How to Restart/Shut Down Dell XPS 15 9520 Safely When White Screen?

I was using my dell xps 15 9520 with windows 11 pro earlier without any issue. Then suddenly I noticed I couldn't play any youtube video to load. There was no issue earlier though when doing that. Also there is suddenly no sound. When I click on desktop icons... either the program doesn't open up or it opens up and it is frozen the entire time. Is this the regular glitch that many people get a lot with windows? Thing is last time I had this issue where I then went to start menu and shut down... it didn't shut down for a very long time. I think it stayed on that black screen for a long time. Then I hold the power button to force shut down and it didn't even shut down. It took a long time for it to suddenly shut down. Then when power on laptop, there was no issue.



My concern now is do I click start and shut down laptop? Or restart? All my peripherals are connected to it such as in the usb-c port, a dell 2 in 1 adapter with a hdmi to hdmi cable to a monitor and sabrent port hub, the usb-c to displayport to another monitor in the thunderbolt 4 port. And the last thunderbolt4 port has a laptop charger connected.



Can someone tell me how do I safely shut down or restart my laptop here if I am positive it will not shut down properly? Also if it matters, I always ignored the dell update message on bottom right corner where it says there are dell updates to do. I only do the windows updates though. But could that be the reason or not? Don't think that is good idea to do that now since my computer is at this state? When I click on windows updates, it shows everything is up to date. So ignore dell update right since well that program isn't even necessary? How do i safely restart my laptop or shut it down? Main concern is it won't turn off which I am positive will happen. Then do I just wait till it turns off? Do i hold the power button to power it off? Make sure I don't unplug the power button? The thing is I am positive it won't shut down or restart like normal because this similar thing happened last time. I remember I tried holding the power button to force shut down after it didn't shut down or restart and even closed the lid and all that... but after a while it shut down but it too a long time. Then I powered it on and it worked. Can someone tell me what I should do here?

I decided to go to task manager and look for windows explorer and right click and restart it. Should I have not done this? Now my laptop screen and 2 monitors show a white screen. I do have task manager taskbar opened. Now I can't even click the start menu to shut down or restart.



Is there a way for me to still safely shut down or restart my laptop after I did this with windows explorer.


Is there any way for me to start menu and shut down or restart or I have to hold the power button to force shut down it? Is this the white screen I hear people talk about? There is 3 white screen on my 2 external monitor and my laptop screen. I can see the task manager though but if I were to minimize it, it would disappear. What do I do now? Again my monitors and everything is connected to it. Do not disconnect anything from my laptop at this state right? So is there a way to shut down or restart or do i have to hold the power button to force shut down? I am worried about doing anything so should I just leave my laptop on overnight with the white screen and wait until someone responds on best course of action?

Okay first off, is this the white screen that I hear about that I have? It sounds like it right?


So I should do that... compared to just holding the power button to force shut it down then? Is it safe to do what you are suggesting if I have a white screen on my laptop screen and the 2 external monitors?

Hey there newmann,

I've been running a 9510 notebook for almost a year. I took the Windows 11 plunge shortly after receiving the system.

One thing I have done for ... a long time ... is to update the Manufacturer's drivers when they recommend them.

Typically these drivers/configuration updates are provided once issues pop-up and start causing problems...

You should probably get a good backup (if possible) and update your system from the Dell update app on your system. You may suddenly start working consistently after patching drivers!

Hopefully your 9520 is still under warranty! If so, take advantage of the Dell Tech support team.

Hope this helps you out, and...

Merry Christmas!

It seems like you are experiencing multiple issues with your Dell XPS 15 laptop running Windows 11 Pro. Firstly, you are unable to play YouTube videos and there is no sound. Additionally, when you click on desktop icons, either the program doesn't open or it opens up and freezes.

If you are concerned that your laptop may not shut down or restart properly, it is best to first try shutting down normally by clicking on the Start menu and selecting "Shut down". If it does not shut down after waiting for a reasonable amount of time, then you may need to force shut down by holding the power button.

It is not recommended to ignore Dell updates as they may contain important fixes for issues that you are experiencing. However, if you are not comfortable updating at this time, you can postpone it until the issues are resolved.

As for your peripherals, it is best to disconnect them before shutting down or restarting your laptop to avoid any potential issues.

In summary, try shutting down normally first and if it does not work, force shut down by holding the power button. Consider updating your Dell software and drivers to see if it resolves the issues.