). I hope this fixes the issue for others too.

I also have a feeling that this is related to power issues. I'm still seeing it occur (although much less frequently) in Windows 11. The thing most likely to trigger it is powering another appliance in the room on or off.

Second monitor keeps on temporarily going black at random

Anonymous

I am working off of a laptop and have a second monitor to extend my displays. I have been using this set up for two years now and have not had a problem until last night. It seems that my attached monitor only (main monitor on laptop is not affected) will go black for a few seconds before turning back on and showing my screen. It should be noted that my laptop does not reset the display to place the windows back onto the main screen when this happens but the extended monitor goes black at random. Note that I am running Windows 10 and unable to upgrade to Windows 11 as of now.

So far, I have tried the following solutions but still cannot figure this out.

Bought brand new chords (HDMI + Adapter)
Bought a brand new second monitor (issues happening with both old and new monitor)
Checked for updates on all drivers
Reinstalled both graphics drivers
Rolled back graphics drivers
Checked basic settings (sleep/power/screen saver settings)
Disabled all services in background apps in "System Configuration"
Restarted Windows explorer

This means I have spent time replacing and even buying new equipment to get around this issue but cannot seem to figure it out! This is very important since I work at home as well. Please let me know if there is anything else I can possibly do outside of hard resetting the computer (which I cannot do for a few reasons). Thank you!

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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157 answers

Anonymous

2024-02-20T14:29:27+00:00

Any luck finding a fix? Clearly this is a widespread issue.

Also, I am experiencing the blackouts with my only HDMI connected output source (sony tv)

I have tried every possible settings combination for both windows and the tv display settings as well. Only lowering to 60hz eliminates the issue entirely. I believe you could be on the right track with hdcp handshake and power fluctuations. I have yet to try and use displayport for the tv, as that would be alot of work to run a new cable through a wall into another room.

I'm considering getting a HDCP defeat device or software to try and solve this issue.
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Anonymous

2024-02-14T22:17:05+00:00

I'm actually beginning to wonder whether it's a power-related HDMI/HDCP issue. AFAIK I have only had this problem with monitors connected via HDMI (not DisplayPort). Has anyone had the problem with a monitor connected via DP?

My theory is: a temporary fluctuation in the power supply may prompt the HDCP "handshake" (between the display adapter and the monitor) to be repeated, causing the display to go blank until the handshake is completed. This usually takes a few seconds. I used to have a Humax PVR which did something similar - my TV would go blank for a few seconds while the HDCP handshake repeated itself.

????
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Anonymous

2024-02-14T22:06:07+00:00

I am still in the midst of troubleshooting, but I realized the issue for me stops occurring when my monitors are directly plugged into my laptop (it has dual outputs HDMI + USB-C Display Port). It comes back when I plug the screens into my dual monitor KVM switch, which is strange because the switch is supposed to handle 4k @ 60HZ (what my monitors are capable of and what the graphics settings are set to). All of my cables are "high speed" hdmi so I do not believe it is the cables, and most likely the switch. I will likely be buying another switch with higher capabilities and will update here with the results.
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Anonymous

2024-02-14T21:55:10+00:00

I agree. For me it was swapping out the power strip with a new one. I also unplugged a few things that I didn't use that were plugged into the old strip, so they were not plugged into the new one, as well as plugging the new strip into a different wall jack.

I think you are right about some other appliance in the room being plugged in and turned on. All I know is I have not had the issue since I switched the power strip out (Knocking on wood). I hope this fixes the issue for others too.
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Anonymous

2024-02-14T21:34:50+00:00

I also have a feeling that this is related to power issues. I'm still seeing it occur (although much less frequently) in Windows 11. The thing most likely to trigger it is powering another appliance in the room on or off.
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