My PC keeps randomly black screening.

Nico L 0 Reputation points
2026-09-01T20:04:23.31+00:00

My PC keeps randomly black screening and I have to click the power button on it to shut it off and then turn it on again. It does this after an amount of time. Before it was every few days it randomly happened. NOW its every few hours for the past week. I don't know if its due to my GPU not working, my GPU drivers not working even though I ran a scan and updating my NVIDIA drivers, I don't know if the power is inefficient, I doubt its my ram now but I cant rule it out, I don't know if its the thermal paste drying and I keep being notified on my windows event viewer that I'm suffering a "critical kernel-power" error whatever that means, if its even related. I have yet to touch my bios and the guts of my pc are a mess to where I can reseat the ram even if I wanted to.

Is there a fix for this?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. Ivan B 124.1K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-01T20:51:07.5266667+00:00

    Hi ,

    Search for msinfo32.exe in the search bar, take a screenshot, and post it here so we can see the correct laptop model or desktop configuration

    Access the c:\windows\minidump folder, copy the files to your desktop, then upload them to OneDrive or Google Drive and post the link here for analysis.

    Thanks.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-09-01T20:04:43.38+00:00

    Yes. The most likely causes in this scenario are display/graphics driver problems, hardware/driver instability, or a stop error that is presenting as a black screen.

    Try this in order:

    1. Do the quick display recovery checks when it happens
      • Press Windows + Ctrl + Shift + B to reset the graphics driver.
      • Press Windows + P, then tap P again and press Enter to cycle display modes.
      • If the security screen appears with Ctrl + Alt + Del, open Task Manager and restart Windows Explorer.
    2. Check the simple hardware side first
      • Make sure the PC and monitor are fully powered.
      • Reseat or firmly check the monitor cable connection.
      • If possible, try a different display cable or monitor.
      • If external devices are connected, disconnect unnecessary peripherals temporarily.
    3. Boot into Safe Mode to isolate the issue
      • Hold the power button for about 10 seconds to force shutdown.
      • Repeat this 2–3 times until Windows enters Recovery Mode.
      • Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart.
      • Press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.
    4. Check Device Manager for graphics or other device problems
      • Right-click Start > Device Manager.
      • Look for devices with an exclamation mark (!).
      • Expand Display adapters, right-click the GPU, and select Update driver.
      • If the problem started after a driver update, use Roll back driver instead.
      • If updating does not help, disabling or uninstalling the affected device is also listed as a troubleshooting step.
    5. Install Windows updates
      • Go to Start > Settings > Windows Update.
      • Select Check for updates.
    6. Check disk free space
      • Keep roughly 10% to 15% of the drive free, since Windows needs free space for swap files and other functions.
    7. Test memory
      • Search Memory in Control Panel.
      • Select Diagnose your computer's memory problems.
      • After the test, open Event Viewer and check the System log for MemoryDiagnostics-Results.
    8. If the issue began recently, use System Restore
      • Boot into Safe Mode or Recovery Mode.
      • Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > System Restore.
      • Choose a restore point from before the black screens started.
    9. If Windows is actually restarting because of a stop error
      • Remove any newly added hardware.
      • In Safe Mode, check drivers again, especially the graphics driver.
      • If a graphics-related bug check such as VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE or VIDEO_TDR_TIMEOUT_DETECTED appears, Microsoft guidance is to check for updated drivers, verify graphics software is up to date, use Safe Mode, run memory diagnostics, and try manufacturer hardware diagnostics.

    About the Kernel-Power event: the context only supports that unexpected restarts can happen after a serious problem such as a hardware, driver, or software issue. That event alone does not identify the root cause.

    If the black screen happens with audio still playing, focus first on the graphics driver path, Safe Mode testing, Device Manager, and memory diagnostics. If it also happens after driver updates, try Roll back driver.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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