How to Change the Screen From Black to White in Windows 10

To change a Windows 10 screen from black to white, open Settings, select Personalization > Colors, and pick Light in the Choose your color list. If the colors look inverted or gray instead of simply dark, press Windows logo key + Ctrl + C to switch off a color filter, or left Alt + left Shift + Print Screen to switch off High Contrast.

Applies to: Windows 10 (May 2019 Update and later), with notes for Windows 11. Checked against Microsoft Support on October 7, 2026.

Work out which kind of “black screen” you have

Several different Windows features can turn a white screen dark, and each one is switched off in a different place. Match what you see to the right fix before you start:

What you see	Likely cause	Where to fix it
Settings, File Explorer, the Start menu and the taskbar are dark, but photos and websites look normal	Dark mode	Personalization > Colors
Everything is reversed, including photos (white is black, black is white)	A color filter or Magnifier’s invert option	Ease of Access > Color filters, or a keyboard shortcut
Everything is in shades of gray	A color filter	Ease of Access > Color filters
Black background with very bright text and thick outlines around buttons	High Contrast	Ease of Access > High contrast
Only the desktop behind your icons is black	Desktop background setting	Personalization > Background
Only one program is dark	That program’s own theme	The program’s settings

This guide is about a screen that works but shows dark colors. A display that is completely blank, with no pointer and no picture, is a different problem that these settings will not fix.

Switch Windows 10 from dark mode to light mode

Dark mode is the most common reason windows and menus turn black. Microsoft added a full light mode in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, and it is chosen from the same list as dark mode.

1. Select the Start button, then select Settings. The Settings window opens.
2. Select Personalization. You can also get here by right-clicking an empty part of the desktop and choosing Personalize.
3. Select Colors in the left column.
4. Open the Choose your color list. It offers Light, Dark and Custom.
5. Select Light. The change is applied right away: Settings, File Explorer, the Start menu and the taskbar switch to white and light gray. There is nothing to save and no restart is needed.

If the list is set to Custom, Windows shows two separate choices underneath it: one for Windows itself (the Start menu and taskbar) and one for apps. Custom is how a PC ends up half dark and half light. Either set both of those choices to light, or simply pick Light in the main list.

One thing to expect: Microsoft notes that light mode does not apply your accent color to the Start menu, taskbar and action center. That option is only offered with the dark and custom modes, so those areas stay light gray after you switch.

To go the other way later, follow the same path and choose Dark, as described in our guide to turning on dark mode in Windows 10.

Turn off a color filter that inverts the screen or removes color

Color filters are an accessibility feature that changes every color on the display, including pictures and video. One filter reverses the colors so a white page turns black; another removes color entirely. Because a keyboard shortcut can switch a filter on, people often trigger it by accident.

1. Press Windows logo key + Ctrl + C once. Microsoft lists this as the shortcut that turns color filters on or off. If the colors return to normal, you are done.
2. If nothing changes, press Windows logo key + U. This opens the accessibility settings, which Windows 10 calls Ease of Access.
3. Select Color filters.
4. Set the color filters switch to off. The screen returns to its normal colors immediately.

The shortcut only works when the shortcut option on the Color filters page is enabled, which is why step 1 does nothing on some PCs. If the filter keeps coming back because the keys get pressed by mistake, turn that shortcut option off on the same page.

Turn off High Contrast

High Contrast replaces the normal Windows colors with a small set of strongly contrasting ones. Most of its themes use a black background with bright text, so it is easy to mistake for dark mode. The giveaway is that changing the Colors setting to Light makes no difference.

1. Press left Alt + left Shift + Print Screen (the key may be labeled Print Scrn or PrtScn). Microsoft lists this as the shortcut that turns High Contrast on or off. Use the Alt and Shift keys on the left side of the keyboard.
2. If the shortcut does not respond, press Windows logo key + U to open Ease of Access.
3. Select High contrast.
4. Set the high contrast switch to off. The normal Windows colors come back.

Check Magnifier if the colors are still reversed

Magnifier, the Windows screen-zoom tool, has its own invert option. While Magnifier is running, Ctrl + Alt + I inverts the colors, and pressing the same keys again puts them back. If part or all of the screen is zoomed in as well as reversed, this is the likely cause.

Change a black desktop background to white

Light mode changes windows and menus, not the desktop wallpaper. If only the area behind your icons is black, change the background itself:

1. Right-click an empty part of the desktop and choose Personalize. Settings opens in the Personalization section.
2. Select Background.
3. Change the background type from a picture to a solid color, then pick white or another light color from the color choices. The desktop updates as soon as you select it.

You can choose a picture instead if you would rather have a light photo than a plain white desktop.

How to confirm it worked and how to undo it

Open File Explorer and the Start menu. In light mode both have white or light gray backgrounds with dark text, and photos look the way they should. Every change in this guide can be reversed in the same place: choose Dark again in the Choose your color list, or press the same shortcut a second time to switch a color filter or High Contrast back on.

If the screen is still black

• Only one program is dark. Web browsers, Office apps and many other programs have their own theme setting that can override Windows. Look in that program’s settings for a theme or appearance option and set it to light. A website can also have its own dark theme that no Windows setting controls.
• There is no Light option in the list. The full light mode arrived with the Windows 10 May 2019 Update. A PC that has not been updated since before then has an older Colors page, so install the pending Windows updates first.
• The setting changes back by itself. On a work or school computer, the organization can manage appearance settings. Ask your IT support team before spending more time on it. On a home PC, check whether a theme-syncing or display utility is installed and reapplying a dark theme.
• Colors are wrong before Windows even loads. If the manufacturer logo at startup is also inverted or gray, the cause is outside Windows. Check the picture mode in the monitor’s own on-screen menu, and try a different cable or display.
• The whole screen is yellowish or dim rather than black. That points to a night-time warm color feature or the brightness level, not dark mode.

Windows 11 uses different names

On Windows 11 the same settings exist under slightly different labels. Light mode is at Settings > Personalization > Colors, in a list called Choose your mode. Color filters are at Settings > Accessibility > Color filters. High Contrast is called contrast themes: go to Settings > Accessibility > Contrast themes, choose None, and select Apply. The keyboard shortcuts above are the same on both versions.

Frequently asked questions

Why did my Windows 10 screen suddenly turn black?

A sudden change is usually a keyboard shortcut pressed by accident. Windows logo key + Ctrl + C toggles a color filter and left Alt + left Shift + Print Screen toggles High Contrast. Press the same combination again to reverse it. If the change happened after someone adjusted settings, check the Choose your color list instead.

Is dark mode the same as inverted colors?

No. Dark mode changes the design of Windows and of apps that support it, and leaves photos, videos and most websites alone. An inverting color filter reverses every color on the display, so pictures look like photo negatives.

Will switching to light mode change my wallpaper?

No. The Colors setting and the desktop background are separate. Change the wallpaper under Personalization > Background.

Can I keep the taskbar dark but make apps white?

Yes. Choose Custom in the Choose your color list, then set Windows to dark and apps to light. The Start menu and taskbar stay dark while Settings, File Explorer and other apps turn white.

Do these settings still work now that Windows 10 support has ended?

Yes. Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025, but the personalization and Ease of Access settings on an existing installation still work. Microsoft’s current help pages now describe Windows 11, which is why some labels there differ from what you see on Windows 10.

For Microsoft’s own descriptions of these features, see Change colors in Windows and Windows keyboard shortcuts for accessibility. Once the screen is white again, open the Colors page one more time and pick an accent color you like.