Device doesn't turn on. Screen always black. Not even BIOS options show, nothing visible.

[JadO990]

Windows 11. HP Pavilion 14-ce2001nj.

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It doesn't seem like my device is turning on. I tried to do a BIOS recovery, a video card reset (Win control shift b) and it doesn't seem to show anything only shows black. Clicking Es to show BIOS menu shows Esc... Pause Startup, and is stuck there.

Doesn't even boot to Windows... But I know it does work because the BIOS restart and click enter option (which I know just restart a laptop) restarted it, so it does actually function but it doesn't show anything if you know what it means.

Thanks anyone!

[VikramTheGreat · Accepted solution]

Hi @JadO990,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

It helps narrow things down. Based on what you’ve shared, your HP Pavilion 14-ce2001nj seems to be powering on but not displaying anything beyond a black screen and is stuck at “Esc... Pause Startup” when trying to access BIOS. This suggests a firmware or display initialization issue, possibly triggered by a corrupted BIOS, display driver, or hardware fault.

1. Perform a BIOS Recovery (Again)

Even if you’ve tried it, let’s ensure it’s done with the correct steps:

• Turn off the laptop.
• Press and hold Windows + B, then press and hold the Power button for 2–3 seconds.
• Release the power button, but keep holding Windows + B for another 10 seconds.
• If successful, the screen should show a BIOS recovery screen.

2. Hard Reset the Laptop

This clears residual power and resets hardware states:

• Turn off the laptop.
• Disconnect all peripherals and power.
• Press and hold the power button for 15 seconds.
• Reconnect the power and try booting again.

3. Try External Display

To rule out a display failure:

• Connect your laptop to an external monitor via HDMI.
• Power on and press Windows + P → then tap Arrow Down and Enter to switch display modes blindly.
• If the external monitor shows output, your internal display may be faulty.

4. Use HP Diagnostics USB

If BIOS recovery doesn’t work, you can create a bootable HP diagnostics USB on another PC:

• Download from: HP PC Hardware Diagnostics | HP® Support
• Boot from USB and run full system tests.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!

Regards,

VikramTheGreat

[JadO990]

Hello Vikram,

Very appreciative for the response. It fully covered all required actions going forwards, your support is what keeps support forward.

The issue, as you said, was a BIOS corruption.

While all the other plausible probabilities may have seriously been it, which I also considered, in the end, a recovery boot BIOS USB Drive is what was needed and done by a secondary device

Again, thank you very much.

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @JadO990,

That’s brilliant follow-through 👏 You diagnosed it perfectly. BIOS corruption is tricky because it mimics so many other hardware and software issues. Using a recovery boot BIOS USB drive was the right call, and it shows you understand your system.
 

I’m very glad you got it sorted out. It takes patience and persistence to push through something like that. 💡

If you need any assistance in the future, please do keep us posted

Regards
VikramTheGreat