Black screen after 'Starting Windows' sequence

[JaredzzC]

Hi,

I locked my computer before I went away for a couple of days and came back to a black screen with only the mouse cursor visible.
Every time I try to start the computer, it will go through the initial startup sequence of displaying the manufacture's logo for the motherboard and then it will say 'Starting Windows' After which point it will just display a black screen with only the mouse cursor visible.

I can access the motherboard's features absolutely fine and the options such as safe mode, start windows normally etc are available.

I've tried:
Startup Repair - No problems.
Windows Recovery Diagnostic Tool - No problems.
Chkdsk - No problems found.
There are no dates available for System Restore.
It won't start in safe mode. It runs through the loading then same result as before, only the cursor visible.

As a last attempt I cleared the CMOS, but with the same outcome as before.

I thought it could perhaps be GPU related, but it doesn't seem so.
I have 2 GPUs, both R9 290. They were both working absolutely fine before I left - no problems whatsoever.
I have tried them each one by one but they produce the same result individually ( after 'starting windows' a black screen with only the mouse cursor appears).

Specs can be found in my 'system specs' section.

Any suggestions?
Thanks.

 

[DRDNA]

Hi,

I locked my computer before I went away for a couple of days and came back to a black screen with only the mouse cursor visible.
Every time I try to start the computer, it will go through the initial startup sequence of displaying the manufacture's logo for the motherboard and then it will say 'Starting Windows' After which point it will just display a black screen with only the mouse cursor visible.

I can access the motherboard's features absolutely fine and the options such as safe mode, start windows normally etc are available.

I've tried:
Startup Repair - No problems.
Windows Recovery Diagnostic Tool - No problems.
Chkdsk - No problems found.
There are no dates available for System Restore.
It won't start in safe mode. It runs through the loading then same result as before, only the cursor visible.

As a last attempt I cleared the CMOS, but with the same outcome as before.

I thought it could perhaps be GPU related, but it doesn't seem so.
I have 2 GPUs, both R9 290. They were both working absolutely fine before I left - no problems whatsoever.
I have tried them each one by one but they produce the same result individually ( after 'starting windows' a black screen with only the mouse cursor appears).

Specs can be found in my 'system specs' section.

Any suggestions?
Thanks.

do you have an extra harddrive to put a new test image of Windows 7 on to see if this is a corrupted OS or settings issue? We have to start somewhere seeing as how you can NOT get a view even in safe mode.oh also make sure your monitor is still running at the correct refresh rate (HZ) and the correct resolution for example 1920x1080.

 

[JaredzzC]

do you have an extra harddrive to put a new test image of Windows 7 on to see if this is a corrupted OS or settings issue? We have to start somewhere seeing as how you can NOT get a view even in safe mode.oh also make sure your monitor is still running at the correct refresh rate (HZ) and the correct resolution for example 1920x1080.

I have 2 HDDs in use. Would it be safe to use the second HDD (which doesn't have Win7 installed on) to try install Win7, despite all the files and everything on the HDD? I wouldn't be able to do it straight away, though. I'd have to use the boot drive as a USB but I don't currently have a USB with the capacity to have Windows 7 on it so I'd have to buy one. Yea, resolution is absolutely fine (2560x1440) and refresh rate is fine too. Didn't create a backup or system image unfortunately, so that wouldn't be an option.

 

[DRDNA]

I have 2 HDDs in use. Would it be safe to use the second HDD (which doesn't have Win7 installed on) to try install Win7, despite all the files and everything on the HDD? I wouldn't be able to do it straight away, though. I'd have to use the boot drive as a USB but I don't currently have a USB with the capacity to have Windows 7 on it so I'd have to buy one. Yea, resolution is absolutely fine (2560x1440) and refresh rate is fine too.

yes it is possible but i think in order to protect your current data on that drive you would need to create a partition for the new install or else you risk losing data and you would have to totally remove the power from the original OS drive because it will wreck the original OS if left in the mix.

 

[95Viper]

Sounds like the old... windows black screen of death.

Try this quoted from "VisiHow" article "Repair Windows 7 Black Screen of Death":

Boot your PC with the "Last Known Good Configuration" option
.
This quick little option can be accessed by following these simple steps:

1. Press and hold down the "F8" button as you boot up your PC and before the Windows logo is displayed. This will bring you to the Advanced Boot Options, wherein a list of options on booting up your Windows 7 system is provided.
   
   
   
2. Locate the "Last Known Good Configuration" option and select it by pressing the Enter key. Your PC should now start booting Windows. Wait and see if it works.

They, also, have some other options there, too.
Google search and you will find a lot of the "Windows Black Screen of Death with cursor" fixes.

 

[JaredzzC]

Sounds like the old... windows black screen of death.

Try this quoted from "VisiHow" article "Repair Windows 7 Black Screen of Death":



They, also, have some other options there, too.
Google search and you will find a lot of the "Windows Black Screen of Death with cursor" fixes.

Thanks for the reply!

I've tried the boot from 'last good known configuration' option multiple times before, but there's no difference unfortunately.
I've had a read through the article but most options only apply if task manager is accessible.

I had a look at other results on Google previously but I'll keep looking around to see if there's anything else I haven't tried yet.
I'm gonna attempt to install Windows on my second HDD at some point to see if it is an OS issue, although it seems unlikely.

I've never been one to take my PC elsewhere to get it fixed because I've always managed to diagnose and mostly fix the problem from home, but this time it doesn't seem like there's much I can do. I will probably take it to PC World's 'Knowhow' in-store if all else fails but i'll give it a good few days of trying other things first before I consider that.

 

[jboydgolfer]

i noticed this thread today, but had no input, but just before getting my daughter off the bus, i noticed windows did an update, and when i got back into the house, i noticed my screen was all black too ? i couldnt get it to go away, other than to *cntrol-alt-delete* and initiate the shutdown/log off/restart sequence, but once i did, the screen came back on. I have never had this happen with this PC, and i found it to be a bit too coincidental that i saw it mentioned here as well, so i was curious if it was a true coincidence, or if it was possibly the windows update?

im on win 10 Pro 1709 16299.371 (as of the previously mentioned update). I have a screensaver, & im wondering if OP does too?

 

[JaredzzC]

i noticed this thread today, but had no input, but just before getting my daughter off the bus, i noticed windows did an update, and when i got back into the house, i noticed my screen was all black too ? i couldnt get it to go away, other than to *cntrol-alt-delete* and initiate the shutdown/log off/restart sequence, but once i did, the screen came back on. I have never had this happen with this PC, and i found it to be a bit too coincidental that i saw it mentioned here as well, so i was curious if it was a true coincidence, or if it was possibly the windows update?

im on win 10 Pro 1709 16299.371 (as of the previously mentioned update). I have a screensaver, & im wondering if OP does too?

It's usually almost straight after certain updates that people tend to notice this issue but I can't be sure that an update took place.
I locked my PC just before I left home for 2 days. My PC usually automatically sleeps/hibernates after about 1 hour of inactivity so unless the update took place within the hour then it's unlikely it updated. I usually manually update, I never like doing automatic updates so I always make sure I choose which updates I want to take effect. Perhaps coincidence, but I too have never had this happen before. In all honesty, this happened about 3+ weeks ago, it's just I kept my computer off for most of this time because it's one less distraction in my life which is actually beneficial with my exams coming up, so I saw it as a positive that it wasn't working. I've only recently just started to try to fix it again. I do too have a screensaver, although I'm on Win7 and if i'm correct, Microsoft has stopped supporting Win7 (or I might be going crazy but I'm sure I read that somewhere) so an update was unlikely. Ty for the response though! You're not wrong, though. This kind of issue definitely appears mostly after an update.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I had this happen a number of times with W7, and every time it was solved with the Prevx black screen fix download. With only a black screen and cursor, you could give it the download address and it would download, run, and give you your screen back.

Sadly, Webroot bought out Prevx, so that blog address is no longer available. I will search for a substitute, if one was done.

The process was described here, and worked perfectly:
https://social.technet.microsoft.co...lack-screen-after-bootup?forum=w7itproinstall

 

[eidairaman1]

Do you have automatic updates enabled in windows?

Have you checked to make sure your gpu driver hasn't been updated?

 

[Vayra86]

Do you have automatic updates enabled in windows?

Have you checked to make sure your gpu driver hasn't been updated?

Does it push those updates on 7 too now? It never did back in the day for me...

 

[JaredzzC]

Do you have automatic updates enabled in windows?

Have you checked to make sure your gpu driver hasn't been updated?

I don't believe so. I've never really allowed it to do automatic updates, I've always preferred manually updating (for both GPU and Windows).

 

[eidairaman1]

Does it push those updates on 7 too now? It never did back in the day for me...

The way ms patches things now you never know, but by default windows 7 is setup to update automatically if you give it consent to from the setup process, I always select turn off.