‘Walls turned sideways are bridges.’

Angela Y. Davis

You might be wondering how that issue happened: you were working on your computer, the desktop being in its normal view, and then, all of a sudden, the screen turned sideways. Or the drama came about after you attached a new monitor to your machine. Well, whatever the case, the problem mentioned is extremely disturbing. To be able to see something on your screen properly, you should either turn your laptop or monitor on its side or tilt your head, which is not really practical. Thus, you might be asking: ‘How do I get the screen to rotate on my laptop?’ The good news is, resolving the problem in question is a task you can easily accomplish by using our tips from this very article. Just read on to know how to fix a sideways screen in Windows 10.

Use shortcut combinations

It is quite a straightforward way how to rotate computer screen on Windows 10 – make use of Windows shortcuts to get your display back on track.

First and foremost, make sure the Hot Keys feature is enabled on your computer:

  1. Go to your desktop.
  2. Right-click on an empty area.
  3. Click Graphics Settings / Options.
  4. Navigate to Hot Keys.
  5. Select Enable.

Now you can try the following combinations one by one until you arrive at what works for you:

  • Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow
  • Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow
  • Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow
  • Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow

Rotate your screen until it is properly oriented.

Configure your display settings

Another way to go about the problem is by tweaking your display settings. The point is, they might have been messed up, so you need to configure them properly in order to resolve your sideways screen issue.

Here is what you should do:

  1. On your desktop, right-click on an empty area.
  2. Select Display settings.
  3. You will be taken to the Display settings screen. Go to the Orientation section.
  4. Try each of the options from the drop-down menu – one of them may flip your screen to its normal orientation.
  5. Finally, click Keep changes.

No luck so far? Then proceed to the following method.

Check your graphics options

To fix your sideways screen, you can try rotating it via the Graphics options menu:

  1. Locate an empty area on your desktop and right-click it.
  2. Navigate to Graphics options.
  3. Select the Rotation option from the drop-down menu.
  4. There click Rotate to Normal or Rotate to 0 degrees – whichever is present.

Now see if your screen is in proper view. Not yet? Then it is time you gave the following fix a try.

Configure display adapter properties

If the sideways issue persists, your display adapter properties might need some tweaking. Here are the instructions to follow in a situation like this:

  1. Go to an empty area on your desktop. Right-click on it.
  2. Select Display settings from the menu.
  3. Then proceed to Advanced display settings.
  4. Click on Display adapter properties.
  5. Locate your graphics card tab. Navigate to it.
  6. Go to the Rotation option.
  7. Set it to 0 degrees or Normal.
  8. Make sure to save your changes.

Finally, exit the settings screen and see if the manoeuvre above has fixed your problem.

Update your drivers

If your screen goes sideways, the chances are your graphics card drivers (or some other drivers) are faulty or out of date. Obviously, you can update them manually, but keep in mind that this process is ridiculously time-consuming and risky. First, you should find out what exact versions of driver software your system needs to work the way it is supposed to. Second, you should conduct a painstaking online search. It is essential that you use only reliable sources of software to avoid infecting your personal computer with something malicious. With this in mind, make your hardware’s manufacturer official support website the starting point for your mission. What is more, be careful when downloading the .exe file of some driver since installing something wrong is likely to bring about certain undesirable consequences. For instance, your system might refuse to boot up if a driver mismatch is the case. That said, if for some reason, you still wish to perform the updating procedure yourself, you are free to do that – the choice is yours. And yet there are some better options.

The easiest way to deal with driver issues implies using special software. A dedicated tool will do the job automatically and thus save you a lot of time, effort and nerves. For example, you can opt for Auslogics Driver Updater: this intuitive software will diagnose your system and update all your drivers to their latest versions in just one click.

With that said, you can employ Device Manager to get things done. The problem is, you should apply the instructions below to each of your drivers, and you might not even know which of them are behind the sideways screen nuisance. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that Device Manager will succeed in finding what you actually need.

Nevertheless, feel free to give this method a try:

  1. Click on the Windows logo icon to open the Start menu.
  2. Locate Search and type Device Manager.
  3. Click on the relevant result.
  4. Locate the device which needs an updated driver.
  5. Right-click on the piece of hardware in question.
  6. Select the Update Driver option.
  7. Select the Search automatically for updated driver software option.

If Device Manager finds a suitable driver for your graphics card, this is likely to resolve your sideways screen issue.

We hope our tips have proved useful. Should you need further assistance, do not hesitate to leave your comment below. We will do our best to help you.