Breakdown of Не успела она открыть файл, как экран погас.
не
not
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
экран
screen
открыть
to open
Questions & Answers about Не успела она открыть файл, как экран погас.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with как instead of чем if the English translation says "than"?
The phrase не успел ... как ... is a fixed grammatical structure used to express "no sooner had ... than" or "barely had ... when." In this specific construction, Russian always uses как to connect the two rapidly occurring events.
Why is the verb открыть in the perfective aspect here?
The verb успеть (to have time / to manage) almost always requires a perfective infinitive because it focuses on the successful completion of a single result. Here, it refers to the completed action of getting the file open.
Could the second verb, погас, be imperfective since it happened right after?
No, the не успел ... как ... construction describes an immediate sequence of two completed actions. Because both the opening of the file and the screen going blank are viewed as sudden, finished events, both the infinitive (открыть) and the past tense verb (погас) must be perfective.
Why is the word order Не успела она rather than the standard Она не успела?