Is there a way to turn off the display in Windows (7), preferably without using additional software?
Powershell script works fine, but leaves command-line window after turning on the display.
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Sign up to join this communityIs there a way to turn off the display in Windows (7), preferably without using additional software?
Powershell script works fine, but leaves command-line window after turning on the display.
On a laptop you can use the keyboard shortcut combination of Fn+F7 (F7 might differ depending on the laptop model) and for a desktop you can always use the power button.
Do you need any other specifications such as wake up on mouse movement or something else?
You can always create a shortcut and assign a keyboard shortcut to a black screensaver, use this path:
%systemroot%\system32\scrnsave.scr /s
This will not turn off you screen but make it completely black
/s
for, it works without the switch as well.
– user373230
Oct 2 '16 at 23:29
scrnsave.scr
is entered in the search box or in run dialog, but it requires /s
when executed from cmd.exe
(without it, a dialog pops up informing that this screensaver has no configurable options).
– Palec
Jun 8 '17 at 1:22
A couple more options:
nircmd monitor off
from the command line. More information at the link.nircmd
. Imho tools set from Nir Sofer and Russinovich should be installed on any advanced user's PC.
– Smit Johnth
Apr 20 '15 at 20:11
You can use WinAPI call SendMessage(HWND_BROADCAST, WM_SYSCOMMAND, SC_MONITORPOWER, 2)
where HWND_BROADCAST = 0xFFFF
,
WM_SYSCOMMAND = 0x0112
and SC_MONITORPOWER = 0xF170
. The 2
means the display is being shut off.
There are several ways to make the call:
Separate executable. You can fire it through a script, command line, Run window, shortcut (*.lnk
), etc. Note that shortcuts can be invoked using a keyboard shortcut. The executable may be written in C or C++, or via P/Invoke in .NET languages (C# or PowerShell), or in many other languages that have a foreign language interface (e.g. JNI in Java).
AutoHotkey script. For a non-programmer, this way is probably simpler. Making customizations still requires some scripting. This script turns monitor off on Win + M:
#m::
Sleep 1000
SendMessage, 0x112, 0xF170, 2,, Program Manager
return
Note the timeout before the SendMessage
call in the AutoHotkey script. It gives the user a chance to release keys (in case their release would wake up the monitor again). Do not forget about it even when making the call from a script in another language.
For more info, see the documentation of SendMessage
function, WM_SYSCOMMAND
message and AutoHotkey SendMessage
. It might be of interest that since Windows 8, using the same method to turn monitor on does not work, but there is a work-around.
Sleep 50
after SendMessage
instead of this long sleep before. This has the effect of turning off the screen immediately. Tested on my own laptop and found it to be better.
– cyqsimon
Aug 17 '20 at 18:25
Powershell one-liner would be:
(Add-Type -MemberDefinition "[DllImport(""user32.dll"")]`npublic static extern int SendMessage(int hWnd, int hMsg, int wParam, int lParam);" -Name "Win32SendMessage" -Namespace Win32Functions -PassThru)::SendMessage(0xffff, 0x0112, 0xF170, 2)
powershell (Add-Type '[DllImport(\"user32.dll\")]^public static extern int SendMessage(int hWnd, int hMsg, int wParam, int lParam);' -Name a -Pas)::SendMessage(-1,0x0112,0xF170,2)
– Kidquick
Dec 15 '20 at 3:04
.ps1
-file. Running unsigned PowerShell-scripts isn't enabled by default, so your solution will work for all.
– Jari Turkia
Dec 15 '20 at 10:05