How to keep your Windows 10 / 11 laptop running while it is closed? For instance, when you connect a laptop to an external monitor and don’t want to use the notebook’s own display. Or, if don’t want to interrupt an ongoing file download, but for some reason you need to close the lid. Or if you want to continue an online audio streaming with the laptop closed.
Here’s how to keep your Windows 10 laptop on with the lid closed. It’s simple:
Click on the magnifier (Search Windows) icon in the lower left corner of the screen. The Windows search box will show up. Type “closing” in it. A “Change what closing the lid does” option will show up in the search results. Clicking on the result will take you to a relevant section of Windows Control Panel (Control Panel/Hardware and Sound/Power Options/System Settings).
There you just need to change settings of the “When I close the lid” option. It’s usually set to “Sleep”, since that’s the default choice. If you select “Do nothing” from the list, your laptop will be prevented from going to “Sleep” or other inactive modes. It will continue to work normally when you close the notebook. You can have separate “When I close the lid” settings for the laptop running on battery and while plugged in a power outlet. After changing the settings, click on the “Save changes” button.
As a side note, the same option can be used to put a Windows laptop in hibernation mode or to shut it down completely when you close the lid.
Choosing “Do nothing” will prevent your computer from going into sleep, hibernation, and from shutting down. Its built-in display will be turned of, of course. In case when you have an external monitor connected to the laptop, Windows 10 display settings will change automatically to enable use of the external screen when the notebook is closed.