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HP Recommended
HP Pavilion 15-ab121dx AMD A10-Series
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

Hello. I'm posting this question on behalf of my girlfriend. I purchased this laptop for her in late December of 2015. It's been working well for the most part. It is an HP Pavilion 15-ab121dx AMD A10-Series.

 

Fairly recently the screen has been randomly going black. There aren't any beeps as I've seen other people mention nor flashing lights when this happens. Also, the screen is still obviously on. You can see the backlight, however it is simply completely black and nothing can be seen even faintly. The only way we have found to remedy this situation is to simply close to laptop briefly (putting into sleep mode) and opening it again. As soon as we open it again it's back to normal. It won't happen very often (maybe once or twice a month, give or take) however it is definitely an issue I'd like to resolve as it can happen at very inconvenient times.

 

I should add that I've tried a few things I've seen suggested such as changing the power settings, setting it to never sleep on its own, unplugging it completely and holding down the power button, etc.

 

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out with this. If there's any more information I can provide other than what is already posted here, please let me know. Thank you so much in advance.

11 REPLIES 11
HP Recommended

@BigPigger,

 

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

 

I recommend you update the BIOS and the graphics driver from the below link and check if it helps.

 

https://support.hp.com/in-en/drivers

 

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

 

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

 

Cheers!

The_Fossette
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Hello! Thank you so much for responding so quickly I had her update the graphics driver at least. However, it seems that updating the BIOS appears a little tricky. I've read that doing this incorrectly can have catastrophic results and unfortunately I can't be there to access her laptop for the time being so I can't see exactly what she's doing/looking at. So far the black screen issue hasn't happened again, but we only just updated the graphics driver today. I hope it doesn't happen again. Maybe you can provide a little help with updating the BIOS? She downloaded it from the link you provided, but when it prompted her to insert a flash drive she was a little intimidated (understandably) as she didn't know what taking further steps would do and did not want to risk losing her laptop. Again, I truly appreciate your response. I hope you have a great day and I would greatly appreciate any more help you can provide.

HP Recommended

@BigPigger,

 

Follow the steps in the below article to update the BIOS on the computer.

 

https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c00042629

 

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

 

Cheers!

The_Fossette
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Hello,

Thank you for the help. We tried updating the BIOS and graphics drivers, but it still did the black screen again. Is there anything else we can do to fix this?

HP Recommended

@BigPigger,

 

Please perform a system test on the computer to make sure that there is no hardware issue on the computer. Follow the steps in the below article to perform a system test.

 

https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c03467259

 

If the hardware test pass, then I recommend you perform a system reset on the computer following the steps in the below article and check if it helps.

 

https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04742289

 

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

 

Cheers!

The_Fossette
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Thank you so much for responding. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I will try this tonight with her and see if this works.

 

Since I have you here, I have another problem that I'm hoping you can solve as well. Yesterday while changing some settings my girlfriend changed something and she can't quite remember what it was. All she remembers is that it said something about "CMYK" which has to do with the color schemes. Now when she prints something the colors don't even remotely match whatever she's trying to print. We've tried looking through system settings, color management, etc but haven't been able to find anything to change back. Everything on her laptop looks exactly the same; it is only when she prints that the colors look completely wrong. Do you have any idea what she might have done and how we can fix this? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

 

I'd like to thank you for being so prompt and courteous to me. You've been very friendly as well. It truly means a lot and you'll definitely be getting a good review from me after all of this. Thanks so much again.

HP Recommended

@BigPigger

 

I see that you were interacting with @The_Fossette. I'd like to help.

 

Which printer do you have?

 

Meanwhile:

 

Perform root level uninstalltion to remove all the printer related software's.

  • In Windows, search for and open Programs and Features.
  • Select your HP printer.
  • Select Uninstall.
  • In Windows, search for and open Devices and Printers.
  • In the Devices and Printers window look for your HP Printer. If you see it listed, right-click on it and choose "Delete" or "Remove Device.”
  • Open up the run command with the "Windows Key + R" key combo.
  • Type printui.exe /s and click OK.
  • Click on Drivers tab.
  • Look for HP Printer driver. If you see it click on it and click Remove at the bottom.
  • Select OK.
  • Remove all instances of the same.
  • Select Apply and OK on the Print Server Properties windows.
  • lose Devices and Printers.
  • Restart the PC again.

Download and install full feature driver for the printer from this link: - Click here

 

Let me know if that helps.

To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.

Cheers.

Sandytechy20
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

I really appreciate your response. However, the issue isn't with the printer at all. There are no cartridge errors, no printer errors. She distinctly remembers being in Settings (this is a Windows 10 laptop) and it was in the display/personalization section. She remembers a dropdown menu and clicking something to do with "CMYK" and ever since then the colors are completely off when she prints anything. Do you have any idea what setting she could have changed? I feel that it's a setting that could easily be changed back. I just have no idea what she changed. Thank you for your help.

HP Recommended

@BigPigger

  1. Open the document or photo on your computer, click File or the menu icon , then click Print.

    Print or Print Pictures window or pane opens with general print job settings, including the menu to select the printer you want to print to.

  2. Open Document Properties or Printing Preferences from the main print window or pane to access the HP print driver settings. The button or link name varies depending on the app you are printing from.

  3. To view the different settings, click the tabs along the top of the window. To access more settings, click the Advanced button that is often located on the Layout tab.

    Figure : Example of a printer Document Properties window

    HP Document Properties window with settings tabs and the Advanced settings button
  4. Check under the color management option to change the settings.

You can refer this HP document for more options:- Click here

 

Let me know how it goes.

To thank me for my efforts to help you, please mark my post as an accepted solution so that it benefits several others.

Cheers.

Sandytechy20
I am an HP Employee

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