Why does my PC crash to a black screen?
Q
My Lenovo Ideacentre 5105081SH desktop PC keeps crashing to a black screen. My monitor then tells me there’s no connection. The desktop is still switched on, but there is no indication of anything happening. If I hold the power button, the computer switches off and I can then switch it back on and it starts up as usual. I tried the Whocrashed analyser tool (www.resplendence.com/whocrashed), but it reveals nothing. Any idea? Michael Briggs
A
Intermittent glitches are hard to diagnose. However, we do have a couple of ideas – both relating to the graphics card.
First, it could be that the graphics-card driver is crashing. To test this theory you can try a little-known keyboard shortcut – Windows key+shift+control(ctrl)+b (see screenshot 1 ). Pressing this combination forces Windows to restart the graphics driver. If this works then it suggests the drivers are indeed somehow fouling up and causing the black screen.
Your PC came with an Nvidia Geforce GT 730 card. You can grab the latest drivers for this directly from Nvidia, at www.snipca.com/41899, so download and install those.
If this doesn’t work, then it’s possible that the card is overheating, causing it to shut down to protect its sensitive
GPU. This could cause the symptoms you describe. Resetting the computer gives the GPU a few moments to cool down, which would explain why the PC then starts okay.
One possible cause of overheating is a dust-clogged fan. Earth yourself, then carefully open your PC. Remove the card 2 and use a can of compressed air to thoroughly clean the cooling fan 3, ensuring that the blades can turn freely. In addition, doing this will allow you to ensure the card is firmly secured when you reseat it – eliminating a loose fit as the final possible cause.