Last Updated on December 24, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake
My computer running on Windows 10 has a black screen with a cursor on it and doesn’t look like it’s going to load the operating system as it should. The Windows 10 black screen happens before and after login and looks like the Windows 10 black screen of death. The Windows 10 black screen with cursor also happens with no Task Manager available. How do I get out of this mess? Resolution:
Answer One: Turn off the Computer with the Power Button
If you’re getting a black screen that only manages to show the mouse/touchpad cursor and nothing else, it usually means the operating system has failed to load correctly after the computer has been turned on or perhaps after you have been away from the computer and tried to wake it after it went to sleep. There aren’t usually any simple fixes for this; it’s best to just restart your computer. This is usually done via Start > Power button >Restart, but since your screen isn’t loading, will need to be done with the hardware Power button instead. Every computer can be turned off by holding in the Power button until it turns off. This process can take up to ten or so seconds, depending on the computer.
Answer Two: Apply a Soft/Hard Reset via the Shift Key and Power Button
Alternatively, if it’s a laptop or a tablet you’re using, you can attempt to apply a hard reset instead, which is a technique for solving common problems such as these that many people don’t know about. To apply the hard reset, simply hold down the physical Power button on the laptop or tablet for at least 10 seconds and wait until you hear the hardware turn off and reset. Once it’s off, you may need to press the Power button again to turn it on and it should boot the computer as usual.
Those who have a Microsoft Surface laptop can apple a different kind of hard reset whereby you press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and the Power button at the same time and then will boot to the Choose an option screen, where you can select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC. Pressing the Shift button is said to put the computer into a full shutdown state rather than just the hybrid shutdown state which may also play a role in solving these types of software bugs.
Answer Three: Boot Windows 10 into Recovery Environment and Access System Repair
To boot into System Repair, you first need to turn the computer off by holding down the Power button, and then as soon as you restart the computer, hold down the Power button until it turns off again and repeat this process three times in total. After the third time, the words “Preparing Automatic Repair” appear on the bottom of the screen, and then it boots into the Choose an option screen. From there, you want to boot into System Repair and then navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Repair and let Windows try to repair itself.
Answer Four: Boot Windows 10 into Safe Mode and Run an Antivirus Scan
If System Repair doesn’t solve the problem, you want to boot the computer into Safe Mode and then run an antivirus/antimalware scan from Safe Mode and see what it does. This would be the solution if it isn’t just a problem with Windows not booting as it should and is instead a problem malware has created due to it having malicious intent to harm your computer. To boot into Safe Mode, you first need to turn the computer off by holding down the Power button, and then as soon as you restart the computer, hold down the Power button until it turns off again and repeat this process three times in total. After the third time, the words “Preparing Automatic Repair” appear on the bottom of the screen, and then it boots into the Choose an option screen. From there, you want to boot into Safe Mode with Networking, which allows you to open a web browser and use the internet to download some antivirus if you don’t have it already or further research your problem. Note that Windows 10 already comes with built-in antivirus protection, called Windows Defender, which can be accessed from the system tray/notification area, usually as a hidden icon. There are also solutions to being unable to turn on Windows Defender if you need them.
Answer Five: Boot Windows 10 into Safe Mode and Perform a System Restore
Though Microsoft chose to not have it enabled by default on all computers, every PC running Windows 10 comes with System Restore, which allows you to restore the computer to its previous state-provided System Restore has already created a restore point. Due to the restore points taking up hard drive space and overall improved software reliability, Microsoft is seemingly moving away from System Restore, but it’s still handy to use. From the list of available restore points, you can choose any one of them and restore your computer to the state it was at that time, thus removing the problem that was created on the computer.
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September 17, 2022 @ 02:27
I have experienced black screens in Windows 10 and Windows 11 after logging in. This turned out to be because of some technical issues with the Windows Insider builds I was on. Thankfully I reported them and Microsoft automatically rolled out updates to my computer. If not for that, I was about to throw my computer out because I couldn’t work out how to open a Command Prompt without logging in first.
So yeah, if you are a Windows Insider, I would say it’s probably the cause of your black screen. And if you do experience this, don’t panic after logging back in after the new update has automatically been applied to your computer. This is because you will get another “black screen” when the new software loads for the first time. I didn’t realize the new update had been installed on my machine so I kept resetting the PC. But then I decided to just wait a little longer next time and it was lucky I did because I had to run through some Windows setup features which was when I understand that my PC was working and Microsoft had automatically rolled out an update to fix my problem. But the update was a bit like I had to set up my PC again. All my files were still on the PC though.
May 19, 2022 @ 06:43
I have tried Safe Mode and all those tips but it didn’t work for me. The Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) for Windows 10 has a button called Uninstall Updates so you can uninstall the latest update. This is also why System Restore is no longer as needed. That worked for me. You could also uninstall the previous update using the Dism command.
May 18, 2022 @ 17:49
This problem can also occur when people change their drive letters. I and a friend were mucking around with the drive letters, and it resulted in disk manager, Regedit, administrator command prompt, and .exe files not working anymore.
I have tried changing the drive letters back, but Windows doesn’t give me the chance to do so. I can’t find a way around the fact that nothing seems to be openable outside of the desktop.
I will next try to download the Windows installation media on my smartphone and am hoping to connect it to the computer and reinstall windows. I’m just not sure if I can fit the operating systems on my phone’s hard drive but it should fit. I think the installation media is usually around 25 gigabytes.
May 18, 2022 @ 17:52
Hello Bill,
I recommend booting the computer into the Windows Recovery Environment instead of reinstalling Windows. From there you can try a Startup Repair to see if Windows can fix itself or navigate to Troubleshoot > System Restore and return the computer to a previous state with a saved restore point. These methods may help you keep data on the computer so you don’t have to completely reinstall Windows. It’s also going to be a lot quicker and easier.