How to Fix a Sideways or Upside-Down Computer Screen

Your screen is rotated the wrong way — here's how to turn it back

A sideways or upside-down screen usually means your display settings have been rotated, either by accident or by a keyboard shortcut. The fix depends on your operating system, but in most cases you can rotate it back in under a minute without restarting your computer or calling anyone.

The most common cause is an accidental key combination — on many laptops, holding Ctrl + Alt and pressing an arrow key rotates the screen. On some systems, right-clicking the desktop and selecting display settings does the same thing. Graphics card software can also rotate the display if someone changed it there.

Key Takeaways

Windows users can rotate the screen back by right-clicking the desktop, selecting Display Settings, scrolling to Display Orientation, and choosing Landscape.
Mac users should go to System Preferences, click Displays, and select the correct rotation from the Rotation dropdown menu.
On Linux, the method varies by desktop environment, but GNOME and KDE both have rotation settings in their display preferences.
If the desktop settings don't show a rotation option, check your graphics card control panel — NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel all have their own rotation tools.
Restarting your computer will not fix a rotated screen; the rotation is a display setting, not a system error.

Rotating the screen back on Windows

Right-click anywhere on your desktop (the empty area, not on an icon or window). A menu will appear. Look for Display Settings or Display — the exact wording depends on your Windows version.

Click it. A Settings window will open. Scroll down until you see Display Orientation or Orientation. You will see a dropdown menu with options like Landscape, Portrait, Landscape (Flipped), and Portrait (Flipped). Select Landscape. The screen should rotate when ready.

If you do not see an Orientation option in Display Settings, your graphics card software may be controlling the rotation instead. See the section below on graphics card control panels.

Rotating the screen back on Mac

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and select System Preferences (on older Macs) or System Settings (on newer ones). Then click Displays.

Look for a Rotation dropdown menu. If you see one, click it and select the correct orientation — usually Standard. The screen will rotate right away. If there is no Rotation option, your Mac's graphics system is not set to rotate, and the sideways view is likely coming from a different source — check whether a window or process is displaying sideways instead of the whole screen.

Rotating the screen back on Linux

The method depends on which desktop environment you are using. On GNOME (the most common), click the system menu in the top-right corner, then Settings. Click Displays and look for a Rotation option. Select the correct orientation.

On KDE Plasma, go to System Settings, click Startup and Shutdown, then Display and Monitor. You should see rotation options there. On other desktop environments like XFCE or LXDE, the path varies — check your system's help documentation or search for "[your desktop environment] display rotation".

If the graphical settings do not work, you can also rotate the screen from the command line using the xrandr tool, but the graphical method is faster for most users.

Checking your graphics card control panel

If the operating system's display settings do not show a rotation option, your graphics card software may be managing the display instead. Right-click your desktop and look for options like NVIDIA Control Panel, AMD Radeon Settings, or Intel Graphics Settings.

In NVIDIA Control Panel, go to Display and look for Rotate Display. In AMD Radeon Settings, click Display and find the rotation option there. In Intel Graphics Settings, click Display and adjust the rotation. Each one works slightly differently, but they all have a rotation setting somewhere in the Display section.

If you cannot find the graphics card control panel on your right-click menu, open your system's main Settings or Control Panel and search for your graphics card manufacturer's name. You can also check Device Manager (Windows) or System Report (Mac) to see which graphics card you have.

Undoing accidental keyboard shortcuts

If your screen rotated suddenly while you were typing, you may have hit a keyboard shortcut by accident. On many Windows laptops, Ctrl + Alt + Arrow Key rotates the screen. Pressing Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow should rotate it back to normal. Try this before opening settings.

Some older laptops also have dedicated rotation keys or key combinations specific to that model. Check your laptop's manual or search online for "[your laptop model] screen rotation shortcut" if the Ctrl + Alt + Arrow combination does not work.

What to do if nothing works

If you have checked Display Settings, your graphics card control panel, and tried keyboard shortcuts but the screen is still sideways, the problem may be a stuck setting in your graphics driver or a hardware issue with the display itself.

Try restarting your computer — even though rotation is a software setting, sometimes a restart clears a stuck configuration. If the screen is still sideways after restart, uninstall and reinstall your graphics driver. On Windows, go to Device Manager, find your graphics card under Display Adapters, right-click it, and select Uninstall Device. Restart your computer and Windows will reinstall the driver automatically. On Mac and Linux, driver updates usually come through your system's software update tool.

If the screen remains rotated after a driver reinstall, contact the manufacturer of your graphics card or your computer for support — this suggests a deeper driver or hardware problem that goes beyond a straightforward settings change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a virus or malware rotate my screen?

Malware can change display settings, but it is rare. A rotated screen is almost always an accidental keyboard shortcut, a setting change, or a graphics driver issue. If you suspect malware, run a full scan with your antivirus software, but start by checking your display settings first — that will solve the problem in 99 percent of cases.

Will rotating my screen damage it?

No. Rotating the display is a software setting that tells your graphics card how to send the image to the monitor. It does not harm the monitor or any hardware. You can rotate it back and forth as many times as you want.

Why does my screen keep rotating back to sideways after I fix it?

A setting in your graphics card software or a keyboard shortcut may be set to auto-rotate. Check your graphics card control panel for an auto-rotate option and turn it off. Also check whether you have any accessibility settings enabled that might be rotating the display — on Windows, this is sometimes under Ease of Access settings.

My external monitor is rotated but my laptop screen is not — how do I fix just the monitor?

Right-click your desktop and open Display Settings. You should see both displays listed. Click the one that is rotated, scroll down to Orientation, and change it back. Each monitor has its own rotation setting, so you can fix one without affecting the other.

This guide is for general information only and is not medical, financial, legal, or other professional advice. For decisions specific to your situation, consult a qualified professional. See our Editorial Policy.