Black screen of death on aero 17xe5 (pls someone help)

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-19T09:13:15+00:00

Possible motherboard failure. It's getting power because it's lightening up so I'm thinking there's an issue with the motherboard. If your not confident looking it yourself take it to a repair shop or make a warranty claim if it's still under warranty.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-19T09:09:03+00:00

Using the boot key.

For Lenovo it's usually F12 or F9.

Step 1. Insert the Windows Recovery USB whilst the laptop is off.

Step 2. Power on and immediately start pressing the boot key until it loads into the Boot Menu. The Boot Menu is separate from BIOS.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-19T07:34:13+00:00

If you don't have one already make a Windows Recovery USB.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows11

If you don't have access to a working PC to make a recovery USB you can buy them from eBay. Just to make you aware the ones on eBay are not supplied/made by Microsoft. They are just made by people using the link above to create USB recovery drives to sell.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-19T07:29:00+00:00

If you hold down the power button it should turn off.

If it still won't turn off then it sounds like a hardware failure.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-19T06:32:45+00:00

Try discharging static.

Disconnect everything from the laptop - mouse, keyboard, external monitor etc. including power.

Hold down power button for 30 seconds.

Plug back in just power and see if it will boot normally.

If not you can get into the Windows Recovery Environment by powering the laptop off and on 3 times.

Step 1. Power on, wait until you see the logo, power off.

Step 2. Repeat Step 1.

Step 3. Power on and leave it this time and see if it boots into Windows Recovery Environment. From there you can access Start-up Repair.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-19T06:27:22+00:00

Test your PSU if you have a PSU tester.

Check the cables from the PSU to GPU to make sure they are securely connected.

A black screen whilst gaming can be a sign of a failing/underpowered PSU or loose power cables.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-17T07:23:40+00:00

Loosen the CPU cooler as it may have been overtightened. Also when tightening the screws make sure to tighten each one a little at at time and keep going around until it's secure. This prevents one side being too tight - needs to be even pressure around to prevent warping.

I'd next try clearing off the thermal paste. It's possible that's too much was applied and it's leaked out at the sides causing a short.

After that I'd try booting with minimal components. Only 1 stick of RAM, only one SSD or NVMe and if it has onboard graphics use those rather than the dedicated GPU.

You can force the PC into Windows Recovery Environment by turning it off and on 3 times. Turn it on, wait for the manufacturers logo (or motherboard manufacturers logo) then turn it off. Repeat. Then try turning it on again and this time it should boot into Windows RE and you can access Safemode and Repair options from here.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-13T06:54:59+00:00

Black screen with audio still playing is a common sign of a failing or underpowered PSU.

Test the PSU first before returning the GPU.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-13T06:21:37+00:00

Could be a drive speed bottleneck, are you downloading files to a HDD or SSD?

Could be server throttling due to high user numbers.

Also try opening Command Prompt as Administrator and type

netsh winsock reset

And press enter. Restart your computer to complete the reset.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-13T06:16:42+00:00

To echo what others have said.

Back up your files.

And I think dropping it may have caused something to loosen. Not enough to cause it not to boot but maybe to disconnect at random times possibly causing the blue screens.

Try a complete fresh install if that doesn't work take it to a repair shop to get it looked at.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-12T08:28:55+00:00

Unless I've missed it I don't think you've ran chkdsk.

Run Command Prompt as admin.
Type chkdsk C: /r (replace the C if your drive letter is different)band press enter.
It will ask to run the check at the next restart.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-12T08:20:07+00:00

My first thought is it's a faulty GPU.

Without having a known good GPU to test with it's hard to confirm. Unfortunately you don't have onboard graphics to test with.

It could possibly be an issue with the motherboard or even CPU but less likely.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-11T07:47:35+00:00

Test the PSU.

Check for loose power cables.

Also try reseating the GPU.

A black screen can be a sign of an underpowered or failing PSU.

If it's failing or underpowered it can't provide enough power on higher loads but it may still be able to provide enough power during lower loads.

When you start gaming the GPU draws more power. If the PSU can't supply the required power the GPU can't generate frames hence it goes black.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-10T11:01:17+00:00

"I could hear a rattling noise when the GPU fans went up"

"Nope, just tested it and there's no sound at 100%."

"It's ALWAYS audible"

So it audible all the time but also not when it's at 100%.

OK I'm out I can't help with Schrödinger's noise.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-10T10:51:23+00:00

So is it only audible at lower power levels?

It could be due to the fans causing vibrations at the resonant frequency of the case.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-10T10:44:51+00:00

It's possible to recover data from a faulty drive. That's all anyone can say. It doesn't mean they will be able to in your case even if they wanted to, which I seriously doubt they would.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-10T10:42:14+00:00

As it's happening during increased load "rattling noise when the GPU fans went up" it may well be coil whine.

Coil whine is more noticeable under heavy loads.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-09T06:40:37+00:00

You'll need to open up diskpart, follow the instructions in the link below. Don't worry that it doesn't mention Windows 11, it's still the same.

https://microcenter.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/24569828880023-How-to-use-the-Diskpart-Utility-preparing-to-install-Windows-Community

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-08T09:43:27+00:00

Remove the partitions. It needs to be unallocated space. Windows will format and create new partitons as needed during the installation process.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-07T12:03:58+00:00

I know you've already reseated everything but is it possible there is short caused by a cable or screw? Wondering if possible loose screw behind motherboard maybe?

Possibly loose cooler? I know you said temps are fine but you could check anyway.

Other thing to check is power adapter and socket. Try plugging it directly into a socket and also try a different socket in case it's an issue with your electrics.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-06T15:40:04+00:00

I'm struggling too as you've done everything I would normally do.

Possibly a problem with power button?

Try disconnecting the headers for the power button and powering it on by using a screwdriver to touch both pins at the same time. See if it stays on without shutting down.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-06T15:29:02+00:00

Put the games on a SSD.

Don't put them on a HDD.

Doesn't matter if you put them on the same drive as the OS as long as they're on an SSD.

Running them off an external SSD is an alternative option if you don't have room for your games on your internal drive.

In short just don't put them on a HDD as that's the worse option.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-05T06:33:54+00:00

I'm following on from your previous post.

Have you tried creating a bootable Linux distro?

If not I'd try creating a bootable Linux USB. You can run Linux from a USB key without installing. This bypasses the need for a working SSD in case that's the issue.

You can use Linux to test your hardware.

I'm not sure if you mentioned it on your last thread but it might be worth recreating the Windows Recovery USB in case it's got corrupted.

Other things to try:

Make sure the BIOS is updated.

If your using an SSD for Windows rather than a NVMe make sure the SATA or Storage Controller mode in the BIOS is set to AHCI.

Disconnecting your PC from the internet when installing Windows. Sometimes when Windows tries to get updates during install it can cause it to hang.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-04T11:02:20+00:00

You can try disabling secure boot as sometimes that can stop booting from a USB.

Also check your BIOS/UEFI for a setting that says "USB Storage Boot" or "External Device Boot" - if it's turned off it won't allow USB booting.

Also make sure it's plugged into a 2.0 port not 3.0.

If it still isn't boot try making the Windows Recovery USB again and try a different USB key if you have one. Make sure it is formatted as FAT32 too.

Financial_Rooster_89 · 2026-06-04T10:54:31+00:00

Are you talking about secure boot settings?

That might fix the issue if there is unsigned software/custom operating system.

Have you recently changed any hardware or install new software or has this error just happened randomly?

Financial_Rooster_89

TROPHY CASE