Question PC Goes to Blank Screen (Standby Mode) After Restart or BIOS Save — Boots Only After Full Power Drain

[z3r0_co0L]

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to share a weird issue I've been battling, in case it helps someone else down the line. My PC's been acting up in a very specific way — the screen goes blank after a restart or when saving changes in BIOS. I spent quite a bit of time troubleshooting, and here’s the full story.

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🖥️ System Specs
Original Setup (Before Swapping Anything):

• CPU: Intel Core i3-10100F @ 3.6 GHz
• GPU: Zotac GeForce 210 1GB DDR3
• Motherboard: ASRock H470M-HDV
• RAM: G.Skill 8GB DDR4 2666 MHz (Single Stick)
• Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM
• PSU: Ant Esports VS500L
• OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

After Replacing Motherboard:

• New Motherboard: ASUS EX-B460M-V5 (Updated to the latest BIOS)
  All other components stayed the same.

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⚠️ The Problem

My PC initially worked without issues, but recently I started encountering a strange problem. When I power on the system, everything seems fine up to the point where the BIOS screen appears. However, after that, when the system restarts or I save and exit BIOS, the display goes blank. The monitor doesn't show the "No Signal" message; it simply stays black. All the LED lights — power, HDD, keyboard, and mouse — remain on and blink as usual, but the display stays in standby mode.

Interestingly, the system works normally if I completely shut off the power, disconnect the power cord, and wait a few minutes before restarting. Once it’s back on, it boots up without any issues and runs fine for hours. The problem only occurs when I try to restart the system or when it enters sleep mode.

I also attempted a clean installation of Windows 10 Pro, and during the installation process, everything went smoothly without any display issues. But once the system reboots after installation, the display issue resurfaces — the system goes into standby mode and doesn't come back on. It’s not a typical "No Signal" issue; the monitor stays blank without any notification.

The problem seems to be related to how the system handles restarts or wakes from sleep, and I’m still unsure what’s causing it.

The only fix that works:

1. Power off the system completely
2. Unplug the cable
3. Press the power button to drain it
4. Then power it on again — and boom, it boots normally

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🔧 Things I Tried

• Swapped CMOS battery
• Reset BIOS
• Took the whole PC apart and cleaned it
• Re-seated RAM
• Reapplied thermal paste
• Swapped PSU and GPU
• Changed the motherboard (from ASRock to ASUS)
• Updated BIOS
• Clean installed Windows 10 Pro

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🔍 What I Noticed

• During Windows installation, everything was smooth — no issues at all.
• But after rebooting post-install, the black screen problem came right back.
• Once I manage to get it booted, it runs solid for hours — no crashes, no hiccups — until I restart or let it sleep.
• Monitor stays active (not “No Signal”) which tells me the GPU is getting power but not outputting anything.
• Only a full power drain resets it and gets things working again (temporarily).

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✅ Current Status

After updating the BIOS and reinstalling Windows, it appears to be behaving — even restarts are working properly now. Not sure whether the problem is solved permanently or not.

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🤝 Looking for Help

• Has anyone run into this kind of issue before?
• Could this be related to CPU power states? GPU initialisation timing? Something else?
• Is there a known permanent fix for this kind of “soft lock” after reboot?

I would appreciate any advice, theories, or shared experiences.

Thanks so much 🙏

 

[Lutfij]

If your issues cropped up after you'd replaced the motherboard, then the problem was due to the OS. You're advised to reinstall the OS after you change platforms/motherboards. If the issue was persistent prior to the motherboard swap, then it's possible your BIOS on the prior motherboard was either corrupt or your drive is on it's way out, seeing how you have a mere HDD.

Just to add, that PSU in your build isn't reliably built. Which leads me to ask what diod you run prior if you swapped the PSU as stated above?

 

[z3r0_co0L]

If your issues cropped up after you'd replaced the motherboard, then the problem was due to the OS. You're advised to reinstall the OS after you change platforms/motherboards. If the issue was persistent prior to the motherboard swap, then it's possible your BIOS on the prior motherboard was either corrupt or your drive is on it's way out, seeing how you have a mere HDD.

Just to add, that PSU in your build isn't reliably built. Which leads me to ask what diod you run prior if you swapped the PSU as stated above?

I was searching for various solutions on the internet and found that a lack of display signal could be caused by a faulty PSU. I replaced my power supply with a Corsair VS500, but the problem persisted. Unsure of the cause, I tried replacing different parts like the GPU, RAM, PSU, and HDD (using an SSD with the operating system pre-installed), but I did not have an extra motherboard to test.

After consulting a technician, I explained the issues I was facing and the troubleshooting steps I had taken. He suggested that these types of problems often arise from faulty motherboards.

After replacing the motherboard and updating the BIOS to the latest version, I ran the system without reinstalling the OS, and for the first time, it booted into the OS without any issues. I used it for about 30 minutes and then restarted to see if the problem would occur again. Unfortunately, it did.

I then proceeded with a full clean installation of the OS. Just after the installation finished and the system restarted, the same issue reappeared. I decided to do a clean installation for a second time. Both the installation and system operation went smoothly at first. To be sure, I performed 2-3 reboots, and initially, it booted into the OS without any issues. However, after some time, the problem returned.

Now, for the past 36 hours, the system has been working fine, rebooting and booting into the OS without any problems. Still, I am not entirely certain whether the issue is resolved, so I will continue to monitor the system for another week.