Laptop screen partially going black.

Milozs · ‎06-05-2025

sorry for my bad language, im not good at english.

Problem 1 - might be connected to problem 2

Hey, so I was watching YouTube when my laptop screen randomly went black. The laptop itself didn’t shut down — all the usual lights (like the power button) stayed on. It looked like when you play a fullscreen 24-hour black screen video on YouTube — the screen was dark, but not completely off.

I had to hold the power button for like 10–15 seconds to force shut it down. After I turned it back on, everything seemed fine.

I checked Task Schedule and noticed that a task called SpeechModelDownloadTask was scheduled to run at 1:44 AM — exactly when the screen went black. - it happened like month ago, today when it did, I checked but there was no such thing.

During the black screen, I also tried pressing the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys, but their lights didn’t turn on — they stayed off — so it seemed like the laptop was frozen and not responding properly.

Problem 2

About 10 minutes before that, something weird happened: on YouTube’s main page (and probably others, but I use this laptop mostly on youtube) the screen mostly went black. I had to hover over the screen with my mouse to make them show up, and when I clicked on a page, the top bar and other elements finally appeared.

Not sure if it’s a hardware or software issue.

note: the screen also partialy turns black, like some stuff (the tabs for example are black and when i hover over it it fixes. I tried to clip it using game bar, but when i clipped it the clipping software started after the black screen turned normal.

What can I do to fix it, or should I return it on warranty?

Max3Aj · ‎06-07-2025

@Milozs, Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.
You're doing great with your English, no worries at all! Let's go through your issue step by step and help you fix it.

You're experiencing:

Random black screen while watching YouTube, laptop stays on, but screen goes dark.
Partial black screen on YouTube and other UI elements, hovering fixes it temporarily.
Caps Lock/Num Lock unresponsive during the black screen, suggests a system freeze.
Clipping software didn’t capture the black screen, points to a display rendering issue.

Likely Causes

This could be due to:

Outdated or corrupted graphics drivers
A Windows 11 compatibility issue
A BIOS or firmware bug
Hardware acceleration issues in browsers like Chrome or Edge

Step-by-Step Fixes

Update Graphics Drivers

Go to Device Manager → Expand Display adapters
Right-click your graphics card (e.g., AMD Radeon or Intel) → Update driver
Or download the latest drivers from HP: Official HP® Support

Update BIOS

BIOS updates can fix screen flickering and blackouts.
Visit the HP support page - Official HP® Support
Download and install the latest BIOS for your model.

Disable Hardware Acceleration in Browser

If the issue mostly happens on YouTube:

In Chrome or Edge:
- Go to Settings → System
- Turn off “Use hardware acceleration when available”
- Restart the browser

Run HP Diagnostics

Use HP’s built-in tools to check for hardware issues:

Download and run HP PC Hardware Diagnostics
Run the System Test and Display Test

Check for Windows Updates

Go to Settings → Windows Update
Install all available updates

Test with External Monitor

If possible, connect your laptop to an external monitor via HDMI:

If the external display works fine when the laptop screen goes black, it could be a hardware issue with the laptop screen.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Select "Yes" on the bottom left to say “Thanks” for helping!

Max3Aj

HP Support

Milozs · ‎06-09-2025

Hi, I guess I can download the BIOS but I'm kind of worried that It can break something, I read a lot about it and when a power outage happens something can break, should I do it? Also I don't know why but that's another problem I encountered yesterday, when I turned on my laptop the speaker was doing some kind of weird crackling sound when the volume was above 5/6, but today its fixed I guess - can that be connected with the problem I had eariler?

Max3Aj · ‎06-10-2025

@Milozs, Hi again! 😊. Thank you for your response.

You're absolutely right to be cautious about updating the BIOS, it's great that you're doing your research. While a BIOS update can seem risky, it’s generally safe if you follow a few precautions:

Safe BIOS Update Tips:

Keep your laptop plugged in to power throughout the update.
Don’t shut it down manually or interrupt the process.
Close all programs before starting the update.
Make sure the battery is at least 50% charged, even if it's plugged in.
As long as there’s no power outage during the update, it should complete smoothly.

About the Speaker Crackling:

Thanks for mentioning that, the weird crackling sound could be connected to the same issue, especially if it happened during or after a freeze or crash. Here’s why:

Both your audio and display systems are managed by your laptop's hardware and drivers.
A graphics driver issue or system freeze could temporarily mess with the audio driver or chipset, leading to that sound.
Since it fixed itself after a reboot, it might have been a temporary glitch, but it’s still worth keeping an eye on.

What You Can Do Now:

Since BIOS updates make you nervous (totally fair), try these safer steps first:

Update the graphics driver (from HP’s website or Device Manager).
Disable hardware acceleration in your browser.
Run HP Hardware Diagnostics to check for issues.
Keep Windows fully updated.

I hope this helps!

If my response resolves your issue, please click “Accepted Solution” to help others find the answer. Also, don’t forget to click the “Yes” button to say thanks!

Take care and have a great day.