Screen won't turn on even when computer isn't sleeping

[zbs]

I consistently run into a problem when I leave my desktop on for a while: when I return, the screen is off, but the computer isn't in sleep mode (judging from the symbol on the tower). My backlit keyboard turns on when I type on it, but nothing comes to the screen. I don't think it's a monitor issue, because when I restart the computer via the power button, the monitor displays normally.

Here are my specs:

• OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
• Hard Drive: Crucial MX300 275GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT275MX300SSD1
• Video Card: Intel HD Graphics
• Processor: Intel Core i7-2600 @ 3.4 GHz
• RAM: 16 GB DDR3
• BIOS Version: j01 v02.06

Here are some things I've tried:

• Ran a diagnostic test on my hard drive. No problems there.
• Applying all updates from Windows Update
• Applying all updates from HP Support Assistant
• Resetting the Windows power settings; turning off hibernate mode; turning off suspend/sleep

Here are some things I'll try next:

• Update the BIOS firmware to v2.28. Apparently any versions later than that cause problems for this PC when used with Windows 10
• Pray for some useful answers on this sub 🙂

Any suggestions for how to start trouble-shooting? Has anyone bumped into this issue before?

[WAWood]

@zbs

You may have already done this, but you did not specifically mention it ...

When in Power Settings --> Additional Power Settings, check Choose when to turn off the display and confirm it says Never for both entries.

IF that is already the case, did you also confirm, by selecting Choose what the power buttons wil do, that Fast Startup is unchecked?