Win11, how to manually turn laptop Screen Off / On when I just need it, while all programs keep running ?


Frank1000

New member
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Win11
Hi,
In Win11, how to manually turn laptop Screen Off / On when I just need it with Win11 onboard function ?, while all programs keep running ? I dig this now google wise since an hour with no success.
Is it even possible to do that without running another program in the background and without creating a timing for screen off in the power options ?

Regards Frank
 
Windows Build/Version
Win11

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win11
This happens automatically when you use the Power Options to shut off the screen after a certain idle period. See Start --> Settings --> Power & battery --> Screen & sleep, then On battery power, turn off my screen after (my default shows 3 minutes); When plugged in, turn off my screen after (my default shows 5 minutes -- I sometimes raise this, or change it to "Never").
HTH,
--Ed--
1660243470119.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo X380 Yoga
    CPU
    i7-8650U (8th Gen/Kaby Lake)
    Motherboard
    20LH000MUS (U3E1)
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 620
    Sound Card
    Integrated Conexant SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    FlexView Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 1 TB PCIe x3 NVMe SSD
    external 5TB Seagate USB-C attached HDD
    PSU
    Lenovo integrated 65W power brick
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop
    Keyboard
    Integrated Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard
    Mouse
    touchscreen, touchpad
    Internet Speed
    GbE (Spectrum/Charter)
    Browser
    all of em
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Purchased early 2019 as Windows Insider test PC
Hello Frank, and welcome. :-)

If you like, the tutorial below will add a context menu allowing you to turn off the display on demand.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Oooh, good one @Brink! I have to echo and endorse the gratitude expressed for your unstinting efforts on behalf of the Windows community. Thanks for all the great tutorials. I refer to them regularly for my own benefit, and recommend them to others all the time. Keep up the good work.
--Ed--
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo X380 Yoga
    CPU
    i7-8650U (8th Gen/Kaby Lake)
    Motherboard
    20LH000MUS (U3E1)
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 620
    Sound Card
    Integrated Conexant SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    FlexView Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 1 TB PCIe x3 NVMe SSD
    external 5TB Seagate USB-C attached HDD
    PSU
    Lenovo integrated 65W power brick
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop
    Keyboard
    Integrated Lenovo ThinkPad keyboard
    Mouse
    touchscreen, touchpad
    Internet Speed
    GbE (Spectrum/Charter)
    Browser
    all of em
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Purchased early 2019 as Windows Insider test PC
I just Copied 11GB of data from one drive to another and using the WinKey + L to Lock the screen did not interfere with the process. Coming out of Lock did require logging in but no issue.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Frank,

how to manually turn laptop Screen Off / On when I just need it
First you need to check that you do not have S0 Modern standby [aka S0 Low power idle] by using the command
powercfg -a

If you do not have S0 then you can turn off the screen by using
- a shortcut to NirSoft's NirCmd in the form
...\NirCmd.exe monitor off
- a shortcut to a blank screensaver e.g. C:\Windows\System32\scrnsave.scr
Enable or Disable Screen Saver - TenForumsTutorials
- - I didn't like this because the screen still glowed a bit even though it was a blank screensaver.
- - I tried several apparently jet black screensavers with the same result but eventually adopted the NirCmd solution instead.
- - Screensavers from earlier Windows versions work in Windows 11. But even with those I didn't find any that suited me. They all glowed to some extent.

If you have S0 then all user-desired activity grinds to a halt when the screen goes off, which is when S0 kicks in.
- I eventually disabled S0.
- Before then, I tried a workaround by setting Power options to keep my display on all the time [so that S0 would not kick in & my applications would therefore be able to carry on] but setting a blank screensaver to start after a minute or so.

Best of luck,
Denis
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
Check the device manual or web site. Most (All?) laptops have function key options to manually turn on/off at least sound and screen. Usually done by Fn key+ and F key. Some have separate Fn+Fkeys for on and off, some (like my Acer) have the one Fn+Fkey as an on/off switch.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2 (latest update ... forever anal)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Slim S01
    CPU
    Intel i5-9400
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GT730
    Sound Card
    OOBE
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 32"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2 x 1TB SSDs
    PSU
    OOBE
    Case
    OOBE
    Cooling
    OOBE
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    Classic Australian w.a.p.
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro (latest upadte ... anally always)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion 15
    CPU
    i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Hard Drives
    Samsung NVMe 512GB
    + numerous/multiple SSD Type C USB enclosures
    Internet Speed
    NBN FTTN 50
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    KIS
Most (All?) laptops have function key options to manually turn on/off ... screen.

I've never seen a laptop that has a function key to turn off the screen.
I have three in front of me right now and none of them have such a key.
I've always had to make my own arrangements.
Please would you post a photo or diagram of your keyboard and indicate which key is the screen on/off switch. I'd like to make a note of it for future reference.

All the best,
Denis
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
There is sort of a screen Off or On key, it's the one or combination of two used to select between the LCD panel, a projector/external monitor or both at the same time.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Note that you can also go into the power settings in Control Panel to turn off the screen if you tap the power button. That's what I do.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    128GB Crucial Ballistix 3200MHz DRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - CPU graphics only (for now)
    Sound Card
    Realtek (on motherboard)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe Gen 4 x 4 SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe Gen 3 x 4 SSD
    2 x 512GB 2.5" SSDs
    2 x 8TB HD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCue 5000X RGB
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black cooler + 10 case fans
    Keyboard
    CODE backlit mechanical keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Additional options installed:
    WiFi 6E PCIe adapter
    ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 PCIe adapter
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
Yes, it is possible to turn off the laptop screen in Windows 11 without running another program in the background or creating a timing for screen off in the power options. Here's how to do it:

Press the Windows key + P on your keyboard.
This will open the Project menu.
Select the "Second screen only" option to turn off the laptop screen.
To turn the laptop screen back on, simply press any key on the keyboard or move the mouse.
This method will keep all programs running, and you can easily turn the laptop screen off and on as needed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10

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