Anyway, if you’re already in the situation and all you see is the BIOS loading, the Windows logo, and then the screen just goes blank once Windows starts to load, then there are two basic ways to get back to your original settings.
Go ahead and select Safe Mode. If for some reason Safe Mode does not work, you can also try selecting Enable VGA Mode. Enable VGA Mode can also be useful for situations where you try to extend your desktop onto another monitor or select another monitor to use as your primary monitor. The problem that can sometimes occur there is that Windows sends the signal to a different port than where you have your external monitor connected and it will therefore give you the blank screen whenever it loads up. Again, Windows does not automatically detect that there isn’t monitor connected and it won’t revert back to its original settings! Now that you’re in Windows, you can change the resolution or refresh rate by right-clicking on the Desktop, choosing Properties and clicking on the Settings tab. In Windows 7/8, you have to choose Screen Resolution. Windows XP Display Settings Windows 7 Display Settings For screen resolution, move the slide bar over to the LEFT. This will lower the resolution and allow your monitor to display Windows correctly. In Windows 7, you just pick a resolution from the drop down box. If the refresh rate is too high, click on the Advanced button or Advanced settings link and then click on the Monitor tab. Here is also where you can change back your primary monitor to 1 if 2 gave you a blank screen. Also, you can uncheck the extend my desktop option.
From the drop down, choose a lower value for the screen refresh rate. Go ahead and reboot your computer normally and everything should load up fine. Remember, in Windows, when you change your display settings, always click APPLY first. If you simply click OK, you won’t get the dialog shown below whereby Windows will revert back to the original settings if you don’t answer within 15 seconds.
When you click Apply, Windows will change the display to what you chose, in which case the screen will go black or blank if it can’t support it. However, this dialog will be up and if you don’t click on anything, it will revert back to the original settings! So you won’t have to waste time going through Safe Mode, etc, etc. Any questions, post a comment. Enjoy!
